Bar Associations

Lawyers must act now to save our democracy

With 100 days to go until Election Day, and as we enter a particularly fraught presidential election season, we the people must consider both who and what we’re voting for. Never have presidential powers been a more salient issue than now.

Jul 29, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

Take heed before using artificial intelligence, new ABA ethics opinion says

As more and more law firms experiment with artificial intelligence, the ABA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released an opinion Monday guiding the legal profession through some of its obstacles. Specifically, it is warning lawyers to consider their ethical obligations when operating AI.

Jul 29, 2024 10:02 AM CDT

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will speak at ABA Annual Meeting

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker—a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign—will address the ABA House of Delegates at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Jul 26, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

Class of 2020 moves jobs, has less debt and is concerned about mental health, study says

The study from the National Association for Law Placement and the NALP Foundation, released Wednesday, showed 70% of all graduates have held two or more jobs in the three years since graduation, up from 69% of the class of 2019 surveyed a year earlier.

Jul 25, 2024 10:29 AM CDT

Is this a key moment for the bar exam?

The typically slow-moving wheels of bar exam reform have sped up in the past few months, creating a pileup of changes that some experts say makes this a key moment for the venerated-yet-dreaded licensing exam.

Jul 25, 2024 9:18 AM CDT

ABA Medal recipient puts democratic principles and indigent defense at center of long career

During next week’s ABA Annual Meeting, Emmet Bondurant will receive the ABA Medal—the highest honor bestowed by the association—for his own longtime dedication to righting wrongs in the legal system.

Jul 24, 2024 10:10 AM CDT

Online law grad has ‘truly extraordinary’ case meriting waiver of Utah admission rules, top state court says

Updated: A graduate of an unaccredited online law school may take the bar exam in Utah, even though she did not satisfy a requirement for 10 years of experience in another jurisdiction before admission, the Utah Supreme Court has ruled in a 3-2 decision.

Jul 23, 2024 10:17 AM CDT

Judges often preside over cases with ties to families’ interests, new investigation finds

Many judges do not disclose when cases intersect with the financial interests of their families or recuse themselves from those cases, according to an investigation released by ProPublica.

Jul 19, 2024 9:30 AM CDT

ABA will partner with White House to recruit more pro bono immigration attorneys

The Biden administration is calling on the legal community to increase its pro bono representation of individuals who are unrepresented in immigration proceedings.

Jul 18, 2024 1:25 PM CDT

ABA asks lawyers with disabilities to ‘put themselves on the map’ and #BeCounted

To celebrate Disability Pride Month, the ABA Commission on Disability Rights has launched the #BeCounted campaign.

Jul 18, 2024 1:10 PM CDT

Celebrated criminal defense attorney Neal Sonnett dies at 81

Neal Sonnett, a renowned criminal defense attorney and active leader in the ABA, died on Thursday at the age of 81. He was instrumental in the ABA’s efforts to protect civil liberties in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Jul 16, 2024 11:00 AM CDT

Group slams NCBE for ‘scattershot’ approach to offering NextGen bar exam information

A statement from the Association of Academic Support Educators slammed the National Conference of Bar Examiners, saying its “scattershot approach to communicating essential information leaves law school academic support faculty without the clear, consistent and reliable guidance necessary to prepare graduates for the new bar exam” that 20 jurisdictions have committed to adopting.

Jul 11, 2024 3:28 PM CDT

‘United We Stand’: Lawyers must play crucial role in bringing our nation together

Unity is strength. The wisdom of that truth has been known since ancient times as reflected in Greek fables, such as Aesop's tales about The Four Oxen and the Lion and The Bundle of Sticks, and Chinese stories, such as The Five Chinese Brothers.

Jul 2, 2024 2:04 PM CDT

Asylum-seekers in Chicago receive pro bono legal aid from ABA staff

Lawyers from across Chicago have staffed legal clinics to help migrants fill out paperwork that potentially can transform their lives, and ABA attorneys are pitching in to help.

Jul 2, 2024 11:11 AM CDT

Supreme Court upholds ban on sleeping in public, says law does not punish status of homelessness

A ban on sleeping or camping on public property in the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, is not cruel and unusual punishment, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday in a case brought by homeless plaintiffs.

Jun 28, 2024 9:56 AM CDT