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556 ABA Journal Columns articles.

Litigating the Tower of Pisa fiasco

I have always been interested in mistakes, also known as errors, blunders or, in my best legalese, boo-boos. I am especially interested in historical iconic mistakes. I just read that the city of Bologna, Italy, has two towers, “le due torri,” both closed to visitors because they also are now…

Dec 19, 2024 9:04 AM CST

When judges turn to Christmas movies for help

’Tis the season for the staple of classic Christmas movies. They leave lasting memories for everyone—and for some judges, that includes calling them back for assistance when deciding cases.

Dec 17, 2024 11:31 AM CST

The legal tech trends that defined 2024

The year 2024 was one of change. In the midst of a largely unpopular back-to-office push, technological innovation and development occurred at a rapid clip. Legal professionals approached technology with a newfound curiosity and appreciation gained as a result of pandemic-era remote work experimentation. The increasing demand for generative artificial…

Dec 17, 2024 9:47 AM CST

CEO Roundtable With Ari Kaplan: Legal industry CEOs reflect on vibrant 2024, look ahead to 2025

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with the following CEOs in his annual Ari Kaplan Advisors CEO roundtable about the opportunities of 2024 and the expectations for an industry in perpetual change in 2025.

Dec 17, 2024 8:44 AM CST

When writing motions and briefs, typography matters

Of all the easily fixed bad habits that pervade legal writing, perhaps none is more perniciously persistent than some brief-writers’ insistence on capitalizing each word of point headings.

Dec 1, 2024 1:50 AM CST

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS considers law prohibiting gender-affirming care—case of constitutionality, deep cultural division

The culture wars come to the Supreme Court Dec. 4 when it hears oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti, which involves the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that prohibits gender affirming care for transgender youths. Twenty-six states have adopted such laws. An estimated 118,000 transgender teenagers, about 40% of transgender youths, live in states with bans on gender-affirming care.

Nov 27, 2024 8:45 AM CST

‘They Called Him Mostly Harmless’ documentary explores what drives true-crime junkies

While most true-crime documentaries focus on the actual misdeeds themselves, They Called Him Mostly Harmless, a 2024 documentary on Max, centers less on the death of a man ultimately identified as Vance Rodriguez and more on the internet sleuths interested in the case.

Nov 25, 2024 8:55 AM CST

2024 Year in Review: Integrated legal AI and more effective case management

This year was one of confounding contradictions. Technology advanced quickly—faster than ever before—with legal technology companies updating their software at rates never before seen in a race to include generative artificial intelligence capabilities. However, despite the rapid deployments, the integration of AI was often surface-level, with deeper integrations planned but not yet achieved.

Nov 22, 2024 2:09 PM CST

How to ensure your legal team is well-prepared for the shifting privacy landscape

Make no mistake: Maintaining privacy compliance is a complex moving target, and the checks and balances that your company needed 10 years ago do not even scratch the surface of what you need today.

Nov 22, 2024 9:33 AM CST

We should focus on—and invest in—AI that serves people without lawyers

We’ve all seen the headlines about AI-boosted lawyers run amok. Since ChatGPT landed, phantom cases have cropped up in court filings around the country. Judges have responded, meting out sanctions, excoriating counsel, and—more recently—even issuing a flurry of new orders and rules that regulate how litigants can use new AI-based technologies.

Nov 21, 2024 2:17 PM CST

Court reporting and the evolution of legal support

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Greg Hong, the co-founder and CEO of Steno, a tech-enabled provider of legal support and court reporting services.

Nov 15, 2024 9:40 AM CST

The power of female mentorship

As we reflect on our journeys through the legal profession, one theme emerges: the power of mentorship, particularly female mentorship. The power of female mentorship cannot be overstated.

Nov 14, 2024 10:03 AM CST

‘Jailbreak: Love on the Run’ misses chance to examine staff sexual misconduct at detention centers

Many states including Oklahoma, where I practice, have laws that create strict liability crimes when a person in power engages in a sexual relationship with someone subject to that authority. The underlying theory is someone cannot legally consent in those situations because of the power imbalance.

Nov 7, 2024 2:31 PM CST

Can lawyers hold doctors accountable for wasting our time?

I’m mad as hell, and I’m not waiting any longer! Those were the sentiments expressed by a lawyer colleague of mine, Franklin, after his doctor kept him waiting for over two hours. “I should send him a bill for my wasted time,” he said. I’m sure many of us have…

Nov 7, 2024 12:12 PM CST

Chemerinsky: Elections matter, from composition of federal bench to our highest court

In what might be one of the of the most consequential presidential campaigns in our lifetime, and maybe American history, remarkably little attention has been paid to judicial appointments. But the longest legacy of any presidency is the picks for the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. History shows how much presidential elections matter.

Oct 31, 2024 8:52 AM CDT

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