Government

Why Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records for one $130K hush-money payment

Former President Donald Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election and mischaracterize payments for tax purposes.

Apr 5, 2023 8:36 AM CDT

Meet Judge Juan Merchan, a Colombian immigrant who’s presiding in Trump’s arraignment; not guilty plea is entered

Updated: The New York judge who is presiding Tuesday over the arraignment of former President Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, is a Colombian immigrant who came to the United States with his family at age 6.

Apr 4, 2023 10:26 AM CDT

The CHIPS Act could complicate things for lawyers with clients in China or Taiwan

One potential side effect of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 includes amped-up patent litigation as the shift to manufacturing microchips domestically makes them further subject to U.S. intellectual property law.

Apr 1, 2023 3:00 AM CDT

ABA has a long history of advocating for indigent defense and public defenders

For more than a century, the ABA has advocated on issues related to indigent defense, primarily through its Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense. In fact, SCLAID (when it was operating as the Standing Committee on Legal Aid Work) stated in its 1937 annual report: “We believe that every man accused of serious crime is absolutely entitled to counsel and that, if too poor to employ one, society must furnish him that lawyer.”

Apr 1, 2023 12:20 AM CDT

‘King Charles clause’ limits new board overseeing Disney World, put in place after DeSantis’ feud

An agreement enacted by Disney World’s oversight board before its control was turned over to political appointees preserves power for Disney at the expense of the new board—and for quite a long time, thanks to a "King Charles clause."

Mar 31, 2023 3:33 PM CDT

Experts see these problems with felony-records case against Trump over hush-money payments

The prosecution of former President Donald Trump could pose even more problems than that of former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, a former Democratic presidential candidate. Experts saw these potential problems with the prosecution.

Mar 31, 2023 11:24 AM CDT

What will the grand jury indictment mean for Trump?

Former President Donald Trump’s reported indictment in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case raises questions about the impact on his new presidential campaign and the likelihood of a conviction.

Mar 30, 2023 5:23 PM CDT

Morgan & Morgan won’t give ‘one single inch’ to insurance carriers on continuances and courtesies

Personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan is drawing a line in the sand after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping tort reform measure into law.

Mar 30, 2023 4:42 PM CDT

Colorado will license paraprofessionals to perform limited legal work

The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a new rule that allows licensed nonlawyer paraprofessionals to perform limited legal work in some divorce and child-custody matters.

Mar 30, 2023 11:26 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer who tried to ‘explain away the discipline’ can’t be substitute teacher, appeals court says

A disbarred lawyer can’t become an emergency substitute teacher in Pennsylvania after education officials found that he doesn’t satisfy the requirement for good moral character, a Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled.

Mar 28, 2023 11:17 AM CDT

Exchange at Stanford Law event with Federalist Society wasn’t productive, associate dean says

A Stanford Law School administrator shown at a campus event with the Federalist Society in which audience members heckled a federal appellate judge told her side of the story Thursday in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal.

Mar 24, 2023 11:32 AM CDT

Ethics lawyer who was fired over tweets about Islam can pursue damages, 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Tennessee legal ethics lawyer who was fired for tweeting about Islam can seek damages against his former supervisor.

Mar 24, 2023 9:10 AM CDT

Members will return to Capitol Hill for in-person advocacy during ABA Day

For the first time since 2019, the ABA is convening on Capitol Hill for ABA Day. The annual advocacy event, which is scheduled for March 27-29, is an opportunity for Congress members to hear directly from their constituents about the association’s legislative priorities. Top of this year’s list: funding for the Legal Services Corp.

Mar 23, 2023 1:03 PM CDT

Lawyer’s suit over disclosure of ABA Journal subscription tossed by federal judge

A federal judge in Detroit has tossed a Michigan lawyer’s lawsuit contending that the American Bar Association disclosed his membership, and therefore his ABA Journal subscription, to list brokers and others in violation of state law.

Mar 23, 2023 12:58 PM CDT

After ‘disruptive heckling,’ Stanford Law requires free speech session, notes associate dean’s leave

Stanford Law School is requiring its students to attend an educational session on free speech following students’ “disruptive heckling” of a conservative federal appeals judge during a March 9 speech with the Federalist Society.

Mar 23, 2023 11:09 AM CDT