COVID-19

Legal departments cut outside spending, focus on managers and specialists, study shows

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more legal departments to cut spending on outside counsel, according to a new report from global research and advisory firm Gartner Inc.

Dec 18, 2020 12:26 PM CST

2 more federal judges are confirmed amid COVID-19 relief package negotiations

Two more federal judges were confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, as lawmakers rush to reach a deal on COVID-19 relief and government funding packages. President Donald Trump has now put in place 234 federal judges.

Dec 18, 2020 9:43 AM CST

For first time in history, federal government carried out more civilian executions than all 50 states

Ten federal inmates were executed this year as a result of a push by the Department of Justice, putting the total number of federal executions above that of all 50 states combined.

Dec 17, 2020 3:07 PM CST

Do law students, professors and administrators agree on challenges of online learning?

Law students understand that faculty are doing the best they can with remote classes but are still concerned about the value of legal education they are receiving, according to a survey recently released by Thomson Reuters.

Dec 17, 2020 9:35 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: 10 states file antitrust suit against Google; SCOTUS sides with churches

Antitrust suit targets Google as ad middleman Texas and nine other states have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google that contends that the search engine company suppressed competition in its business as a middleman for sellers and buyers for online ads. The Dec. 16 suit alleges that Google sought to…

Dec 16, 2020 4:38 PM CST

What are ethics issues for lawyers practicing remotely from a different state during the pandemic?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more lawyers have worked remotely from home and practiced law primarily through electronic means. Some of these lawyers live in a different state than where they are licensed to practice law.

Dec 16, 2020 2:45 PM CST

Tough calls: Innovative rap album recorded from prison helps sound the alarm about predatory phone charges

Global Tel Link is one of the biggest players in the prison telecommunications industry that connects calls between jail and prison inmates and the outside world. GTL is how Drakeo the Ruler was able to lay down the vocal tracks for his mixtape while he was being held in the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail pending retrial.

Dec 16, 2020 2:17 PM CST

Deloitte is monitoring regulatory reforms but is focused on growing new practice

As states such as Utah and Arizona have approved opening up their legal marketplaces to alternative business structures in recent months, there has been speculation that the Big Four accounting firms would be among those seeking to take advantage.

Dec 16, 2020 9:00 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Ex-Jones Day lawyers drop class action claims; ‘Grim Reaper’ lawyer fights sanctions bid

Ex-Jones Day associates drop class action claims in bias lawsuit Former female associates suing Jones Day for alleged bias have agreed to drop their class action claims of systemic pay discrimination and disparate impact. The six plaintiffs decided to drop class action claims after they reviewed nationwide compensation and evaluation…

Dec 15, 2020 4:30 PM CST

Judge accused of failing to follow COVID-19 recommendations is removed from 2 trials

An Ohio judge has been removed from two upcoming criminal trials after a lawyer for the defendants alleged that the judge was failing to implement COVID-19 precautions.

Dec 15, 2020 12:36 PM CST

Yale law librarian’s top 10 quotes of the year include 1 by Justice Ginsburg before her death

A quote attributed to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before her death has made a top 10 list of quotes for the year compiled by Yale Law School law librarian Fred Shapiro.

Dec 15, 2020 11:30 AM CST

New Mexico tosses restriction that prevented parents in law school from receiving child care subsidy

After hearing about child care concerns from a campus parent group, the University of New Mexico School of Law School convinced the state in September to change a child care subsidy rule, which until then prohibited eligibility for graduate and postgraduate students.

Dec 15, 2020 8:47 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Prison contraband hidden in footballs; Kamala Harris’ husband gets teaching job

Sensing technology detects football contraband tossed into prison Footballs and packages tossed into a Mississippi prison yard early Monday morning contained cellphones, marijuana, cigars and barbecue chicken wings. Officials at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution confiscated the contraband. The prison’s sensing technology detected the breach. (The Associated Press) Kamala Harris’…

Dec 11, 2020 4:17 PM CST

Jurisdictions with COVID-19-related diploma privilege are going back to bar exam admissions

As of Dec. 3, the five jurisdictions with emergency diploma privilege precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic had announced plans for a remote bar exam in February 2021. None of the jurisdictions has yet released plans for July 2021 admissions, but law school deans in those regions are telling third-year students to plan for a bar exam.

Dec 10, 2020 3:16 PM CST

In suit with implications for law firms, US is accused of raising bar on PPP loan forgiveness

A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that the U.S. Small Business Administration appears to be making it more difficult for companies to gain forgiveness of paycheck protection loans intended to help businesses survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dec 10, 2020 10:59 AM CST