Columns

Your recipe for effective legal writing

If it were a baking competition, the judges would be interested in both style and substance. But these aren’t baker judges you’re attending to: They’re judicial officers. They’ll want to see how sound your arguments are, and they’ll be influenced somewhat by the presentation.

Apr 1, 2021 1:00 AM CDT

Plenty of options when it comes to litigation fact management software

If you’re a litigation attorney, you know how complicated and fact-laden your cases can be. Because there are often multiple attorneys and firms, large lists of parties, witnesses, experts and hundreds upon thousands of pages of relevant documents, managing a case file on your own can be difficult. Add a legal team to the mix—whether it consists of other attorneys, paralegals, administrative assistants or others—and it can be increasingly challenging to manage a case from start to finish.

Mar 26, 2021 9:07 AM CDT

‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel’ and the problem with internet sleuths

Real people suffered as a result of web detectives’ resolve in their “investigation” in the Elisa Lam case.

Mar 25, 2021 11:04 AM CDT

What is holding women lawyers back?

Women’s history and progress for women lawyers have been on my mind a lot these days, particularly in March, which is Women’s History Month in the U.S. On March 8, which also is International Women’s Day, I delivered a Zoom webinar to a group of women law students at Durham University's law school in the U.K. It was a perfect way to celebrate the day.

Mar 25, 2021 9:27 AM CDT

High tech can heighten discrimination; here are some policy recommendations for its ethical use

From federal surveillance of social justice protests to facial recognition technology that results in inordinately high false positives for certain demographic groups, recent surveillance trends have deep historical roots and troubling future implications for traditionally marginalized groups. These trends threaten our core constitutional values, democratic principles and the rule of law.

Mar 23, 2021 9:08 AM CDT

Why are only family lawyers using collaborative law?

Civil cases that benefit from collaborative law include construction claims, disputes between business partners, and wills and estates matters.

Mar 22, 2021 9:06 AM CDT

Who’s Zooming who in the lateral partner market?

During my firm’s annual review meeting to discuss a tumultuous 2020, luckily, my phone rang. It was a law firm partner curious about the state of the lateral partner market.

Mar 16, 2021 9:37 AM CDT

A COVID-19 year in review: Courts, juries and technology

Happy anniversary. It’s been about one year now since the world was introduced to the coronavirus pandemic. What else can we say? This is as good a time as any to reflect on the changes to the world, especially to the world of law.

Mar 10, 2021 12:33 PM CST

A look at HBO’s ‘The Undoing’ and bail reform

Here in Oklahoma, I’m watching snow flurries continue to dump in a manner I haven’t witnessed in a decade (2011 was the last time we came close to anything blizzard-like). I lived in Eagle County, Colorado, for a while after undergrad, and this current snowstorm is the closest thing I’ve experienced to that kind of weather since I left. To be completely honest, we aren’t built for this type of temperature.

Mar 9, 2021 11:00 AM CST

As hate crimes grow more violent, here are some policy recommendations to protect the communities they impact

On Jan. 7, in the aftermath of the assault on the U.S. Capitol building, the front page of The New York Times read, “Trump Incites Mob: Rampage in Capitol Forces Evacuations; It's 'Part of His Legacy,' a Republican Says.” Indeed, it is striking that former President Donald J. Trump concluded his term of office on a note similar to the one when he launched his election campaign: inciting violence and lawless action against fellow Americans.

Mar 8, 2021 10:57 AM CST

Chemerinsky: Voting rights cases before SCOTUS could have profound effects on future elections

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in important cases concerning the meaning of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and Arizona Republican Party v. Democratic National Committee. The cases involve Section 2 of the act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color or language.

Feb 25, 2021 1:03 PM CST

Does A&E’s ‘Court Cam’ accurately reflect American courtrooms?

I like to start the new year by cleaning out my life, more or less. It’s kind of a ritual for me. I take time to send out file destruction letters to clients whose cases were closed out more than five years ago and permanently delete client communications from my email inbox that are just as old (five years is the rule in Oklahoma). Generally, I try to give myself a bit of a fresh start.

Feb 24, 2021 2:47 PM CST

Police reform and homeland security: Some policy recommendations to close the racial justice gap

Last summer, in response to the killing of George Floyd and other victims of police brutality and amid a public health crisis and economic collapse, Americans saw an overdue reckoning with racial injustice. Around the country, large swaths of peaceful multigenerational, multiracial demonstrators marched to demand social justice and racial equity.

Feb 18, 2021 9:08 AM CST

Top tips for lawyers to boost their online reputations

In today’s online-centric world, lawyers often get just one click and one page of search engine results to make their cases to prospective clients. It’s the first and maybe only opportunity to showcase their credibility to clients in an increasingly competitive market.

Feb 16, 2021 10:55 AM CST

HBO Max’s ‘Perry Mason’ and the benefits of practicing law as a second career

“What thoroughly impresses me ... are those who leave another professional endeavor to pursue the practice of law,” says Adam Banner. “Some people choose the law to change directions. Others choose the law to get further down the path they’re already on.”

Feb 11, 2021 9:16 AM CST