Bar Associations

Printing a New Chapter

ABA Publishing finds that legal best-sellers no longer need ‘how to’ in their titles

May 1, 2008 1:03 PM CDT

Charlie Rhyne’s Big Idea

After 50 years, Law Day is still vital to building support for justice principles

May 1, 2008 1:02 PM CDT

In Need of a Fix

ABA urges elimination of disparity in federal sentences for cocaine violations

May 1, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

Strengthening Our Foundation

50th Law Day will be a multidisciplinary celebration of the rule of law in our society

May 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Judging the Judges

New procedural rules for judicial misconduct cases will apply in all federal circuits

May 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Rule of Law ‘Crucial’ to Economic Success

Because the rule of law cannot be solely the province of lawyers, it was only fitting Wednesday afternoon that an economist on a panel made mostly of lawyers offered the most scientific and concrete example of the good it can bring. Daniel Kaufmann, director of global programs and governance at…

May 1, 2008 1:46 AM CDT

Fla. Bar Reverses Course, Allows Lawyers to Tout Avvo Rankings

The controversial lawyer-ranking website Avvo is fighting battles on several fronts in its effort to list lawyers in every state. In the most recent skirmish, the Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on Advertising has reversed course and decided that lawyers may tout their Avvo ratings in advertising, the Financial News and…

Apr 25, 2008 2:17 PM CDT

Trial Lawyers Decry Chamber’s Annual Legal Climate Survey

Even before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce formally released its annual survey assessing state liability systems, trial lawyers were crying foul. The survey, “Lawsuit Climate 2008: Ranking the States,” was released today by the Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform has yet again ranked Delaware with the best legal climate and…

Apr 23, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

350 Lawyers Trek to San Angelo, Charging ‘Billables for the Soul’

Gearing up for what surely will be among the largest child custody cases in U.S. history, scores of attorneys are converging upon San Angelo, Texas, to represent pro bono the 416 children and parents caught up in the raid of a polygamist sect’s compound. Some 350 lawyers from throughout Texas…

Apr 16, 2008 9:54 PM CDT

Meet Gerry Goldstein, Lawyer for Polygamy Sect in Texas Ranch Raid

Known for taking challenging constitutional cases, Gerry Goldstein apparently didn’t hesitate when he got a chance to defend a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy, concerning a controversial raid of their Texas ranch. The gray-haired 64-year-old San Antonio lawyer wouldn’t condone the alleged child abuse that led authorities to search…

Apr 11, 2008 3:19 PM CDT

Texas Scrambles to Prep for Sect Hearing

The state of Texas has dispatched about 300 welfare workers to interview 416 children removed from a polygamous sect in preparation for a hearing Thursday before a Texas judge who will decide whether to place the youths in foster care. The Texas Bar Association is trying to recruit almost 100…

Apr 11, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Lawyer Protests Spark Pakistan Violence; At Least 7 Killed

Lawyer protests in a major Pakistan city yesterday sparked widespread rioting there in which at least seven people were reportedly killed, offices were set ablaze and a bar association office was gutted. “Trouble broke out when attorneys—some supportive of the new government and others critical—clashed near the main courts complex…

Apr 10, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

N.Y. Bar Report: Balanced Life is Rare, But We Are the Enemy

Despite flex-time, part-time and other commonplace law firm policies that promote work-life balance, the reality is quite different from what the employee manual might suggest. Attorneys in an ever-more-stressful profession are sacrificing family time and their personal lives to keep up with their work, according to a committee report adopted…

Apr 9, 2008 7:34 PM CDT

Righting Wrongs

ABA ethics amendments confirm prosecutors’ duty to disclose new evidence

Apr 1, 2008 8:57 PM CDT

Scruggs Says Bar’s Complaint is Premature

Disgraced plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to reject a petition to have him disbarred, arguing that the effort is premature. The Mississippi Bar Association recently asked the state’s high court to strip Scruggs of his law license. Scruggs pleaded guilty March 14 to conspiring…

Apr 1, 2008 8:03 PM CDT