COVID-19

The novel coronavirus is leaving foster children with nowhere to go

The foster care system, built on frequent movements of children from one home to another and regular in-person supervision, has been especially wracked with confusion and dread by the coronavirus crisis.

Mar 27, 2020 9:52 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: GCs are overloaded with coronavirus webinars; former judge dies at 88

General counsels are overloaded with COVID-19 emails and webinar invites Corporate clients are inundated with emails and webinar invitations from law firms offering information on the novel coronavirus, according to Caitlin “Cat” Moon, director of innovation design for the program on law and innovation at Vanderbilt Law School. Moon says…

Mar 26, 2020 4:36 PM CDT

Attorneys and advocacy groups adapt for domestic violence survivors amid COVID-19 pandemic

While several states are ordering Americans to shelter in place for their own safety, survivors and victims of domestic violence face the prospect of being confined at home with their abusers, who may have lost their jobs or be working from home.

Mar 26, 2020 3:30 PM CDT

How can law firms stay afloat through the novel coronavirus crisis?

When it comes to figuring out what to do with your law firm in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are two things lawyers should be thinking about: Who has legal needs and an ability to pay.

Mar 26, 2020 12:38 PM CDT

COVID-19 stimulus bill includes more than $1B for criminal justice needs

Updated: The $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday includes more than $1 billion for criminal justice needs, including protective gear for prisons and teleconferencing equipment for the federal judiciary.

Mar 26, 2020 11:43 AM CDT

Law firms are considered essential businesses in some states amid the coronavirus

Some states, including Illinois and Indiana, have labeled lawyers essential workers who can still go into their offices amid stay-at-home orders aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus.

Mar 26, 2020 10:53 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ABA backs stay-home exemption for legal services; PG&E to plead guilty in fire deaths

ABA: Exempt legal services from any US stay-home order ABA President Judy Perry Martinez says legal services should be deemed essential and exempted from any national stay-home order. “The American people and U.S. business community must have access to the legal services they need—when they need them most, in this…

Mar 25, 2020 4:05 PM CDT

What should you read about COVID-19? We asked an epidemiologist

With a barrage of information and misinformation about COVID-19, it can be hard to evaluate what sources are trustworthy and where to go for reliable medical news. So for this new episode of the Modern Law Library, we spoke to an epidemiologist.

Mar 25, 2020 4:04 PM CDT

Judge slams emergency motion to halt knockoff unicorn art amid coronavirus pandemic

A federal judge in Chicago had no patience for a lawyer who sought a quick hearing on his client's bid for a temporary restraining order to halt the sale of knockoff unicorn art.

Mar 25, 2020 1:09 PM CDT

Suffolk County DA among 25 court-connected people in New York diagnosed with COVID-19

New York state courts report that 25 people with court connections have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini.

Mar 25, 2020 10:39 AM CDT

BarBri bar exam prep options will soon include streamed, real-time lectures

Whether the July bar exam will actually take place as traditionally scheduled is unknown, but starting in May, anyone who wants to study for it has the option of watching livestreamed BarBri lectures with moderated questions and answers.

Mar 25, 2020 10:11 AM CDT

Amid novel coronavirus fears, juvenile lockups are cutting visits

Ophelia Davis, of Columbia, South Carolina, says she doesn't know if she'll see her grandson again. That's not just because she's in the demographic most vulnerable to the coronavirus—she's 67, has an autoimmune disease and is currently struggling with a cough that she thinks is just the pollen. It's also that her grandson is in juvenile detention, and as has been happening across the country, the jail where he's confined has indefinitely ended all visits between families and their children.

Mar 25, 2020 9:50 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Reform group backs cost metric in law school rankings; California suspends jury trials

US News’ ranking methodology is the cheese for law school rat race, report says The U.S. News & World Report’s annual law school rankings rely on categories including law school expenditures per student, peer assessment and selectivity in admissions. The valuation should include an “efficiency metric” that encourages getting as…

Mar 24, 2020 4:45 PM CDT

Why the prison population is so vulnerable to COVID-19

As coronavirus spreads through Florida, Jack McFarland is urging officials at Madison Correctional Facility to prepare a separate dorm for himself and other older prisoners. At 64, McFarland has spent the last 28 years in prison, and his age puts him at a higher risk of serious complications should he become infected.

Mar 24, 2020 3:25 PM CDT

Texas and Ohio AGs say abortions are nonessential medical procedures that must be delayed

Updated: Two state attorneys general have told abortion providers that abortions cannot be performed under state orders to delay nonessential and elective surgeries.

Mar 24, 2020 12:01 PM CDT