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With D.C. case dismissed, Trump is no longer under federal indictment

A judge dismissed the federal election-obstruction charges against President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, ending a historic investigation that never went to trial but led to enduring changes in the legal landscape over a president’s immunity from prosecution.



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Trump plans to fire Jack Smith's team, use DOJ to probe 2020 election

President-elect Donald Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith to pursue two federal prosecutions against the former president, including career attorneys typically protected from political retribution, according to two individuals close to Trump’s transition. Trump is also planning to assemble investigative teams within the Justice Department to hunt for evidence in battleground states that fraud tainted the 2020 election, one of the people said.



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Obbligato: What They Don’t Teach You in Law School

Read the winner of the 2024 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction, written by Rita Radostitz, a former public defender who represents a detainee at Guantanamo Bay.



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Under Pressure: Understanding alcohol addiction in the legal profession

It’s no secret that lawyers have a high rate of problem drinking. According to data from the ABA, “as many as one in five lawyers is a problem drinker—twice the national rate.” These drinkers are able to keep their jobs because they’re considered to be either gray area drinkers or functional alcoholics. The former display early signs of an alcohol use disorder, while the latter appear to be somewhat in control of their drinking.



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Law students are more diverse, face more debt than 20 years ago, new study says

Compared to 20 years ago, law students today are a more diverse group and more face student debt despite their career goals staying about the same, according to new research from Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research.



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SCOTUS allows shareholder lawsuit against Facebook to go forward

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal Friday by Meta’s Facebook, allowing a lawsuit to go forward that was brought by investors who claim they were misled by the social media giant about risks from a massive data breach.



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Senate Democrats drop 4 appeals court picks so they can confirm 12 judges

Senate Democrats have reached a deal with their Republican counterparts to confirm a dozen judges nominated by President Joe Biden while pulling four of his nominees from consideration, the latest step in a battle over who controls the nation’s federal courthouses on the eve of a second Donald Trump presidency.



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Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for attorney general, is a longtime loyalist

President-elect Donald Trump announced that he plans to nominate former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi to become the next U.S. attorney general. Bondi, 59, is a longtime Trump loyalist who served on the defense team during his first impeachment trial.



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DOJ seeks forced sale of Chrome, other big changes at Google in monopoly case

The Justice Department is seeking to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser and make other major changes to remedy its illegal search monopoly, prosecutors told a Washington court Wednesday, setting a marker in the landmark case before the incoming Trump administration makes its own determinations about how to proceed.



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Lawyer suspended for ‘predatory style of taking on client representation’

A Philadelphia lawyer has been suspended for five years after a state disciplinary board concluded that he lacked an “ethical compass” and provided no evidence of “genuine concern for his clients.”



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