Broadway performers vocalize support for Legal Services Corp. at ABA rally

Broadway performers from War Paint, Hello Dolly and other productions voiced their support for the Legal Services Corp. on Friday by performing at a rally at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City. The event, titled “It’s Only Fair! An ABA Concert and Rally for the Legal Services Corp.,”…

Aug 11, 2017 4:55 PM CDT

After transparency criticism, ABA law school employment questionnaire revisions postponed

Criticism over plans to change questionnaire rules for law school-funded employment—which some legal education critics say would negate all recent action for transparency—has led to the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar on Friday referring the matter to the Standards Review Committee for its October meeting.

Aug 11, 2017 4:30 PM CDT

With law firms lagging in diversity, how can GCs be a force for change?

Updated: Despite decades of lip service to the importance of diversity in the legal community, the upper ranks of most law firms still fail to accurately reflect the gender and ethnic makeup of practitioners or the population at large.

Aug 11, 2017 3:07 PM CDT

Jurors take instructions seriously, but do they understand them?

Arizona jurors studied by the American Bar Foundation took jury instructions seriously.

Aug 11, 2017 2:25 PM CDT

Want to stop jailing people for failing to pay court fees and fines? Look to Biloxi, Mississippi

Jeffery Robinson, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, thinks it’s possible for cities to reduce their dependence on fees and fines that have an unfair impact on people who are unable to pay.

Aug 10, 2017 9:55 PM CDT

ABA files amicus brief challenging money bail system as House of Delegates considers resolution

Just before the ABA’s House of Delegates considers a resolution opposing the use of money bail—systems that require large cash payments in exchange for a defendant’s freedom—the Association has filed an amicus brief calling one county’s bail system unconstitutional. The brief (PDF) was filed Aug. 9 in O’Donnell v. Harris…

Aug 10, 2017 2:18 PM CDT

Sneak peek into ABA Annual Meeting in NYC (podcast)

Have you considered attending the 2017 ABA Annual Meeting in New York City this August?

Jul 27, 2017 10:00 AM CDT

Van Jones will discuss alternatives to legal fines at ABA Annual Meeting

CNN contributor Van Jones will be appearing at an ABA Center for Innovation event at the 2017 ABA Annual Meeting in New York City. “Just Debt? Reimagining Fines & Fees in America,” which is co-sponsored by the ABA Journal and the National Conference of Bar Presidents, will look at the…

Jul 14, 2017 10:06 AM CDT

Sessions in the City: 2017 annual meeting will hit the streets of New York

When the 2017 ABA Annual Meeting convenes in New York City Aug. 10-15, the organizers hope attendees will not spend all their time cooped up in a hotel.

Under ABA President Linda A. Klein’s direction, a new CLE in the City series was created to give lawyers the chance to visit and network at law firms and legal venues around town while earning up to 4.5 CLE credits.

Jul 1, 2017 12:45 AM CDT

CLE in the City Series will offer the chance for CLE credit at famous NYC venues and firms

On Aug. 10 and 11, a special series of CLE programs will take place across Midtown in New York City. The CLE in the City Series will be held as part of the 2017 ABA Annual Meeting in high-powered law firms and world-famous buildings like the United Nations headquarters, the…

Jun 22, 2017 10:30 AM CDT

Leading Roles: Candidates for president-elect, Board of Governors show strong ABA roots

ABA president-elect candidate Robert M. Carlson will stand for election as president-elect unopposed at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City in August.

Also up for consideration in August are 12 uncontested candidates for members of the Board of Governors. They are running for seats that represent geographic districts, ABA sections or divisions. Each will serve a three-year term.

May 1, 2017 12:50 AM CDT

Private probation company pulls out of Georgia, saying it can no longer make a profit

For-profit private probation company Sentinel Offender Services has sold or abandoned its contracts in Georgia, the Marshall Project reported Thursday. Sentinel—the largest for-profit probation management company in Georgia—pulled out of its contract with the Atlanta Municipal Court in December. It sold more than 50 contracts with other Georgia municipalities in…

Apr 17, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

ABA’s new Center for Innovation will drive efforts for new methods of delivering legal services

The ABA has wasted no time in implementing one of the recommendations made by the Commission on the Future of Legal Services in its final report.

Nov 1, 2016 12:50 AM CDT

ABA House of Delegates discuss diversity, discrimination issues at 2016 annual meeting

The ABA House of Delegates took several actions during its sessions at the 2016 annual meeting in San Francisco to assert the association’s commitment to increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and American society.

Oct 1, 2016 1:50 AM CDT

ABA commission’s recommendations seek to close the access-to-justice gap

As expected, the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services delivered plenty of recommendations for how the bar can close the gap in access to justice in America, while steering clear of the most contentious issue: alternative business structures.

Oct 1, 2016 1:40 AM CDT