Afternoon Briefs: 1 murder count tossed in George Floyd case; DOJ lawyer turned away from courthouse

Judge tosses one murder charge against officer in George Floyd death A Minnesota judge on Thursday tossed one of the charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. Judge Peter Cahill of Hennepin County dismissed a third-degree murder charge but allowed charges of second-degree…

Oct 22, 2020 4:59 PM CDT

Law firms are slow to adopt AI-based technology tools, ABA survey finds

Oct 22, 2020 12:13 PM CDT

SCOTUS allows Alabama to ban curbside voting

Three U.S. Supreme Court justices dissented Wednesday when the high court allowed Alabama’s secretary of state to ban curbside voting.

Oct 22, 2020 11:35 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Purdue Pharma will plead guilty; lawyers can’t find parents of 545 immigrant children

Purdue Pharma agrees to plead guilty over opioid marketing Purdue Pharma has agreed to plead guilty to felony charges for misleading doctors, patients and the government about OxyContin and for promoting the drug through kickbacks. The charges are for defrauding federal health agencies and violating anti-kickback laws. The company will…

Oct 21, 2020 3:41 PM CDT

Knowing when to tell your client no and other ethical dilemmas

One of the most important ethical obligations a lawyer has is knowing when to tell their client no. But how do you know when that moment has come, and how do you deal with it?

Oct 21, 2020 10:47 AM CDT

First-ever ABA Giving Day addresses COVID-19 and racial justice

A new ABA initiative is encouraging lawyers to invest in projects that “counter the impact of COVID-19 and champion racial justice across America.”

Oct 21, 2020 10:05 AM CDT

These BigLaw firms had the most partner exits; one firm says pandemic changed career plans

Kirkland & Ellis had the most partner departures this year among larger law firms, followed by Boies Schiller Flexner, according to an analysis of lateral partner movement by legal consulting firm Decipher.

Oct 20, 2020 2:40 PM CDT

Amid claims that online bar exam went well, some test-takers have a different view

ExamSoft, the company that provided the software for the two-day online bar exam offered earlier this month, maintains that only a small percentage of test-takers experienced problems with their product. But for those who did, many say there should have been no issues and some suspect the hitches were expected by the company.

Oct 20, 2020 9:28 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Secretaries get extra bonuses at this law firm; AG Barr warns of liberal DAs

Secretaries at this law firm get extra bonuses; associates left out Goodwin Procter will pay an extra $1,000 to all secretaries to recognize “hard work during these challenging times,” according to an internal email obtained by two legal publications. The law firm won’t be paying special bonuses to associates, however.…

Oct 19, 2020 1:34 PM CDT

BigLaw firm offers buyouts to staff members

Greenberg Traurig has offered voluntary buyouts to staff members at a majority of its U.S. offices.

Oct 19, 2020 11:53 AM CDT

Census Bureau announces end to population count after Supreme Court action

The U.S. Census Bureau ended its 2020 count Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed an end to data collection.

Oct 16, 2020 9:49 AM CDT

Attorney urges other lawyers to use outrage over George Floyd’s death to demand policing reforms

Speaking on what would have been George Floyd’s 47th birthday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump urged attendees of the annual Clio Cloud Conference on Wednesday to use the widespread outrage generated by Floyd’s death at the hands of law enforcement to demand policing reforms.

Oct 14, 2020 3:25 PM CDT

Firms of the future: COVID-19 prompts more law firms to pursue real estate downsizing

In recent years, a growing number of law firms reduced their brick-and-mortar office space as a way to cut costs and also better meet the changing workplace needs of their attorneys.

Oct 14, 2020 9:30 AM CDT

Sen. Booker complains of rushed nomination process for Barrett, notes Notre Dame profs’ call for delay

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey posed a series of questions to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday, eliciting an unequivocal statement that she condemns white supremacy. But Barrett mostly avoided other questions premised on current events.

Oct 13, 2020 6:11 PM CDT

COVID-19 sparks rapid tech adoption that has helped lawyers weather economic downturn

COVID-19 has sparked lawyers to adopt technology at a much faster clip than previously seen in the legal industry and ahead of consumer expectations for doing so, according to cloud-based company Clio’s 2020 Legal Trends Report.

Oct 13, 2020 5:08 PM CDT