Massachusetts

Ex-eBay workers accused of sending live spiders, cockroaches to blogging couple writing about lawsuit

Six former eBay employees are facing federal charges for an alleged harassment campaign against a suburban Boston couple who blogged about the company in their online e-commerce newsletter.

Jun 16, 2020 11:29 AM CDT

Judge blocks ICE courthouse arrests in New York, stresses need for ‘fully functioning state courts’

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests at courthouses in New York are illegal.

Jun 11, 2020 10:13 AM CDT

Harvard Law will be online-only for the fall 2020 term

Harvard Law School will be online for the fall 2020 term because of concerns that testing and monitoring of the novel coronavirus will not be fully available by that point.

Jun 4, 2020 11:20 AM CDT

Proposal would require New Jersey lawyers to reveal client information showing wrongful conviction

An ethics proposal in New Jersey would create an exception to the duty of client confidentiality when a lawyer has information that an innocent person has been wrongly incarcerated.

May 28, 2020 10:06 AM CDT

Lawyer contends ‘SILENCE. (BOOM SHAKALAKA)’ satisfies ethics rule; top state court disagrees

Lowell, Massachusetts, lawyer Ilya Liviz says he did respond to the bar counsel's request for information in a bar inquiry, and that response was adequate.

May 19, 2020 9:48 AM CDT

Why exotic dancers and other gig workers are seeing employment law gains, COVID-19 losses

“The coronavirus is exposing the dangers of being a gig worker—you have no benefits, no health care, and no one to one to speak for you,” says lawyer Michael P. Maslanka, a labor and employment law expert in Texas. “I think this crisis is so severe that it will change the mindsets of the people, and when the mindsets of the people change, laws change.”

May 12, 2020 8:00 AM CDT

Judge orders reopening of gun stores in Second Amendment challenge

A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the opening of gun stores in the state in a challenge to Gov. Charlie Baker’s shutdown of nonessential businesses.

May 8, 2020 10:22 AM CDT

First state plans for online bar exam if in-person test is not possible

If the novel coronavirus pandemic prevents a bar exam from being safely administered in person, the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners will offer an online test, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court announced Thursday.

Apr 24, 2020 9:43 AM CDT

NCBE announces more bar exam dates, and 1 state has allowed supervised practice; will more follow?

While law students advocate for diploma privilege, and a growing number of deans are asking state supreme courts to consider supervised practice for 2020 graduates, the National Conference of Bar Examiners plans to proceed with administering the bar exam.

Apr 6, 2020 3:43 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Find COVID-19 resources on new ABA website; law firms aid coronavirus fight

ABA coronavirus task force launches website with resources

The ABA Task Force on Legal Needs Arising Out of the 2020 Pandemic is providing lawyers with resources on a new…

Apr 3, 2020 3:23 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer threatened jail time for people with unpaid 911 bills; R. Kelly indicted on new charges

Lawyer threatened jail to people with unpaid 911 responder bills

After a debt collection attorney allegedly threatened more than 800 people with imprisonment for not paying money owed to Trinity…

Mar 13, 2020 3:36 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Teen blogger denied murder case evidence; Aerosmith drummer loses comeback case

Judge denies 16-year-old aspiring lawyer’s request for murder evidence

A 16-year-old aspiring lawyer and true crime blogger lost a bid Thursday to access evidence in the Texas murder case that…

Jan 24, 2020 3:48 PM CST

First Amendment defense claims could threaten ‘revenge pornography’ statutes

Dec 19, 2019 6:30 AM CST

BigLaw partner who said she worked 3,173 billable hours is suspended for overbilling

A BigLaw partner who relied on her assistant to create first-draft billing records based on her work product has been suspended for six months for overbilling.

Dec 16, 2019 2:52 PM CST

Law school found out of compliance with program resources standard; dean is ‘surprised by the finding’

The University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law is out of compliance with three sections of Standard 202, which deals with program resources, according to a recent finding from the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Dec 11, 2019 2:48 PM CST