ABA Journal

Want to understand the logic behind a Supreme Court opinion? Focus on footnotes, says professor

Numerous books have been written about the U.S. Supreme Court, including some by justices and former justices themselves. But a new book by Peter Charles Hoffer, a distinguished research professor at the University of Georgia, looks at historic rulings through a different lens in The Supreme Court Footnote: A Surprising History.

Jun 18, 2024 8:59 AM CDT

LSAC president reflects on challenges facing legal ed as she shifts to lead Association of American Law Schools

As Kellye Testy of the Law School Admission Council prepares to leave her post June 30 and start the very next day as executive director and CEO of the Association of American Law Schools, she talked with the ABA Journal about the changes and the challenges facing legal education.

Jun 17, 2024 9:09 AM CDT

Retirement: The final frontier

I recently retired after practicing family law for 25 years. I enjoyed the practice of law, but as you can imagine, my job had its share of stress and anxiety.

Jun 13, 2024 8:30 AM CDT

Can generative AI tools make it easier for lawyers to offer pro bono services?

A commonly cited solution to helping bridge the access-to-justice canyon is for lawyers to provide more pro bono work. In that regard, have generative artificial intelligence tools made it easier for lawyers to provide pro bono services?

Jun 12, 2024 8:50 AM CDT

Retired D.C. Circuit judge talks about his memoir on navigating a legal career through blindness

Judge David Tatel retired late last year after nearly 30 years on the federal appeals court. In all that time, he never saw a single piece of paper nor an attorney arguing before him. Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice shares his journey.

Jun 11, 2024 8:35 AM CDT

This criminal defense lawyer’s big complaint about Netflix’s ‘Abducted in Plain Sight’ is the parents

I remember one of my associate attorneys telling me about Netflix’s true-crime documentary Abducted in Plain Sight, but the premise—a child inexplicably abducted by her neighbor not once but twice—seemed too far-fetched to give much credit.

Jun 5, 2024 2:09 PM CDT

‘The Originalism Trap’ author wants to see originalism dead, dead, dead

Originalism is the ascendant legal theory espoused by conservative legal thinkers, including the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. But far from being an objective framework for constitutional interpretation, says author and attorney Madiba K. Dennie, its true purpose is to achieve conservative political aims regardless of the historical record.

Jun 5, 2024 9:04 AM CDT

Games Lawyers Play: Word counts and spacing rules in briefs appear open to interpretation

As teenagers, some of us played a game with our writing assignments. The goal was to make an essay or report appear longer than it actually was. Why? Because our teachers specified a minimum number of words or pages, and we struggled to reach that number.

Jun 5, 2024 9:01 AM CDT

‘Like Nike’s Slogan’: Veteran litigator has some advice about trying cases—‘just do it’

Daniel Small spoke to the ABA Journal about his latest book, Lessons Learned from a Life on Trial: Landmark Cases from a Veteran Litigator and What They Can Teach Trial Lawyers, which was published by ABA Publishing in February.

Jun 3, 2024 8:47 AM CDT

Early career success can come from developing your ‘ownership mindset’

Ownership mindset. Is it the secret to success, or something everyone talks about but no one really knows what it means? Maybe both. The purpose of this installment of Survival Guide, Esq. is to demystify the concept of ownership mindset as well as provide a few practical tips on how to cultivate and demonstrate it.

Jun 1, 2024 2:10 AM CDT

In some lawyers’ hands, the lexicographer rule can run amok

As a professional lexicographer myself, I can attest that writing definitions is an extremely demanding discipline. Dilettantes invariably go awry. Yet we have this doctrine that every lawyer is a lexicographer without the need for other credentials. It’s called the lexicographer rule.

Jun 1, 2024 2:00 AM CDT

Federal Aviation Administration’s chief counsel has fought challenges with resolve

Marc Nichols describes his career and life’s trajectory not as a straight line leading him to the FAA but more of a wandering path in which he has fought against difficult circumstances and seized opportunities. The key, Nichols says, is to stay determined and embrace change. “Change can sometimes be your friend. It’s about mental attitude and perseverance.”

Jun 1, 2024 1:40 AM CDT

Law prof’s textbook stresses AI ethics

“All legal writing classes are a situation where students may be tempted to use these tools without really understanding them. It would be very easy for students to make the wrong decisions in terms of exercising judgment,” says April Dawson, author of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity.

Jun 1, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

10 Questions: Entertainment lawyer and documentarian knows where the good bars are

As Sheppard Mullin’s LA-based head of global media, Robert Darwell makes deals for companies like Disney, Amazon MGM Studios, Nickelodeon and Meta, and he’s helped make hundreds of movies possible, including Brokeback Mountain and Selma. But it’s not just Darwell’s law practice that earns him attention—he’s also recognized for his work as a documentary filmmaker.

Jun 1, 2024 1:20 AM CDT

Coast Guard veteran speaks out for military sexual assault survivors

In December, Melissa McCafferty sat before members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs and spoke candidly about the darkest times in her life. While at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the late 2000s, she was sexually assaulted by male cadets two separate times. She chose not to report the incidents, fearing no one would care or that she would face discipline.

Jun 1, 2024 12:50 AM CDT