500 law profs urge ABA legal ed council to keep faculty tenure as an accreditation requirement

The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar hasn’t received much in the way of a response to its latest proposed changes in the law school accreditation standards. Only one person showed up to speak at a pair of hearings on the proposed changes in three chapters…

Oct 22, 2013 6:41 PM CDT

Once the ‘meanest lawyer in Houston,’ author shares story of love for his murdered brother (podcast)

David Berg was an ambitious young lawyer in Houston in 1968 when his older brother, Alan, disappeared. Alan, who had followed their father into the carpet business, had been killed by a hit man over a business dispute. His body wasn't discovered for another six months. The trial of Charles Harrelson (notorious killer-for-hire and father to actor Woody Harrelson) which followed–and the subsequent acquittal–was so painful for Berg that he barely spoke of his brother's death for another 40 years.

Oct 22, 2013 1:29 PM CDT

Writing briefs with the iPad in mind | Taking your dog to the office | What is true innovation?

Most judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals read legal briefs on iPads, New Orleans appellate lawyer Raymond P. Ward wrote at Louisiana Civil Appeals. “But before the briefs are downloaded to the iPad, they are run through a program that automatically turns all the legal citations into…

Oct 11, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Attorney deals with long-ago slaying of his brother by writing a book

It was bad enough when his brother was kidnapped and shot to death decades ago, a Texas lawyer says. But seeing the man he still believes to be responsible for his brother’s slaying acquitted at trial in 1970, thanks to a high-powered attorney, sparked outrage in attorney David Berg that…

Oct 4, 2013 4:34 PM CDT

Remembering Lindley Murray, an inspirational lawyer-grammarian

Oct 1, 2013 8:10 AM CDT

Award-winning reporter John Gibeaut dies at 61

Oct 1, 2013 6:00 AM CDT

A ‘ridiculous’ argument? 6th Circuit thinks not

A federal appeals court begins an opinion in an insurance dispute with an observation: “There are good reasons not to call an opponent’s argument ‘ridiculous.’ ” “The reasons include civility; the near-certainty that overstatement will only push the reader away (especially when, as here, the hyperbole begins on page one…

Sep 25, 2013 12:15 PM CDT

Six words tell law school story

True or not, the story goes that Ernest Hemingway won a bet that he could write a story in six words or less. The author delivered this tale: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Marquette legal writing professor Lisa Mazzie believes six-word stories are great practice for writers who need…

Sep 24, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

Can John Mayer make law textbooks a thing of the past? ‘It’s fun pushing the envelope,’ he says

Law Lessons Online

Sep 10, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

It was another big term for amicus curiae briefs at the high court

Sep 1, 2013 8:30 AM CDT

Face a classic word challenge and increase your personal power

Sep 1, 2013 8:19 AM CDT

Washington University launches new online legal English course

Aug 1, 2013 9:00 AM CDT

How attention to style improves substance

Aug 1, 2013 7:40 AM CDT

7 steps for producing top-notch text with a co-author

Jul 1, 2013 8:00 AM CDT

Law firms say they want ‘practice ready’ grads—but who are they actually hiring?

Washington & Lee University Law School’s decision to emphasize practical skills in the 3L year and subsequent enrollment surge was called the “biggest legal education story of 2013” by Indiana University law professor Bill Henderson. And “National Jurist named the school’s faculty as among the twenty-five most influential people in…

Jun 21, 2013 1:30 PM CDT