ABA Journal

Latest Features

6 major law firm hacks in recent history

Law firms have been victims of some of the most damaging hacks in recent history. Here’s a list of the major law firm hacks in the past five years.



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Female First-Chairs: Firm's founders chip away at male litigation domination

According to a 2015 report by the American Bar Foundation and the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, which sampled 2013 filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, women in private practice at large and small law firms accounted for only 16 to 25 percent of first-chair appearances.



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Learning to say no—and say so



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Grit and a growth mindset are linked to success



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

The Brain Defense: Vets with head trauma, stress find mercy in court

Lawyer Brock Hunter, at left, has developed a specialty in representing veterans charged with crimes outside the military justice system. He and his colleagues in this area offer a version of the brain defense, an approach that considers the possible influence of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and traumatic brain injury caused by their military experience on their clients’ criminal behavior.



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Right to Learn: Advocates for Detroit students say there's a constitutional claim to literacy

Lawyer Mark Rosenbaum found schools in Detroit where the air conditioning and heating systems malfunctioned, requiring students to try to learn in stifling heat or in Michigan’s bitter winter cold. Teachers were buying not only their own school supplies but their own toilet paper. Some started every morning by cleaning rat droppings out of their classrooms.



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

California DA launches special unit to address plague of perjury



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Risk-assessment algorithms challenged in bail, sentencing and parole decisions

With increased adoption of algorithmic sentencing tools, defense attorneys raise due process concerns, policymakers struggle to provide meaningful oversight, and data scientists grapple with ethical questions regarding fairness and accuracy.



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Law firms must manage cybersecurity risks

Cybersecurity is evolving. This is more than just a technology issue or an added clause in the retainer agreement—it’s the biggest risk that law firms face in 2017. Two of the largest firms in the United States got caught in a major cybersecurity breach later linked to a $4 million-plus insider-trading scheme.



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

10 lawyer-authors choose the top 10 law novels in the past 10 years



  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Read more ...