Features

Social Clashes: Digital free speech is a hot legal battleground

Social media litigation raises serious concerns about the future of free speech, including attempts at censorship by government actors critical of comments on social media, the shifting standards of private platforms to censor online expression and the rise of hate and extremist speech in the digital world.

Apr 1, 2019 12:05 AM CDT

Leading LPM software providers differ over allowing 3rd-party integrations, even as firms and lawyers demand it

Competition among law practice management software providers is heating up while law firms are looking to make their operations more efficient. Firms must assess how LPM software integrates with other tech and fits their plans for cloud computing, mobile and social applications, and the use of big data and artificial intelligence—even blockchain.

Mar 1, 2019 12:30 AM CST

Bullying from the Bench: A wave of high-profile bad behavior has put scrutiny on judges

Across the country, judges are creating embarrassing headlines when they are accused of abusive behavior toward lawyers and litigants.

Mar 1, 2019 12:15 AM CST

Some law schools offer tech programs to help students find jobs, but does it work?

Recent law school graduates and attorneys with hiring responsibilities say that there are few tech jobs for new lawyers, largely because the profession isn’t ready for this new cadre of tech-savvy grads.

Mar 1, 2019 12:05 AM CST

Lawyers look for the next blockbuster as literary agents

Lawyers who switched careers to represent authors are looking for the next blockbuster—and loving it. Their legal training helped them turn the page in a challenging profession.

Jan 1, 2019 12:15 AM CST

Ross Award winner sees the honor in public defenders’ work

Read the winner of the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jan 1, 2019 12:10 AM CST

Guardians of the Sixth Amendment

Read the winner of the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jan 1, 2019 12:10 AM CST

Still There in the Ashes

A public defender navigates her opioid-addicted clients through drug treatment court. Durham, North Carolina, lawyer Aleaha Jones was named runner-up in the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jan 1, 2019 12:05 AM CST

Breakdown: Prisons, jails house mental health patients who’ve committed no crimes

Some states use local jail cells to hold mental health patients. New Hampshire stands alone in its legal treatment of mental health patients within state prison walls.

Jan 1, 2019 12:00 AM CST

But their emails! Some of the most contentious political issues are e-discovery disputes

The near-daily headlines relating to what had once been a fairly obscure set of federal laws has helped breathe new life into the field of e-discovery. Donald Trump Jr.’s meetings with Russians, Michael Cohen’s plea bargain, Brett Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, Paul Manafort’s fraud convictions and an attempt at impeaching Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein all involve, at their core, electronic evidence.

Dec 1, 2018 12:40 AM CST

Web 100: Get informed, be entertained and maybe even transform your practice with tech

How so, exactly? For the first time, the ABA Journal’s extensive favorites list has added a web tools category that includes apps, subscription services and other digital solutions.

Dec 1, 2018 12:30 AM CST

Web 100: Blogs

Great legal blogs go deeper into practice niches than the mainstream legal press and share well-written personal insights. Here we’re highlighting 10 blogs that are new to our Web 100 list, 20 making a repeat appearance and five joining the Blawg 100 Hall of Fame.

Dec 1, 2018 12:25 AM CST

Web 100: Twitter

If Twitter is the tool to tweak the world’s conversation, the top tweeters in the Web 100 are strong talkers of few words. These 15 newcomers and 10 retweeter repeaters from 2017 run the gamut from nonprofits to profs to legal tech entrepreneurs.

Dec 1, 2018 12:15 AM CST

Web 100: Web tools

This was a breakout year for legal technology on the web, from subscription services to access-to-justice helpers. Our judges and readers all had their own favorites. Let us know about yours.

Dec 1, 2018 12:10 AM CST

Other People’s Money: Rise of litigation finance companies raises legal and ethical concerns

Litigation financing is third-party funding of legal cases. Legal financing companies provide a nonrecourse cash advance to litigants—usually plaintiffs—in exchange for a percentage of the judgment or settlement. It is not considered a loan but rather a form of asset purchase or venture capital.

Dec 1, 2018 12:05 AM CST