Personal Lives

Lawyer suffering from pandemic stress censured for accessing judge’s computer, changing clerk’s time card

A New York lawyer has been censured for accessing a judge’s computer while she was experiencing mental health issues that partly stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oct 4, 2023 8:51 AM CDT

Self-care gap expands as female lawyers spend less time on themselves, report more burnout

Female lawyers are spending less time on self-care and experiencing more burnout than their male counterparts, according to new survey findings.

Oct 3, 2023 3:10 PM CDT

Keeping Up Appearances

Dress code expectations for lawyers are evoked in the name of professionalism and steeped in tradition. But advocates say that centuries-old grooming dictates have negatively impacted people of color, women, those with disabilities and LGBTQ folks and need to evolve. Many question their necessity.

Oct 1, 2023 4:10 AM CDT

Lawyer and military vet now fights his biggest battle: ALS

“When I interviewed for a summer associate position with some of Seattle’s biggest firms, … I aimed for a firm with the people and culture I thought would help me understand what it meant to be an attorney for the biggest companies in the world. Five years later, those same people would help me face the biggest challenge of my life and a new set of terrifying letters: ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).”

Oct 1, 2023 3:10 AM CDT

Ex-federal prosecutor charged in alleged road-rage stabbing no longer works at this BigLaw firm

A former federal prosecutor accused of stabbing a driver in a road-rage incident Tuesday is no longer working at Barnes & Thornburg, the law firm that he joined in the spring.

Sep 28, 2023 10:04 AM CDT

Retired Judge Posner must face suit alleging he failed to pay leader of his pro se center

Former federal appeals Judge Richard Posner must face a lawsuit alleging that he never paid a promised $120,000 annual salary to an employee who co-led a pro se center for nearly a year and a half.

Sep 27, 2023 2:36 PM CDT

Lawyers avoid mandatory religious liberty instruction, for now

Lawyers for Southwest Airlines didn’t have to attend religious liberty training Tuesday as a result of a temporary administrative stay granted by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans.

Sep 26, 2023 3:50 PM CDT

Need for Speed: Can the wheels of justice turn quicker?

“How long will this take?” An often-asked question clients pose to their lawyers. (The most often is, “How much will this cost me?”) In the legal world, unfortunately, it generally takes too long to get matters resolved.

Sep 26, 2023 9:02 AM CDT

‘Congenial’ and ‘reasonable’ judge tells police he doesn’t remember alleged shooting spree

A judge in Garfield County, Oklahoma, has stopped hearing cases after his arrest in an alleged shooting spree and road-rage incident in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 11.

Sep 25, 2023 9:40 AM CDT

$195K wasn’t enough to buy this item owned by Justice Ginsburg

A bid of $195,000 wasn’t high enough to secure the “Pegasus” necklace worn by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Sep 25, 2023 8:16 AM CDT

Justice Thomas attended Koch network donor events, interacted with the brothers at retreats, report says

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has attended at least two donor events orchestrated by the Koch network and has developed a bond with the conservative Koch brothers during all-male retreats, according to a new report by ProPublica.

Sep 22, 2023 3:32 PM CDT

Ex-lawyer Alex Murdaugh, serving time for murder, pleads guilty to stealing from clients

Disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh pleaded guilty Thursday to 22 federal charges for stealing millions of dollars from clients and the estate of his late housekeeper.

Sep 22, 2023 10:09 AM CDT

Lawyer’s ‘dogged efforts’ led to scientific discovery that could help with chronic fatigue

A lawyer who had to reduce her workload because of fatigue, neuropathy and muscular weakness embarked on a quest to discover what was wrong with her.

Sep 21, 2023 11:03 AM CDT

Protecting the citizens on the ground—both in Afghanistan and as a lawyer

“Ideas are destiny. Mine sent me to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, to platoon leadership in Afghanistan, to the intensive care unit—and, eventually, to law.”

Sep 21, 2023 10:36 AM CDT

For 30 years, ABA Children’s Rights Litigation Committee has trained and supported kids’ lawyers

The Children’s Rights Litigation Committee “has just been a fantastic banger of the drum that kids need true representation, just like anyone else who’s inside a system that is making incredibly impactful decisions about their lives,” says Angela Vigil, the longest-serving member of the committee.

Sep 21, 2023 8:50 AM CDT