The state supreme court’s Limited License Legal Technicians initiative won over the state bar’s board of governors, as the panel unanimously approved a resolution indicating its strong endorsement of the rule. But in a stark 180-degree turn, the limited license program rapidly lost the support of the bar’s board and the court as the makeup of both bodies changed.
As various states cancel in-person July bar exams because of COVID-19 concerns, others appear undecided or even committed to keeping things as is—even in places experiencing significant infection increases.
Annual tuition at Harvard Law School is $65,875, and a student there thinks he should get at least some of that back. With the school’s June announcement that the fall 2020 term will be online, Abraham Barkhordar, a rising 2L at Harvard, has filed a suit demanding that tuition should be discounted.
As businesses reopen, the practice of asking customers to sign COVID-19 liability waivers is increasing throughout the United States, but it is uncertain how much weight those waivers will carry in court. And if the businesses aren’t complying with safety guidelines concerning COVID-19, they may still be found liable.
Few, if any, unions have as much power in bargaining for discipline, internal investigation stipulations and conditions of employment as police do, say labor lawyers interviewed by the ABA Journal. And although complaints about police union contracts are not new, the criticisms have amplified since May, following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Small businesses are struggling. It’s been more than three months since the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to shut down, send their employees home and get by on little-to-no income. “I think a lot of people, even as many big law firms and others put out webinars, still have questions that are personal to their organization and their business,” says Lana Kleiman.
In a normal June, the U.S. Supreme Court issues the last of the term’s opinions, many of which are in its most contentious and divided cases. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once referred to people coming to the courtroom to “watch the show.” But the show has not gone on during the time of quarantine.
“For the most part, states and employers are doing the right thing,” says Mary Bonauto, who argued Obergefell v. Hodges before the U.S. Supreme Court. But she says there are still some attempts to “shrink marriage.”
Like most lawyers, you’ve probably been working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the quarantines and social distancing requirements, you didn’t have much of a choice. Obviously, you’re not alone, since remote working has become the new normal for most businesses during the pandemic, writes lawyer and author Nicole Black of MyCase.
As thousands of demonstrators have been arrested or jailed amid protests over the killing of George Floyd and police brutality, detention practices that increase the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus are back in the spotlight.
