COVID-19

Congressional budgeting error could slash funds for federal public defenders

Federal public defenders may have to lay off as many as 500 people as a result of a congressional budgeting error in pending spending bills.

Jul 20, 2023 11:25 AM CDT

Most class of 2019 law grads are satisfied with their jobs, but debt still affects life choices, new study says

Forty-seven percent of class of 2019 law graduates are “extremely satisfied” with their current job, up from 42% of class of 2018 graduates who were surveyed a year ago, according to a new report by the National Association for Law Placement and the NALP Foundation.

Jul 20, 2023 8:34 AM CDT

Is Biden’s latest plan to cancel student debt vulnerable to legal challenges?

President Joe Biden’s latest plan to cancel some student debt is based on a different law than the one before the Supreme Court, when it struck down a program in June. But some conservative commentators say the new plan remains vulnerable to legal attacks.

Jul 17, 2023 11:50 AM CDT

Employers not liable for spread of COVID-19 to workers’ homes, California high court says

Employers are not responsible for the spread of COVID-19 from their employees to their employees’ family members, according to a ruling from the California Supreme Court.

Jul 7, 2023 9:55 AM CDT

Judge curbs US effort to battle disinformation on social media; will ruling withstand appeal?

The federal government has appealed a federal judge’s curbs on the Biden administration’s efforts to stop misinformation on social media.

Jul 6, 2023 11:58 AM CDT

Leadership, growth and profitability in a post-pandemic era explored in new report

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Lydia Flocchini, the chief marketing officer at SurePoint Technologies, Debbie Foster, the CEO at Affinity Consulting, and Laura Wenzel, the global director of product marketing at iManage.

Jun 26, 2023 8:47 AM CDT

Law students older than 30 more likely to promote online law school courses, new report finds

According to a report released June 20 by the AccessLex Institute and Gallup, law students with different backgrounds had distinct perceptions of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jun 21, 2023 3:23 PM CDT

Lottery lawyer’s ‘luck has run out’ after sentencing judge says he is responsible for $62M in client losses

Self-described lottery lawyer Jason Kurland has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for participating in a scheme that allegedly cost his clients more than $100 million in net losses.

Jun 16, 2023 3:30 PM CDT

We ‘live on a pro se planet;’ 5th Circuit allows parents to sometimes represent children without lawyers

A federal appeals court is giving a pro se parent a chance to persuade a federal judge that she may represent her minor children without a lawyer in a federal lawsuit filed against a Texas school district.

Jun 6, 2023 12:39 PM CDT

Municipal ordinances can banish low-level offenders for petty offenses

Although St. Louis is not the only U.S. city with an exclusion law for low-level offenders, critics say these types of measures raise constitutional concerns and result in sending troubled people elsewhere—often within the same municipality—while acute social problems are ignored. Proponents of the laws say they help deter illegal activity.

Jun 1, 2023 12:50 AM CDT

Gorsuch’s Title 42 statement is ‘a remarkable jeremiad against COVID mitigation policies,’ law prof says

Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a lengthy statement criticizing “rule by indefinite emergency edict” Thursday, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order related to a COVID-19-pandemic-era immigration policy.

May 22, 2023 2:40 PM CDT

Creating circuit split, 9th Circuit rules Biden had power to require vaccines for federal contractors

President Joe Biden had the authority to issue an executive order requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees of federal contractors, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Apr 26, 2023 1:43 PM CDT

Removing unvaccinated potential jurors didn’t violate defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights, 4th Circuit rules

A federal judge’s decision to remove unvaccinated potential jurors did not violate two defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to have their cases heard by a fair cross section of the community, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Apr 12, 2023 3:03 PM CDT

BigLaw firm seeks COVID-19-era rent abatement in $30M suit

Crowell & Moring has filed a lawsuit contending that it is entitled to a rent abatement and interest totaling $30 million because of a “force majeure event” that interfered with its use of the property.

Mar 29, 2023 4:18 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Student loan relief cases will have lasting effects whatever Supreme Court decides

No matter what the U.S. Supreme Court does in the cases involving the Biden administration’s student loan relief plan, there is sure to be a major effect on many people’s lives and on the law. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the court heard oral arguments in two cases—Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown—that raise myriad legal issues and any path taken by the court will have significant consequences. (I was among 24 legal scholars who signed an amicus brief in support of the Biden administration).

Mar 1, 2023 8:42 AM CST