When states’ rights and health care access clash

From the COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and health care access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American health care system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.

May 15, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

Lawyer’s true-crime book explores how he defended a neurodivergent client charged with murder

Updated: In 1997, in the small town of Ringgold in northwest Georgia, a reclusive man was accused of keeping his wife captive in his home and murdering her. A local politician-turned-defense attorney took on the case.

May 13, 2024 4:00 PM CDT

Lawyer’s new book traces today’s true-crime fascination to salacious 1800s murder trial

The case of Polly Bodine is the subject of Alex Hortis’ new book, The Witch of New York. But a whodunnit is only part of the story that Hortis, the associate university counsel at the University of Maryland Baltimore, sets out to tell. The book’s subtitle shares the rest: “The cursed birth of tabloid justice.”

May 2, 2024 2:16 PM CDT

Should ABA strike ‘nonlawyer’ from its vocabulary? Petition says it’s time

The word “nonlawyer” fails to acknowledge the wide range of contributions of all legal professionals and should no longer be used by the ABA, according to a petition posted on LinkedIn.

Apr 11, 2024 11:14 AM CDT

Blaming Word setting for overlong briefs is ‘somewhat hard to believe,’ federal judge says as she tosses footnotes

A setting in Microsoft Word is to blame for a failure to include footnotes in word counts for briefs filed on behalf of online casino provider High 5 Games, its lawyers told a federal judge in fighting a bid for sanctions.

Apr 1, 2024 11:42 AM CDT

New Legalese: You may have heard a deepfake, but what about ‘Twiqbal’?

In many ways, the new legal vocabulary reflects the time in which we live. As you look through the terms that have arisen over the last 24 years, you’ll see much of our recent history.

Apr 1, 2024 1:40 AM CDT

More lawyers—and clients—want to learn about sustainable development practices

As many industries develop sustainable development practices, lawyers can play a role too. In a book released by ABA Publishing, Sustainability Essentials: A Leadership Guide for Lawyers, John Dernbach, with co-authors Irma Russell and Matthew Bogoshian, provide digestible how-to tips for proactively infusing a sustainable development framework into legal work.

Apr 1, 2024 1:20 AM CDT

Retired Justice Stephen Breyer discusses new book in interview with ABA Journal

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer makes his case in Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism, scheduled for release on Tuesday. After 40-plus years as a judge, Breyer’s book is a logical capstone. “For better or for worse, it might be helpful to put down my approach how I go about interpreting difficult phrases, the Constitution or statutes.”

Mar 25, 2024 8:23 AM CDT

James Patterson dishes on his new legal thriller, ‘The #1 Lawyer’

James Patterson has written bestsellers in many genres. But as he tells the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles in this episode of The Modern Law Library podcast, he has always been fascinated by legal thrillers, courtroom dramas and crime novels. He even considered becoming a lawyer—before his literary career took off.

Mar 20, 2024 9:46 AM CDT

Writing advice for lawyers from nonlawyers

From pretty much the moment that we start law school, we get advice on how to be better writers. Most of it is from lawyers (or ex-lawyers). That’s fine to start. Legal writing is a genre and has unique considerations that you have to master, if only because courts demand it, like The Bluebook.

Mar 14, 2024 9:09 AM CDT

Could automated transcription tools replace human court reporters?

Recent advances in technology, as well as a shortage of court reporters nationwide and the increased use of virtual depositions and hearings, has led to an opening for automated transcription tools.

Mar 13, 2024 8:38 AM CDT

‘There are obstacles, and it’s not you,’ says co-editor of collection of essays focused on female lawyers

In Her Story: The Resilient Woman Lawyer’s Guide to Conquering Obstacles, three women co-edited a compilation of first-person essays written by women sharing their thoughts, challenges and experiences in the legal field. One of the co-editors, a former president of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations, spoke with the ABA Journal.

Mar 8, 2024 1:39 PM CST

Court scolds Weil partner for brief found to ‘incorporate by reference’ nearly 2,000 words from another document

A partner with Weil, Gotshal & Manges apparently missed an opinion telling his law firm that incorporating an argument by reference can’t be used to exceed word-count limits in briefs, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Feb 20, 2024 1:34 PM CST

What’s the secret to writing a good search prompt?

Lawyers may be excellent when questioning on the stand, but when it comes to cross-examining artificial intelligence, they may need an assist. With generative artificial intelligence, it’s all about the search prompt.

Feb 20, 2024 12:51 PM CST

The bots are taking over; now what?

During the second day of the ABA Techshow 2024 on Thursday, lawyers and legal technologists listened to legal academics discuss the future of their careers in a panel called “AI Transforming Legal Services: What’s Here, What’s Hype, and Preparing for What’s Coming.”

Feb 16, 2024 9:22 AM CST