ABA Journal

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

‘By Hands Now Known’ shines light on cold cases of lynchings and racial violence

In summer 2020, when the murder of George Floyd was igniting protests, it occurred to Margaret A. Burnham that “George Floyd” was a common-sounding name. She went into her archive of Jim Crow-era homicides and found another George Floyd.

Nov 16, 2022 3:30 PM CST

The legal dilemma of ‘The Wizard of Oz’

“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!” One of my favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz. I rewatched the film recently, and this time, I focused on a scene with great legal significance.

Nov 14, 2022 12:40 PM CST

In family law, don’t focus; use a wide-angle lens

There’s truth to the adage by renowned education administrator Nicholas Murray Butler, “An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.” Some lawyers are becoming increasingly specialized to carve out their niche in the legal field. Opportunities for specialization continue to crop up, with growing need in areas like cannabis law, for example.

Nov 9, 2022 8:52 AM CST

It’s a long road ahead for driverless cars, says Fastcase executive

There hasn’t been much progress when it comes to driverless cars. Most major car manufacturers have sunk hundreds of billions into developing and testing driverless cars; yet the finish line seems to be nowhere in sight. So what happened?

Nov 9, 2022 8:51 AM CST

Chemerinsky: Stakes are high as Supreme Court considers affirmative action cases

The future of affirmative action in the United States rests on two cases heard by the U.S Supreme Court Monday: Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard College. Both liberals and conservatives expect the court to overrule precedent and end affirmative action by colleges and universities. This will have a dramatic effect on both public and private schools, and how the court does this could have enormous implications for many areas of law.

Nov 2, 2022 2:19 PM CDT

How to get more clients from the comfort of home

As the world continues to digitalize, legal professionals must embrace this change sooner rather than later to remain competitive. Check out five steps to increase your online client base before you find your business left behind gradually, then suddenly.

Nov 1, 2022 8:41 AM CDT

Stressed about holiday parties? Think about skipping them, says lawyer in recovery

As we head into the holiday season, consider what you want your celebrations to look like, rather than meeting everyone else’s expectations, says a lawyer who has been sober for almost two decades.

Oct 31, 2022 9:00 AM CDT

Lawyer with autism explores Netflix series ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’

I am almost always hesitant to watch stories about autism on TV. I find them extremely stressful because neurotypical creators and actors have a way of consistently “getting it wrong”: focusing on young boys; emphasizing traits in a way that feels like someone is checking them off from a list rather than fleshing out a whole human character; and almost consciously hitting upon every single stereotype.

Oct 27, 2022 10:21 AM CDT

Astros cheat, lawyers prosper and fans strike out in sign-stealing scandal

On Friday night, the Houston Astros will go to bat against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of baseball’s Fall Classic. For many, this will call back Major League Baseball’s finding in 2020 that the Astros engaged in illegal sign-stealing during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Oct 27, 2022 9:52 AM CDT

How do you calculate damages in injury trials? Longtime expert witness reveals methodology

Estimating what the future would have looked like if an accident had never occurred can seem more like a thought experiment than a scientific process. But there’s a science behind it, says Michael Shahnasarian.

Oct 26, 2022 8:47 AM CDT