Civil Procedure

Civil legal aid lawyers are often the last line of defense. Why are there so few of them?

As the 2023 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession reveals, civil legal aid lawyers are in short supply across the United States. According to the 142-page report, even though there are 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S., nationwide there are still only 10,000 paid civil legal aid lawyers, or about three for every 10,000 people in poverty.

Apr 1, 2024 3:00 AM CDT

A return to civil, pragmatic conflict resolution

Conflict is unavoidable. If you’re not dealing with some conflict today, it’s coming. But conflict should not be feared; in fact, sometimes it results in innovation or strengthens relationships.

Mar 28, 2024 10:02 AM CDT

Titanic law helps ship owner limit liability in Baltimore bridge collapse

The owner of the ship that rammed into a Baltimore bridge could face hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims after the accident sent vehicles plunging into the water and threw the eastern US transportation network into chaos. But legal experts said there is a path for reducing liability under an obscure 19th-century law once invoked by the owner of the Titanic to limit its payout for the 1912 sinking.

Mar 27, 2024 1:45 PM CDT

Lawyers representing transgender plaintiffs face possible sanctions for alleged ‘judge shopping’

A federal judge in Alabama has directed 11 lawyers to show cause why they shouldn’t be sanctioned for alleged "judge shopping" in lawsuits challenging a ban on some gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender minors in the state.

Mar 25, 2024 12:45 PM CDT

Trump bond reduced to $175 million as he appeals N.Y. fine

A New York appeals court agreed to slash millions off of the bond Donald Trump must post to cover a $454 million civil fraud verdict while he appeals it, reducing it to just $175 million after the real estate mogul claimed he’d have to sell properties at a loss to raise cash.

Mar 25, 2024 11:20 AM CDT

Man who claimed US wanted him to spy on mosque can pursue suit over 6-year no-fly-list status, SCOTUS says

An Oregon man’s challenge to his placement on the no-fly list did not become moot after the government lifted the ban on flying, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a unanimous opinion.

Mar 19, 2024 11:34 AM CDT

U.S. courts clarify policy limiting ‘judge shopping’

Federal judiciary leaders on Friday released the text of a revised policy directing district courts to assign judges at random in civil cases that have statewide or national implications, making clear that the policy is a recommendation and that they cannot force district courts to follow it.

Mar 18, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Drag show ban at Texas university left intact by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to let a student group host a charity drag show at a public university in Texas, siding with a school official who banned the performance as “derisive, divisive and demoralizing.”

Mar 15, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Judges, GOP lawmakers slam new policy that limits ‘judge shopping’

Conservative judges and senior Republican lawmakers are pushing back against a newly announced policy that would require assigning judges at random in civil cases that have statewide or national implications, saying the action conflicts with federal law.

Mar 14, 2024 2:45 PM CDT

Lawyers’ ‘barrage of personal attacks’ on opponents started with tissue-box toss, appeals court says

Updated: A federal appeals court saw a need for a civility lesson when it granted a new trial to a civil-fraud plaintiff because of a “barrage of personal attacks” made by opposing lawyers in a closing argument.

Mar 14, 2024 12:02 PM CDT

U.S. courts require random judge assignments to avoid ‘judge shopping’

Federal judiciary leaders on Tuesday announced a policy that requires assigning judges at random in civil cases that have statewide or national implications, an effort to address widespread concerns about “judge shopping” in single-judge divisions.

Mar 13, 2024 12:00 PM CDT

Settlement in Florida ‘don’t say gay’ lawsuit says it’s okay to say gay

A lawsuit settlement over Florida’s “don’t say gay” statute announced Monday affirms that teachers and students can discuss LGBTQ issues and have access to related library books, largely canceling many of the impacts of the signature legislation from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Mar 12, 2024 8:45 AM CDT

Fourth couple sues Alabama clinic at heart of IVF court ruling

A Florida couple has sued the Alabama in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic at the heart of the state’s consequential state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children, becoming the fourth set of plaintiffs to pursue a wrongful-death claim over destroyed frozen embryos from a 2020 incident that in recent weeks has thrown the state’s legal landscape for IVF into uncertainty.

Mar 5, 2024 2:45 PM CST

Lawyer mistakenly filed ‘verbatim copy’ of opponent’s brief, leading to loss for Romantics band member

A trial court did not abuse its discretion when it required a member of the rock band the Romantics to pay triple damages after his new attorney filed a “verbatim copy” of the opponent’s brief by mistake, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

Mar 5, 2024 8:20 AM CST

‘Kennedy quiz’ stumps some federal judicial nominees; subjects include collateral estoppel and Article V

Federal judicial nominees can expect a grilling on the law from Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Feb 28, 2024 1:42 PM CST