Mom did not neglect sons by letting them play outside, state agrees after legal battle

A Chicago mother initially found to have neglected her three children by allowing them to play in a park next to their home in 2013 has been cleared with the help of a major corporate law firm. An Illinois appeals court dismissed the case Monday after the state Department of…

Dec 16, 2015 12:25 PM CST

Once a homeless teen herself, lawyer now offers pro bono advice to others

On the run at age 13 and homeless for three years after that, Nicole Lowe must have seemed an unlikely legal eagle to those who knew her at the time. But the onetime vagabond long ago turned her life around and is now both an attorney and the mother of…

Dec 15, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Lawyers can’t be ‘conscripted’ to represent indigents, rules US Virgin Islands Supreme Court

The Virgin Islands Supreme Court has ruled that the U.S. territory’s trial court of general jurisdiction violated a statute by forcing lawyers into involuntary appointments as counsel in indigent criminal cases, the Virgin Islands Daily News reports. The Nov. 25 ruling came in a case brought by two members of…

Dec 1, 2015 1:30 PM CST

Law firm offers free defense to military veterans booked for traffic offenses on Veterans Day

A New Jersey law firm is offering a free defense to military veterans charged with a traffic offense on Veterans Day. “Whether it’s a serious matter, like a DWI, or a speeding ticket, we will take care of it for free,” attorney Al Mollo of the Mollo Law Firm told…

Nov 10, 2015 4:30 PM CST

Which legal causes would you devote your practice to, if you could?

This week is Pro Bono Week, the annual event during which the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service calls attention to the increasing need for pro bono services and recognizes the lawyers who step up to meet it. Maybe you do some pro bono yourself—or maybe in…

Oct 28, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

City owes $117K in legal fees to critic it sued over meeting clips in his YouTube videos

A California city must pay more than $117,000 in attorney’s fees for a critic it sued over alleged copyright infringement due to government meeting footage he included in his YouTube videos. The Inglewood meeting footage couldn’t be copyrighted, a federal judge ruled in August, and on Thursday he made the…

Oct 14, 2015 10:10 AM CDT

The power of pro bono: ABA day of service helps legal profession make ‘justice for all’ a reality

The legal profession has a strong tradition of service. No other profession provides more pro bono aid to those in need than ours.

Oct 1, 2015 8:45 AM CDT

BigLaw firm offers pro bono help to low-income lawyers facing ethics charges in Illinois

Holland & Knight has launched a pro bono program to help lawyers in financial need who are facing ethics charges in Illinois. The program, called the “Attorney Defense Initiative,” is the first of its kind in the nation, according to a press release by Holland & Knight, which has expanded…

Sep 10, 2015 11:33 AM CDT

Pro bono gives solos experience and satisfaction

When Chicago attorney Jill Metz started practicing as a solo attorney in the early 1980s, she decided she would always make time to do pro bono work. Though she needed to get her practice off the ground and earn a living, Metz volunteered five to 10 hours a week for…

Sep 1, 2015 6:35 AM CDT

Attorneys partner with public libraries to reach underserved clients

Libraries have evolved from their original function as repositories for books into full-fledged community centers. So it's not surprising that libraries have also become impromptu law offices where local residents can have access to legal services in a more convenient, less imposing setting than other book-lined sanctuaries.

Sep 1, 2015 4:45 AM CDT

Avvo founder tells lawyers to ‘get rid of UPL’ if they want innovation and access to justice

Corrected: At the close of the first day of the ABA’s House of Delegates meeting, the House’s Committee on Issues of Concern presented talks that were “intended to be provocative.” The talks, entitled “Issues of Concern to the Legal Profession” in the day’s program, grew out of the research of…

Aug 3, 2015 8:45 PM CDT

Sen. Durbin promotes pro bono, honors award recipients

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaking to an oft-cheering audience on his home turf, exhorted lawyers to do more pro bono work and to help finance free legal services provided by others in his keynote address Saturday at the ABA’s Pro Bono Publico Awards luncheon at the association’s annual meeting…

Aug 1, 2015 7:17 PM CDT

Ethics panel backs judges’ letters asking lawyers to consider community service

Aug 1, 2015 3:10 AM CDT

Lawyer is entitled to only $100 for ex-client’s post on Ripoff Report, appeals court says

A lawyer who sued a former client for calling him an unethical bully on ripoffreport.com can collect damages of only $100, a New York appeals court has ruled. The court reduced the original award of $125,000 to lawyer John Cahill in a brief decision that said the evidence doesn’t support…

Jul 16, 2015 11:29 AM CDT

Should BigLaw firms be donating more of their record profits to legal aid?

BigLaw firms are earning record profits, amounting to more than $100 billion last year. Yet they are donating only a tiny fraction of their earnings to help provide legal services to those who can’t afford representation, according to an analysis by the American Lawyer (sub. req.) In its first effort…

Jul 1, 2015 4:00 PM CDT