Diversity

New rules in this state give break from court appearances to lawyers who are new parents

Lawyers in North Carolina will be able to avoid court appearances for up to 12 weeks after the birth or adoption of a child, the state’s chief justice announced Tuesday.

Sep 11, 2019 10:06 AM CDT

Want encouragement in the justice arena? Think about what’s changed, says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The country has come a long way, said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and that’s what keeps her optimistic for the future. “It can be hard to do anything as a loner, but if you get together with like-minded people, you can be a force for change,” Ginsburg said at a discussion Monday at the University of Chicago.

Sep 10, 2019 3:15 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Ex-White House counsel acquitted; lawyer pleads guilty in alleged attack on colleague

Former White House counsel is acquitted on false-statement charge Federal jurors on Wednesday acquitted former White House counsel Greg Craig on a charge of making false statements to the government about his lobbying work for Ukraine while working at Skadden Arps. Craig was accused of making false statements to the…

Sep 4, 2019 4:55 PM CDT

Lawyer with autism finds her voice

With the help of her parents, Haley Moss overcame the stereotypes associated with autism to become a published author and a lawyer.

Sep 1, 2019 2:30 AM CDT

10 Questions: This North Carolina litigator reigns as Miss USA

In May, Cheslie Kryst received a verdict from a panel of judges that changed the course of her life.

Sep 1, 2019 2:10 AM CDT

ABA Medal recipient Dale Minami built a career around inclusion and civil rights for Asian Americans

Dale Minami—known as one of the lawyers who helped overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, the Japanese American man whose name is on a notorious and widely repudiated U.S. Supreme Court case—has been awarded the ABA Medal, the association’s highest honor.

Sep 1, 2019 12:40 AM CDT

Florida Supreme Court weighs rule generally requiring judges to grant parental-leave continuances

The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on a proposed rule that requires judges to grant continuances for parental leave in connection with the birth or adoption of a child—unless a showing of “substantial prejudice” is made. Proponents said the rule is needed to deal with a statewide problem of…

Aug 28, 2019 1:12 PM CDT

ABA House of Delegates passes pair of pay equity resolutions

The ABA House of Delegates passed two resolutions that support fair compensation at the annual meeting in San Francisco. Resolution 106, sponsored by the Commission on Women in the Profession, urges employers of lawyers to implement practices that close the pay gap between male and female lawyers. It provides a…

Aug 13, 2019 1:05 PM CDT

ABA honors 5 women for their service to the legal profession

ABA President Bob Carlson invoked the spirit of Toni Morrison—the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature—at the Margaret Brent Awards luncheon at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco on Sunday. “She was a trailblazer who undoubtedly paved the way for new generations of aspiring writers,” Carlson said. “The women we are honoring today, … by their language have touched the lives of many.”

Aug 12, 2019 9:54 AM CDT

Legal secretary’s suit claims partners’ tirades constituted sex bias, caused panic attack

A legal secretary says two Venable partners yelled, humiliated and demeaned her to such an extent that their conduct constituted sex discrimination under California’s fair employment law. Marjan Rabbi, a legal secretary with a JD from Whittier Law School, filed the suit in superior court in Los Angeles on Aug.…

Aug 8, 2019 11:01 AM CDT

A victim of assault takes an unintentional career path

On a summer night in 1984, I left my uniformed patrol job at the University of California at Berkeley Police Department and walked home alone in darkness. I was a 19-year-old sophomore. At the threshold of my apartment, a man assaulted me at knifepoint. After a soul-chilling struggle, I managed…

Aug 8, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

More people are applying to law school, but it’s not like last year’s ‘Trump bump’

People applying to law school saw a modest 3.3% increase for the 2019-20 admission cycle, according to the Law School Admission Council. The data is as of July 31 and includes 62,427 applicants, Kellye Y. Testy, president and CEO of the LSAC, wrote in an Aug. 5 web post for…

Aug 7, 2019 12:04 PM CDT

Story with racial justice theme wins ABA Journal's 2019 Ross essay contest for legal fiction

A lawyer who promotes economic security for survivors of domestic violence has won the 2019 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction. Yvette Butler won the prize for a fictional story with a theme of racial justice. Writing the story was “an outlet to process what’s going on” regarding the “everlasting, amorphous war on terror” as well as issues surrounding police treatment of black people, she says.

Aug 5, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

How the push for inclusion in law firm hiring can carve a path for female talent

There is a fierce battle for talent underway in American law firms that could benefit women lawyers. Because firms are competing, employers should have stronger incentives than ever to retain their most valued lawyers.

Jul 16, 2019 8:00 AM CDT

Lawyer awarded $229K in pregnancy bias suit after judge slams defendant law firm for slow discovery

A Chicago immigration lawyer has been awarded $229,498 in her suit claiming that she was fired from her job at a law firm after disclosing her pregnancy. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer awarded the money to Jessica Hernandez last week after entering a default judgment against the Katz Law Office…

Jul 9, 2019 11:45 AM CDT