Holocaust, international law intersect in Lviv, Ukraine

In East West Street, London barrister Philippe Sands weaves intertwining true stories against the backdrop of the Holocaust and the Nuremberg trials.

Sep 1, 2017 12:15 AM CDT

Legal Rebels: Pattern of Progress

This year’s 13 Rebels are providing new ways to help immigrants find legal assistance, businesses comply with accessibility laws, drivers deal with parking tickets, and lawyers do their time and billing—painlessly.

Sep 1, 2017 12:00 AM CDT

Troubled Passage: Charlotte School of Law faces an uncertain future, but it is not alone

Charlotte and its sister law schools might seem like outliers, but they are not. A surge of problems has swept over these campuses—a stagnant job market, onerous student debt, disappointing bar passage rates, declining law school applications, and allegations of reduced entrance standards to fill law school seats.

Aug 1, 2017 12:15 AM CDT

Honoring Our Favorite Your Honors

We asked a group of judges along with a law professor to nominate their favorite judge from the big or small screen and then write essays telling us why. We got stories of judges who inspired, demonstrated important values, and showed humanity and humility.

Aug 1, 2017 12:10 AM CDT

Resistance Redux: Civil rights lawyers from the 1960s have lessons for today’s social activists

With political and social strife at the highest they’ve been in generations, several movement lawyers from the 1960s and ’70s believe they can use their life experience to educate and inspire today’s social activist lawyers and demonstrators.

Aug 1, 2017 12:05 AM CDT

Navigating drone laws has become a growing and lucrative legal niche

The brave new world of drones has spawned a growing—and lucrative—legal niche. With little case law for guidance and a complex web of government regulations to wade through, “drone attorneys” have recently found themselves in high demand.

Jul 1, 2017 12:20 AM CDT

Fake news lacks straightforward cure

The confusion and misinformation caused by fake news is undermining America’s ability to govern itself, experts fear.

Jul 1, 2017 12:15 AM CDT

Fake news has long held a role in American history

Fake news has a long history in America. Benjamin Franklin intentionally published stories alleging that the British paid Native Americans to scalp men, women and children in the rebellious colonies. During the contentious election of 1800, Federalist newspapers tried to keep people from voting for Thomas Jefferson by running fake stories of his death.

In the early days of the republic, however, people’s expectations for news stories were quite different from today.

Jul 1, 2017 12:10 AM CDT

Attorneys offer new-era strategies for efficient business travel

In this age of ever-changing rules and regulations, business travel can be more difficult than ever. The reality is that the more preparation and planning that go into a business trip, the more likely it will be a success.

“As you get older, travel changes,” says Paul Justas Sarauskas, counsel at Mayer Brown in Chicago. “When I was younger, it was exciting. It’s become more stressful and annoying because of security and everything else. These days I try to bring back the fun and take out the stress.”

Jul 1, 2017 12:05 AM CDT

How to pull off a successful law firm merger

Experts agree that a merger should not be an endgame for its own sake. Instead, it should serve a broader business goal. For some firms, that might be reaching new markets or adding practice groups that clients are demanding. For other firms, that might be recruiting higher-caliber lawyers or creating efficiency.

“A law firm merger needs to further a strategic imperative that the firm arrived at in a clear-thinking way, and that imperative should not just be growth.”

Jun 1, 2017 5:10 AM CDT

Not ready for a merger? Law firm networks offer an expansion alternative

“With a global merger, there are so many hurdles you have to overcome in each jurisdiction,” says Hope Krebs, who co-chairs the international practice group at Duane Morris. “If you’re going to expend those resources, you’d better make sure you know what you’re getting. With a network, you know the quality of the lawyers. In a network, although resources are consumed, it’s nothing like a merger.”

Jun 1, 2017 5:05 AM CDT

Video cannot replace the courtroom sketch artist

Things changed after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1981 decision in Chandler v. Florida gave approval to cameras in the courtrooms. Now all 50 states have some variation on when, where and how cameras can be used. Federal courts continue to resist the technology, thus still providing work for courtroom sketch artists.

Jun 1, 2017 5:00 AM CDT

How managed services are building systems for corporate legal work

Legal managed services providers design, build and staff process-driven systems that efficiently complete legal work. The work’s content often is sophisticated and important to the client’s long-term commercial interests. Yet the volume is too large to be performed cost-effectively by law firm associates and too narrow and repetitive to warrant hiring more in-house lawyers.

Jun 1, 2017 12:10 AM CDT

Public Employees, Private Speech: 1st Amendment doesn’t always protect government workers

High-profile controversies over police shootings, questionable promotions, racial profiling, attacks on law enforcement and race-based incidents have led to an increase in public employees being disciplined for publicly posting commentary deemed offensive or incendiary.

May 1, 2017 4:10 AM CDT

Gun War: Congress has been silent on guns, but states haven’t, so change is on the horizon

Almost half of Americans live in states that have had new and restrictive gun control laws enacted since the slaughter of elementary school children at Sandy Hook. But other states now allow guns in schools and on college campuses.

May 1, 2017 4:00 AM CDT