About ABAReject.com

ABAReject.com was designed as a platform to help all parties who are experiencing the distress of rejection, and pressures to stay silent about the challenges they are facing.

The website was founded by a former American Bar Association (ABA) member, committee co-chair, and author who was terminated by the ABA after raising concerns about mental illness discrimination – and instructed not to contact ABA members or staff.

This experience was scary, with the ABA’s General Counsel herself giving explicit instructions to not talk about staff or exercpt e-mails, the ABA’s outside counsel trying to strike a settlement where no one publicly revealed records were from the General Counsel, and the ABA’s internal and external lawyers explaining there would be legal action alleging defamation, harassment, or more in response to speaking up. Along the way, the ABA’s General Counsel Office also removed postings for a support group for folks experiencing problems in the ABA.

Seeing how difficult these experiences were, and connecting with others who had kept their rejection experiences private due to the stigma and stress of these ordeals, this “ABA Reject” decided to be open with what happened in order to connect with others who may be struggling with rejection and feeling pressure to keep it silent. This website was created as a way to help others who may feel very alone, scared, and overwhelmed in the face of large organizations with seemingly endless financial resources and personnel. It offers toolkits to help and a platform to anonymously share stories.