ABA Journal

Bestselling author David Baldacci shares words of wisdom for lawyers who want to be novelists

“I can’t tell you how many events I’ve gone to,” David Baldacci says, “and [lawyers] come up to me and say, ‘Oh my god, you broke out of jail! Congratulations!’”

Dec 5, 2022 8:50 AM CST

‘The Vanished’ and the need for closure

“‘The Vanished’ attempts to take a different approach to your standard cold case concept. Instead of focusing on ‘newsworthy’ stories of missing persons, the goal is to spotlight individuals whose stories don’t appear on major platforms and outlets.”

Dec 5, 2022 8:41 AM CST

Chemerinsky: An important week of arguments in the Supreme Court

Next Monday and Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two of the most important cases of the term. Each could have enormous implications for future litigation and for constitutional law.

Dec 1, 2022 9:20 AM CST

Your law firm’s fee structure can affect financial planning

A firm’s chosen fee structure and how its finances are handled can lay the foundation for the entire life of the business and sometimes provides early indicators in determining whether it will grow and thrive or eventually crumble.

Dec 1, 2022 2:10 AM CST

4 Dogmas Debunked: How to frame a legal issue, Part I

“During my first week of law school in August 1981, we were put through a legal-methods course taught by senior faculty. My small section was led by a respected professor who taught us ‘four essentials’ for stating legal issues,” writes ABA Journal columnist Bryan A. Garner.

Dec 1, 2022 1:50 AM CST

Former NBA lawyer is changing the game with holistic legal consulting for athletes

When she joined the Clippers in 2015, Nicole Duckett was the first Black woman to serve as a chief legal officer for any NBA team. In July, she founded Nikki Duckett Collective, a full-service legal consulting firm that provides holistic representation to ambitious elite athletes. It’s about global branding, savvy deal-making and long-term success—things Duckett already has spent decades achieving for her clients.

Dec 1, 2022 1:30 AM CST

A lawyer’s passion for pets prompts career switch

“A few months before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I left federal government service as an attorney for a maritime regulatory agency to honor my life’s mission to work in the pet health equity space. Pet health equity is a growing field dedicated to providing access to veterinary care and veterinary products for companion animals, regardless of their owner’s resources and location.”

Dec 1, 2022 1:20 AM CST

Vietnam vet carries combat skills and a desire to serve others into the courtroom

Randall Kinnard says he learned a lot about pressure, stress and loss during the Vietnam War. But he says he also realized he could transfer those tough lessons to the courtroom. “I elected to focus my practice on injured people and wanting to use those skills I had to help them achieve some fairness back into their life.”

Dec 1, 2022 12:50 AM CST

‘Show the Brief’: Lawyers can be better communicators by bringing visuals to their briefs

My decision to teach law more than 40 years ago has had the single biggest impact on my professional development. I made the move after working as a public defender in Seattle and as an assistant attorney general. I wanted to deepen my trial skills and thought teaching could help me.

Nov 30, 2022 9:50 AM CST

Can change really come from within? These 13 prosecutors think so

Change From Within: Reimagining the 21st-Century Prosecutor shares the personal profiles of prosecutors who want to use prosecutorial discretion to reduce incarceration rates and harm to vulnerable communities from the prison-industrial system.

Nov 30, 2022 8:44 AM CST

For 2023, which tech tools might help your firm flourish?

The end of the year is a great time to review your law firm’s achievements and challenges, so you can determine needs moving forward.

Nov 28, 2022 8:43 AM CST

Worried about the 2023 lawyer jobs market? This legal search consultant has some tips

While 2022 was a phenomenal year for attorneys and “anyone with a pulse” and a law license could find work, 2023 might “go back to normal,” says Valerie A. Fontaine, a founding director of the legal search company SeltzerFontaine.

Nov 28, 2022 8:40 AM CST

Deborah Ferguson fights to protect ballot initiative process and other rights in Idaho

“I read a quote recently that said we should think hard about what we owe each other as citizens and human beings,” Deborah Ferguson says. “I believe that.”

Nov 22, 2022 3:37 PM CST

Read the 2022 winner of the Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction: ‘Dope Fiend’

Editor's Note: The following short story by Frank H. Toub, a 3L at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, Tennessee, was the 2022 winner of the ABA Journal's annual Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Nov 22, 2022 9:59 AM CST

For mobile data collections, product business manager is ‘looking forward to the needle moving forward’

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Monica Harris, a product business manager for Cellebrite, a digital intelligence software company that provides tools to collect, review, analyze and manage digital data for law enforcement agencies, enterprises and providers of services.

Nov 18, 2022 12:34 PM CST