Bar Associations

Florida lawyer says she used trust account funds to avoid becoming homeless

An Orlando, Florida, lawyer accused of client trust account violations has said she used some settlement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid becoming homeless when she lost her primary job as a schoolteacher.

Oct 17, 2024 1:58 PM CDT

New rules issued for Utah’s regulatory sandbox program

A controversial decision allowing nonlegal entities to own or invest in Utah law firms will be subject to additional regulations, the Utah Supreme Court decided last month.

Oct 15, 2024 11:32 AM CDT

New ‘Law of the Police’ class open to law students, lawyers and the public

Starting next week, lawyers and law students can learn more about policing and the law, from anywhere and for free.

Oct 10, 2024 3:02 PM CDT

Members can advance democracy, equity and justice during ABA Giving Day

Now in its fifth year, ABA Giving Day offers members the opportunity to support nearly 50 different programs that provide pro bono representation to those in need, fight for systemic change in the justice system and drive innovation in legal services.

Oct 10, 2024 9:56 AM CDT

ABA changes description of Judicial Clerkship Program after conservative group sees ‘quotas’

The ABA updated the description of its Judicial Clerkship Program after a conservative group alleged that the language indicated that the association used racial “quotas” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Annaliese Fleming, the ABA senior associate executive director and general counsel, said in…

Oct 9, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

Law professor Jonathan Turley discusses free speech at ABA Crossroads Caucus event

In a scoop any journalist would envy, the ABA Crossroads Caucus welcomed professor Jonathan Turley to the first-ever public event to discuss his new book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage, just ahead of its planned release by Simon & Schuster. The program, held Aug. 3 at the ABA Annual Meeting, drew a broad audience, including then-ABA President Mary Smith, past ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross, numerous members of the ABA Board of Governors and at least one retired judge.

Oct 9, 2024 10:23 AM CDT

Hurricane Help: Lawyers mobilize to support communities hit by storms

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 26, and it cut a path of destruction across the southeastern United States. Just two weeks later, Hurricane Milton is prompting mass evacuations in Florida and could strike the state as a Category 4 or even 5 storm on Wednesday night. Members of the ABA have begun mobilizing to assist survivors.

Oct 9, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Connecticut allows fully online law school grads of Purdue Global to take bar exam

Graduates of the Purdue Global Law School, described as the oldest wholly online law school, can now take the bar exam in a third state, as the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee voted Oct. 4 to follow the lead of California and Indiana.

Oct 8, 2024 3:24 PM CDT

Changes to ABA accreditation standard addressing race and diversity meet pushback

Contentious proposed changes to the ABA’s diversity and inclusion standard go too far and could reverse progress made toward making law schools diverse, according to several legal education groups that wrote to the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Oct 3, 2024 1:29 PM CDT

Hazed and abused, some lawyers see bullying as part of job while others leave, new study says

Bullying experienced by lawyers is causing increased turnover and “a talent drain from the profession,” according to a new Illinois survey and study thought “to be one of the first wide-scale research projects” of its kind in the United States.

Oct 2, 2024 12:03 PM CDT

Seeing it

I have been thinking about our association. It’s a wonderful home. Full of history. Tradition. Friends. It’s a familiar place with familiar experiences, faces, acronyms, entities. It’s comfortable. I like it all. But does everyone feel that way?

Oct 1, 2024 3:10 AM CDT

Steady in the Storm: ABA leaders steer a course to protect democracy and the association

“These are extraordinary times,” Mary Smith told the House of Delegates at the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago in her final address as president. “Last year, I told you to run toward the storm. Well, my friends, we are in the storm. The importance of the role of lawyers has never been clearer.”

Oct 1, 2024 12:50 AM CDT

Tread Carefully: Survivors of sexual assault should not have to disclose that abuse for bar admission, House says

Applying to be admitted to the bar often involves listing any encounters you may have had with the justice system. But for some hopeful lawyers, this means having to disclose they have been the victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment or stalking.

Oct 1, 2024 12:40 AM CDT

Firms should consider billable hour credit for DEI and bar association work

Many firms already credit pro bono hours toward their attorneys’ billable hour requirements. But what about the time attorneys devote to bar association activities and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives?

Oct 1, 2024 12:30 AM CDT

Justice for Survivors: ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence marks 30 years of advocacy

The ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Over the past three decades, the commission has become a nationally recognized leader, committed to equipping lawyers, judges and advocates with technical assistance and comprehensive training on survivors’ complex legal issues.

Oct 1, 2024 12:20 AM CDT