The ABA Journal’s July 3 Your Voice piece “Seeing Red: A professor coexists with ‘MAGA’ in the classroom” by Jeffrey Omari, has drawn a large number of comments and a lively discussion around the topics of the First Amendment and racism. Below is a sampling of reader responses to Omari’s…
There is a fierce battle for talent underway in American law firms that could benefit women lawyers. According to Citi Private Bank, starting in 2017, law firms added more equity partners through lateral hires than from internal promotions. Citi called the phenomenon “a fundamental shift in how firms plan to…
While I enjoyed Marcel Strigberger’s recent Your Voice column on how the use of humor can help in law practice, I have to disagree with its central thesis.
It was just a few minutes before the start of class, and I was standing at the podium prepping my notes when, through my peripheral vision, I could see a speck of red on the student’s head as he entered the classroom. With just three weeks remaining until the end…
I’m sitting in my law school office daydreaming about the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and I’m working on pedagogy, not fantasy. Published just over 20 years ago, the Harry Potter books captivated children and adults alike, with dramatic storylines, imaginative characters and even moral lessons about courage and…
A third-generation trial attorney, I have spent a majority of my life either working as a lawyer or hearing about it at the dinner table growing up. I was a trial attorney in North Carolina for nearly 27 years and retired in 2004 to go into consulting. I moved to…
It’s nearly Father’s Day as I write this. I have to say, I do kind of like Father’s Day. After all, there are 20 kids, more or less, who have called me “Dad” or some variation thereof. And through them, I’ve learned a lot about the American systems of law…
Since the initial accusations against Harvey Weinstein in fall 2017, the media has chronicled the fall of network superstars, celebrity chefs, patrons of the arts, sports figures and corporate leaders—with sexual harassment victims sharing their stories in horrifying detail. In their descriptions of being sexually harassed and assaulted, the survivors…
From a sociological perspective, law firms are very different from many other businesses. On the one hand, law firms have the clear distinction between fee earners and staff (the non-fee earners). Although both categories are part of the same organization, they form two distinct separate classes: an upper class (fee earners) and a middle class (staff). These two classes do not mix well. Even a nonlawyer CEO or COO will be seen in the end as part of the middle class.
Are you sometimes overstressed practicing law? Are taking yourself too seriously? Is your sense of humour dusty, dormant or, even worse, muzzled? May I offer some suggestions?
The ABA Journal wants to host and facilitate conversations among lawyers about their profession. We are now accepting thoughtful, non-promotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors.
