Read the winning entry on our fourth annual Ross Writing Contest for Short Legal Fiction. Writer Linda Oatman High won the contest and received a $3,000 cash prize. The annual contest, supported by the Erskine M. Ross Trust, recognizes outstanding fiction emphasizing the role of the law and lawyers in society.

Linda Oatman High’s “The Attorney Helped Clean Up the Blood” won the ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Short Legal Fiction and received a $3,000 cash prize.

Hurricane Katrina taught first-responding lawyers how to handle natural disasters.

After Hurricane Harvey, Dale Felton shared tips, insights and advice about flood insurance claims on the Texas Lawyers Facebook page.

Hurricane Harvey, and then Hurricane Irma, proved to be the coming of age for social media as tools for court systems and the legal profession to deal with such emergencies.

Attorneys affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma have risen to the occasion in ways personal, professional and altruistic, even when dealing with storm damage of their own. And four months after two hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, the situation for lawyers there is still hard to assess.

Virginia, Texas and New York forbid under-18 marriages, except for emancipated minors. Six more states will consider legislation soon. More than half of all states do not specify a minimum age for marriage.

Florida greyhound track owners can provide activities such as poker or slots as along as they keep running the dogs. Animal advocates and some track owners are looking to have this law scrapped.

Disability community activists use social media to spread the message of equality, opportunity, justice and inclusion. Disabled people and their lawyers use the law to guarantee websites, mobile applications, kiosks and other technologies are available and accessible to everyone.

Throughout many years, disability rights activism has flourished through programs that advocate independence and provide young people opportunities to discuss with peers how laws could improve their lives.