Legislation & Lobbying

ABA calls on lawyers to join push to tackle the student debt crisis

Graduating from law school and starting a legal career should be an exciting and hopeful time. But for far too many, student debt causes apprehension and struggle.

Dec 1, 2021 2:50 AM CST

Is the right to assemble and demonstrate under threat?

Legislators who are now seeking to restrict protesters say the measures are necessary to establish law and order; provide security; protect businesses; ensure the free flow of highways; and distinguish between peaceful protesters and rioters. But free speech experts warn that the legislative trend against protesting is harmful to fundamental First Amendment freedoms.

Dec 1, 2021 1:50 AM CST

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is a case study of ABA advocacy

The ABA started advocating for the creation of PSLF in 2002, and our steadfast support continues today. The program provides a financial tool to support government and nonprofit service providers who help ensure the delivery of vital services to the public, regardless of how rural or underresourced a community is. It is also a recruitment and retention tool that helps reduce student loan debt obligations for eligible professions, including public service lawyers.

Dec 1, 2021 12:20 AM CST

America’s fights over medical treatment choices didn’t start with COVID-19 and ivermectin

Like the legal profession, the practice of medicine in the United States is highly regulated. But it hasn't always been, and the idea that a person has the right to try the medical therapies of their choice has a much longer history. In Choose Your Medicine: Freedom of Therapeutic Choice in America, law professor Lewis A. Grossman introduces readers to a fractious history with some unexpected combatants—and comrades.

Nov 24, 2021 8:48 AM CST

Lawyers call on members of the profession to defend voting rights

“We’re lawyers. If we’re not speaking up for this issue, who will?” says Lauren Stiller Rikleen of Lawyers Defending American Democracy, a group pushing for more attorneys and firms to take action against the restrictions.

Nov 22, 2021 8:57 AM CST

Laws said to encourage vigilante justice still in effect in most states

Laws that permit citizens arrests or entitle citizens to stand their ground have been blamed for vigilante shootings and tragic consequences. Yet many states still have them on the books.

Nov 9, 2021 3:40 PM CST

SCOTUS accepts climate-change case on EPA authority to limit carbon emissions

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider the extent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit carbon emissions under a provision of the Clean Air Act.

Nov 1, 2021 12:35 PM CDT

Is the proposed wealth tax constitutional? Answer depends on ‘direct tax’ definition

A tax on unrealized investment gains of very wealthy people could lead to constitutional challenges that end up before a skeptical U.S. Supreme Court.

Oct 27, 2021 11:46 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Skirts-only dress code gets rehearing; ex-judge reprimanded for ‘sexual innuendo’

En banc 4th Circuit will rehear school dress-code case The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, has granted an en banc rehearing to consider a challenge to a skirts-and-dresses-only dress code for girls. A 4th Circuit panel ruled in August that the girls attending the Charter Day…

Oct 22, 2021 4:07 PM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Lawyer censured over false time sheets; California law allows ‘stealthing’ suits

Lawyer censured for seeking no-show pay Lawyer Laura Cail, of Rensselaer County, New York, has been censured for filing false time sheets to collect more than $12,000 for work that she didn’t perform at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Cail had previously resolved criminal charges…

Oct 15, 2021 1:44 PM CDT

Top state court upholds trust provision requiring beneficiary to be unmarried

The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld a trust provision that made distribution of an inheritance contingent on the beneficiary being unmarried.

Oct 13, 2021 9:28 AM CDT

Baker McKenzie is ‘architect and pillar’ of offshore system that hides wealth, Pandora Papers report says

Baker McKenzie fought proposals to strengthen financial oversight and tax laws in its lobbying for large banks and technology companies, according to Pandora Papers reporting by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and its media papers.

Oct 5, 2021 10:35 AM CDT

Prosecutors are working toward the release of the longest-serving inmates

Historically, most prosecutors haven’t felt responsible for examining cases closed by their predecessors to determine whether everyone’s punishments fit their crimes. The prosecutors in these offices, however, are pushing their field to adopt changes to address mass incarceration and sentencing disparities in the criminal justice system.

Oct 1, 2021 4:00 AM CDT

Bryan Garner touts the Michigan Bar Journal’s celebration of plain English

The Michigan Bar Journal has just reached a landmark of 37 years in sustaining its monthly column on plain language in the law. Over the years, the column has exploded all the various myths about plain language in the law.

Oct 1, 2021 1:50 AM CDT

Senate Democrats criticize SCOTUS ‘shadow docket’ in hearing; Republicans see attempt at justice intimidation

Is the U.S. Supreme Court’s “shadow docket” of emergency orders and summary decisions being misused in a way that undermines the court’s legitimacy? Or are Democrats who are criticizing the docket trying to intimidate the justices?

Sep 30, 2021 12:59 PM CDT