COVID-19

What do law students think of remote learning during the pandemic? A new survey sheds light

First-year law students are more satisfied with online learning than those who started law school before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey released Wednesday by the AccessLex Institute and Gallup.

Jun 16, 2021 8:00 AM CDT

Judge pursues criminal charges against 3 US marshals after underling won’t disclose COVID-19 vaccination status

A federal judge in South Dakota has said three supervisory U.S. marshals will face criminal charges after an underling refused to disclose her COVID-19 vaccination status and left the courthouse with three defendants scheduled for court hearings.

Jun 15, 2021 10:16 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Dechert associate wins ‘Jeopardy!’ and fans’ hearts; judge sides with hospital requiring vaccines

Dechert associate wins over Jeopardy! fans Dechert associate Julia Markham Cameron won over Jeopardy! fans with her quirky facial expressions during an appearance earlier this month in which she won more than $16,000. “It’s certainly not what I thought I would be known for at this stage in my career.…

Jun 14, 2021 4:29 PM CDT

Law school overenrollment: A 172 LSAT score may not be what it used to be, according to some

Thanks to an increase in law school applicants coupled with rising Law School Admission Test scores, getting admitted from the waitlist is much less likely this year, and in some cases, there are incentives for incoming 1Ls to defer until 2022.

Jun 10, 2021 11:48 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge compares AR-15 to Swiss Army knife; suit claims GC wasn’t rehired because of long-haul COVID-19

Federal judge strikes down ban on assault weapons Citing the Second Amendment, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of the Southern District of California struck down California’s ban on assault weapons Friday. “Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland…

Jun 7, 2021 4:03 PM CDT

Making brown-bag meals for the needy helped this law student stay busy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic

Assembling sandwiches helped recent law school graduate Jacqueline Ingles focus during remote classes, and over the past year she made more than a thousand of them for the Chicago Help Initiative, a nonprofit group that takes food to pantries and free meal sites.

Jun 7, 2021 8:58 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Legal industry jobs jump again; Boies Schiller emails admissible at former CEO’s trial

Legal industry gains 1,700 jobs in May The legal services industry gained 1,700 jobs in May, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released Friday by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry had a total 1,138,500 jobs, which is 40,600 more jobs than in May 2020, a period when the industry…

Jun 4, 2021 4:02 PM CDT

Online bar exams axed by NCBE beginning next year

Law grads taking bar exams developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners next year should expect to take the test in person.

Jun 3, 2021 1:04 PM CDT

Appeals court allows eviction moratorium to continue, says CDC likely to win appeal

A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to interfere with an eviction moratorium imposed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Jun 3, 2021 12:18 PM CDT

US can’t consider race or sex in distributing pandemic funds to restaurants, 6th Circuit says

The U.S. Small Business Administration gave an unconstitutional preference to minority- and women-owned restaurants in allocating COVID-19 relief funds, a federal appeals court ruled last week.

Jun 1, 2021 12:30 PM CDT

Lawyer is fined after he flips the bird during Zoom oral arguments

A Michigan lawyer has been fined $3,000 for raising his middle finger during oral arguments in a Zoom hearing.

Jun 1, 2021 9:54 AM CDT

This firm is fighting mandatory COVID-19 vaccines with legal filings and warnings

The New York law firm Siri & Glimstad is fighting mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations with litigation and warning letters dispatched to schools and employers.

Jun 1, 2021 9:06 AM CDT

Challenging COVID-19 restrictions can boost business, but beware of political consequences

Public mandated restrictions to stop or slow the transmission of the disease, including mask mandates, limitations on public gatherings and business closures, have become a divisive political issue. Several Republican and right-leaning lawyers have filed lawsuits challenging these public health measures, leading to some successes in court along with both encouragement and negativity from the public.

Jun 1, 2021 9:03 AM CDT

A year after his COVID-19 recovery, Above the Law founder David Lat makes some big changes

In May 2020, lawyer and author David Lat was starting his recovery from a life-threatening bout with COVID-19. A little over a year later, Lat, founder of Above the Law, decided to leave his job as a legal recruiter, go back to writing full time, and leave New York City for the New Jersey suburbs with his husband and their 3-year-old son. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced those changes.

Jun 1, 2021 9:02 AM CDT

Working remotely for the first time? Here are lessons from a lawyer who’s done it for 13 years

“The pandemic has done what I never thought possible, validating what I have known for some time: When one works from home, one is actually working. Despite the industry’s negative projections during the early stages of COVID-19, our firm had a profitable year with all of us working from home,” writes Tracey Mihelic, senior counsel at Husch Blackwell.

Jun 1, 2021 2:30 AM CDT