The Client Choice program in Comal County was organized by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, a state agency dedicated to improving such defense without driving up costs. A year of data showed that it worked—clients had better outcomes and felt more listened to. The county liked the system enough that it still uses it today.

Court diversion programs are expanding in the opioid crisis, with judges increasingly an advocate on the sidelines. Local courts are pivoting from crime and punishment to carrot-and-stick, using more humane, interventional approaches to deal with the defendants with addictions who are overwhelming their dockets.

Child welfare agencies in Vermont, Minnesota and Ohio cite opioids as driving an increase in the number of children in foster care. A 2011 study found that opioid abuse was associated with increased domestic violence.

Employment lawyers say decreasing sexual harassment at work requires awareness that behavior may make colleagues uncomfortable and willingness to stop the conduct without resentment.

In some situations, confidentiality of arbitration can be a problem, as it makes corroborating claims more difficult. The Me Too movement has prompted some law firms to review human resources policies.

In a challenging job market for young lawyers, a specialized legal niche provides a marketing edge for solo practitioners and better advice to clients.

Advocates have dubbed New York’s discovery scheme the blindfold law, arguing that the lack of information requires defense counsel to prepare for trial, or advise clients about plea bargains, without ever seeing the evidence.

After 14 years of pleas, the Federal Communications Commission in 2015 made a rule capping rates for in-state prison phone calls. But the affected telecommunications companies sued—and in June 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed them a victory. The court said the FCC overstepped its statutory authority when it regulated in-state calls, and that the way it set the rates was “hard to fathom.”

Fraud targeting immigrants did not begin with the Trump administration; advocates say it’s constant and pervasive. But the administration’s aggressive approach to immigration law enforcement is driving up interest in legal services, they say. And some subset of those immigrants looking for help will end up trusting the wrong people.

Immigration legal-services fraud is extremely underreported, advocates say. One potential solution: making victims of immigration legal-services fraud more comfortable coming forward.