BigLaw firm’s legal tech subsidiary has launched a steady stream of COVID-19 tools

Utah-based SixFifty set out to do what it does best: develop online tools to assist consumers of all types tackle complex legal challenges without breaking the bank. “That is where we thought we could make the biggest impact,” says CEO Kimball Dean Parker.

Jun 17, 2020 8:00 AM CDT

Many would-be lawyers are allowed to practice law without exam in Washington state

Graduates of ABA-accredited law schools who are registered for the July or September bar exam in Washington state can skip the test and still practice law.

Jun 16, 2020 12:04 PM CDT

Court security officer is shot and killed; courthouses damaged throughout US

Two Federal Protective Service officers were shot outside the federal courthouse in Oakland, California, on Friday night. Only one survived, and he is in critical condition.

Jun 1, 2020 1:00 PM CDT

Utah’s high court proposes nonlawyer ownership of law firms and wide-ranging reforms

The Utah Supreme Court has proposed far-reaching regulatory reforms that would broadly open up the state’s legal marketplace to nonlawyers, including allowing them to own or invest in law firms.

Apr 27, 2020 3:10 PM CDT

Utah is first state to grant diploma privilege during novel coronavirus pandemic

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, the Utah Supreme Court approved temporary diploma privilege Tuesday for individuals who are scheduled to take the July bar exam and graduated from ABA-accredited law schools with first-time bar passage rates of at least 86%.

Apr 22, 2020 11:05 AM CDT

Utah Supreme Court considers diploma privilege; will other states follow?

In a move being described as brave by some academics, the Utah Supreme Court has announced it will consider diploma privilege with no bar passage requirement for recent law school graduates, given that the coronavirus pandemic makes the July bar exam seem unlikely at this point.

Apr 15, 2020 3:37 PM CDT

3 prosecutors resign amid probe into free Utah Jazz tickets provided by defense lawyer

Three prosecutors in Utah recently resigned amid an internal investigation into free Utah Jazz tickets they received from a defense lawyer who had appeared opposite them.

Mar 20, 2020 12:10 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: LGBTQ students sue for sex ed equality; judge’s law license is suspended 5 times

South Carolina LGBTQ students fight for equality in sexual education Eli Bundy, a 15-year-old sophomore at Charleston County School of the Arts in South Carolina, is the leader of the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance, one of three groups suing the state’s superintendent of education in an effort to repeal…

Mar 2, 2020 4:16 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Utah allows bar admission for DACA immigrants; first openly gay federal judge dies

Utah allows bar admission for DACA immigrants The Utah Supreme Court has approved a new rule that allows immigrants brought to the country illegally as children to gain admission to the state bar. The U.S. Department of Justice had opposed the move, citing the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the…

Feb 4, 2020 3:14 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Law firm agrees to solicitation settlement; judge is accused of funds theft

Law firm to pay nearly $1M to drivers it solicited from crash reports Utah-based law firm Craig Swapp & Associates will pay nearly $1 million to thousands of Washington drivers it solicited as clients after buying crash reports from the state police. A federal judge in Washington gave preliminary approval…

Jan 31, 2020 3:23 PM CST

Woman claims lewdness law is unconstitutional after she’s charged for appearing topless in front of stepkids

Lawyers are asking a judge to overturn Utah’s lewdness law and to toss charges against a Utah woman who appeared topless in front of her stepchildren.

Nov 22, 2019 11:30 AM CST

Lawyer accused of flying pregnant Marshallese women to US to place children for adoption

A lawyer who is also the assessor for Maricopa County, Arizona, is facing charges in three states for allegedly operating an illegal adoption scheme involving pregnant women from the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Oct 10, 2019 2:17 PM CDT

Pelvic exams performed without patients’ permission spur new legislation

Sep 1, 2019 1:50 AM CDT

Former BigLaw partner dies on Mount Everest; he was member of ‘seven summit club,’ brother says

A Colorado lawyer who was a former partner at Holland & Hart died Monday while descending the summit of Mount Everest. Solo practitioner Christopher Kulish, 62, is the 11th person to die while climbing Mount Everest this year, report the American Lawyer, USA Today, the Washington Post and the Denver…

May 29, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Judge suspended for negative comments about Trump and treatment of judicial staffer

The Utah Supreme Court has suspended a judge for “inappropriate political commentary” about President Donald Trump and for an attempt to use his judicial position to oust a court staffer from the premises. Judge Michael Kwan was suspended for six months without pay in an opinion filed May 22, report…

May 29, 2019 7:00 AM CDT