Features

50 years later, Freedom of Information Act still chipping away at government’s secretive culture

On Independence Day 50 years ago, President Lyndon Baines Johnson reluctantly signed into law the Freedom of Information Act. President Johnson thought it was terrible legislation and considered a veto after it was passed by Congress. He signed the bill into law on his Texas ranch instead of at a…

Jul 1, 2016 4:30 AM CDT

Legal challenges over online reviews seek to separate fact from fiction

Robert Allen Lee desperately needed a dentist. Dr. Stacy Makhnevich at Aster Dental in New York City was able to squeeze Lee in to treat his toothache. When Lee arrived, the dentist required he sign a "mutual agreement to maintain privacy"—a confidentiality agreement with a nondisparagement clause that waives patients'…

Jul 1, 2016 4:20 AM CDT

These lawyers turn to nature to nurture their bodies and souls

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that "the health of the eye seems to demand a horizon." For many lawyers, however, sight lines extend only as far as the office door, and the horizon is truncated by walls and window edges. They're in a box, literally and figuratively, held captive by…

Jul 1, 2016 12:30 AM CDT

Contentious battles between couples over frozen embryos raise legal and ethical dilemmas

When Risa Levine, a real estate attorney in New York City, got married, she wanted nothing more than to have a baby. Her husband at the time also wanted a child, but they weren't able to do so on their own. So they went to a fertility clinic together.

Jun 1, 2016 4:10 AM CDT

After Obergefell: How the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage has affected other areas of law

The word patchwork may be the best way to describe the layers of laws that governed the relationships of same-sex couples before June 26, 2015, the day the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to marriage for gay couples in Obergefell v. Hodges (PDF).

Jun 1, 2016 4:00 AM CDT

A new dawn for Cuba as it opens for business

The 90-mile corridor between Key West and the north coast of Cuba is far wider, deeper and considerably more dangerous when you factor in everything that's happened between the two countries during the last 57 years. Former ABA President Stephen Zack (with a flag from pre-revolutionary Cuba in his office)…

Jun 1, 2016 12:10 AM CDT

Secret Snitches: California case uncovers long-standing practice of planting jailhouse informants

Angry about a child custody dispute, Scott Dekraai armed himself with three handguns, drove to the beauty salon in Seal Beach, California, where his ex-wife worked and opened fire. The two-minute rampage in October 2011 left eight people dead and one injured, making it the worst mass shooting in Orange…

May 1, 2016 4:10 AM CDT

Two reluctant entrepreneurs tackle challenge of copyright duration

Elizabeth Townsend Gard was researching British literature when it became clear that she would have to learn something about copyrights. It was 1994, and Gard was trying to start her dissertation on the author Vera Brittain, who is best known for her work set during World War I. She didn't…

May 1, 2016 4:00 AM CDT

Did litigation kill the Beatles?

As the most successful band in history, the Beatles generated not only a record number of music hits but probably more legal disputes than any other music group before or since. As the first international rock band brand in a still nascent music business – and guided by a neophyte…

May 1, 2016 12:10 AM CDT

Some law firms look outside law practice to avoid their ‘Kodak moment’

During the course of reporting this story, the name Kodak kept coming up as a symbol of where the legal industry could be headed if it continues to resist technology. A survey released in January by Georgetown University's Center for the Study of the Legal Profession and Thomson Reuters' Peer…

Apr 1, 2016 4:50 AM CDT

Court systems rethink the use of financial bail, which some say penalizes the poor

Shannan Wise of Baltimore had never been arrested before. A single mother of two, she was busy juggling her family, her job as a driver for a private van service, seasonal work at Target and going to school to become a medical biller.

Apr 1, 2016 4:40 AM CDT

How artificial intelligence is transforming the legal profession

The future of the legal profession began 20 years ago. The technology boom was just beginning with the emergence of email and personal computers. Jay Leib was working for Record Technologies Inc. as director of software sales and training in 1999, and the company was scanning documents into databases for…

Apr 1, 2016 12:10 AM CDT

Personal injury lawyers turn to neuroscience to back claims of chronic pain

Personal injury lawyers see neuroscience as a way to document their clients’ pain if and when it might be contested. The problem, many scientists say, is that the research, while showing much promise, is still in its nascent stage. Read this ABA Journal feature recently honored by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

Mar 1, 2016 4:30 AM CST

Justice moves slowly for those who need interpreters

Even where states require interpreters, actually obtaining them can be problematic. Many states simply don’t have people on staff who can interpret in less-common languages. Read this ABA Journal feature recently honored by the American Society of Business Publication Editors for its government coverage.

Mar 1, 2016 4:20 AM CST

Minority women are disappearing from BigLaw—and here’s why

Occasionally when Jenny Jones walks down the hall of her white-shoe law firm, a chairman emeritus will stop and ask how she's doing and about her work. These moments are a highlight because outside of this intermittent interaction, Jones feels largely ignored by the powers that be.

Mar 1, 2016 12:15 AM CST