Lawyer who secretly changed origination credits to his benefit should be suspended, ethics panel says

An Illinois lawyer who inadvertently discovered he was able to alter origination credits on his office computer should be suspended for making changes that added more than $200,000 to his book of business, according to an ethics hearing board. Michael Joseph Shifrin should be suspended for one year for making…

May 6, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Vital mission: Hackathon for military veterans seeks volunteers

Do you have computer coding skills, knowledge of veterans’ legal issues—or maybe just the desire to help America’s vets (and maybe win a cash prize)? Tech for Justice and the ABA Techshow are putting out a call for your support.

Feb 14, 2017 10:40 AM CST

‘Visible Difference’ program series on advancing women of color in the law kicks off on May 18

Eighty-five percent of minority female attorneys in the U.S. will quit large firms within seven years of starting their practice. Why? According to the research and personal stories these women share, it’s not because they want to leave, or because they “can’t cut it.” It’s because they feel they have…

Apr 25, 2016 8:30 AM CDT

Hackathon winners’ app helps migrant workers locate aid

Jan 1, 2016 1:50 AM CST

App to aid migrant workers wins 3rd Hackcess to Justice hackathon

After two days of brainstorming and collaboration in North Carolina’s capital city, lawyers, students and coders developed legal apps to aid farm workers, streamline legal aid cases and evaluate legal aid eligibility. Five teams competed at Hackcess to Justice NC, the ABA Journal’s hackathon series to find tech solutions to…

Oct 27, 2015 10:35 AM CDT

‘Sealed Windows’ has won the 2015 ABA Journal short story contest

Congratulations to retired lawyer Andy Greensfelder, the winner of the 2015 ABA Journal/Ross Prize for Legal Short Fiction. Greensfelder, who hails from San Luis Obispo, California, was among 60 entrants in this year’s short story contest. His short story “Sealed Windows” was awarded the $3,000 cash prize on Sept. 3…

Sep 18, 2015 2:00 PM CDT

‘The Secret of Magic’ awarded the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

Deborah Johnson has been awarded the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for The Secret of Magic. “We’re thrilled with this year’s selection,” said Allen Pusey, editor and publisher of the ABA Journal, who was on the selection committee for the Harper Lee Prize finalists. “The Secret of Magic…

Jul 1, 2015 2:09 PM CDT

Georgetown’s Iron Tech competition grows in audience and interest

Georgetown University Law Center’s fourth annual “Iron Tech Lawyer Competition—Access to Justice Edition,” has grown a bit. The event, held Wednesday, included small teams of students that developed apps to help consumers, nonlawyer advocates and public-interest lawyers navigate complex areas of the law with simple, streamlined tools. This year, to…

Apr 24, 2015 9:53 AM CDT

Registration opens for legal tech conference sponsored by Georgetown Law and ABA Journal

There’s lots of talk about technology taking over the legal profession these days. But what exactly are those technologies? What technologies are lawyers actually using? And how are those technologies reshaping the practice of law? “From Revolution to Evolution,” a joint conference of the ABA Journal and Georgetown University Law…

Mar 30, 2015 2:29 PM CDT

Winning app at Hackcess to Justice New Orleans helps clients preserve evidence

Ensuring that all Americans have sufficient access to justice has been one of the top priorities of the American Bar Association. One of the states with the largest gaps between the demand for legal services and the availability of adequate legal resources is Louisiana. According to the National Association of…

Mar 23, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

Registration opens for Hackcess to Justice New Orleans

The ABA Journal and the Louisiana State Bar Association will be holding Louisiana’s first access-to-justice hackathon on March 21-22 in New Orleans. The event will bring together coders and legal advocates to produce mobile apps or other solutions to common problems faced by people attempting to navigate the justice system.…

Feb 12, 2015 4:54 PM CST

Harper Lee, ABA Journal fiction prizes announced

John Grisham is a best-selling author who has seen many of his books become major Hollywood pictures. Jason Bailey is a first-time author who maintains a busy legal practice in western Colorado and only writes during his spare time. What do these two writers have in common? This year, they…

Sep 4, 2014 4:28 PM CDT

‘Hackcess to Justice’ winners look to increase the reach of their apps

Award winners from the recent Hackcess to Justice legal hackathon are working hard to fulfill the main goal of the event: Improving access for all Americans to effective legal assistance. In the two weeks since the inaugural hackathon—in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting—took place at Suffolk University Law School…

Aug 25, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Winning apps in ‘Hackcess to Justice’ help write wills, navigate disasters and calculate jail time

A disaster-relief mobile app that provides individuals with legal information, resources, and forms for assistance. An interactive tool that calculates whether a user is eligible for indigent legal services, as well as how much prison time criminal defendants face. A game that determines whether a user is in need of…

Aug 9, 2014 2:16 AM CDT

‘Hackcess to Justice’ teams will devise new tech to improve access to justice

As the ABA Annual Meeting gets underway in Boston, teams of law students, lawyers, and computer programmers will be gathering at nearby Suffolk University Law School to help solve a problem that continues to vex many in the legal community: While advances in technology have helped increase the availability of…

Aug 5, 2014 8:00 PM CDT