ABA Journal

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Lateral hiring dropped last year, fueled by decline in associate market, NALP report says

Lateral hiring decreased by 11.5% in 2022 as a result of cooling in the market for lateral associates, according to a report by the National Association for Law Placement.



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State constitution protects right to abortion to protect life of mother, top Oklahoma court rules

Women in Oklahoma have a state constitutional right to an abortion when needed to save their lives, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled.



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Supreme Court sides with deaf student in quest for damages for inadequate education

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a deaf student can pursue damages for an inadequate education under the Americans With Disabilities Act, even though he didn’t exhaust remedies under a federal education law.



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ABA announces 30 finalists for 2023 Silver Gavel Awards

For the past 65 years, the ABA has recognized outstanding work that fosters the public’s understanding of law through its Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts. This year, the association has selected 30 finalists, which include books, commentaries, documentaries, drama and literature, magazines, multimedia, newspapers, radio and television programs.



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Federal judge says motion is littered with 'unnecessary potshots and hyperbole,' offers chance to refile

A Chicago lawyer apparently declined to take up a federal judge’s offer that she file an amended motion that omits the “potshots and hyperbole” of the original.



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Impurr-fect evidence dooms suit over couple's initial plans to declaw adopted Himalayan kitten

A Louisiana law governing the sale of good worth more than $500 has doomed a lawsuit filed by a woman seeking to prevent the declawing of a Flame Point Himalayan kitten she sold to a North Carolina couple.



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Arrests without formal charges or convictions no longer have to be disclosed by would-be lawyers in New York

The New York Supreme Court’s appellate division is whittling down the types of justice system involvement that would-be lawyers have to disclose when applying for bar admission. The changes are intended “to better promote equity and fairness in the character and fitness interview process.”



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North Dakota Constitution protects abortions needed to protect women's life and health, top state court says

The North Dakota Constitution protects the right to obtain an abortion when it is needed to preserve the life or health of a pregnant woman, the state supreme court said Thursday.



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BakerHostetler partner gave 'evasive and nonresponsive' deposition testimony, motion says

Deposition answers by a BakerHostetler partner were so evasive that he should sit for repeat questioning at the offices of a special master who can intervene to resolve disputes, according to a motion filed by lawyers with Patterson Belknap. Rosebush is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Roche Diagnostics Corp. alleging he aided an insurance fraud scheme for BakerHostetler’s then-client, the pharmacy company Alliance Medical Holdings.



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How can law schools with history of bar pass issues get their rates above 75%?

For law schools that fall below the bar pass rate required for ABA accreditation, there are many avenues for change. We spoke to three schools that have improved their numbers.



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Latest version of ChatGPT aces bar exam with score nearing 90th percentile

The latest version of the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT has passed the Uniform Bar Examination by “a significant margin,” earning a combined score of 297 that surpasses even the high threshold of 273 set by Arizona.



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Supreme Court gets the scoop on doggy toy, whiskey parody case

Executives at Jack Daniel’s, whose whiskey was first sold under that name in 1875, have requested that VIP Products stop selling dog chew toys shaped like liquor bottles but with parody names and themes, leading to a major trademark case that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up March 22.



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Wigdor blasts DLA Piper's use of confidential arbitration in case of associate fired after seeking maternity leave

The Wigdor law firm is criticizing DLA Piper for using confidential, forced arbitration to decide the case of an associate fired after seeking maternity leave.



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Law school gets extension to meet Standard 316; ABA Legal Ed council posts additional notice on faculty diversity

Updated: The Golden Gate University School of Law, which has not had a two-year bar pass rate at or above 75% since its class of 2017, has received an extension to come into compliance with Standard 316, which requires a bar passage rate of at least 75% within a two-year time period.



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STD contracted during car sex isn't covered by GEICO auto policy, federal judge rules

A federal judge in the Western District of Missouri has ruled for GEICO in a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that its auto policy doesn’t cover damages for a sexually transmitted disease contracted during car sex.



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State bar finds 'shocking past culture of unethical and unacceptable behavior' in its handling of Girardi complaints

Disbarred trial lawyer Tom Girardi’s efforts to buy relationships and exercise influence at the State Bar of California likely caused some ethics complaints against him to be improperly closed, according to an outside review released Friday.



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Bill Horton, longtime ABA leader and past Health Law Section chair, dies at 63

William “Bill” Horton, a longtime leader in the ABA Health Law Section, died Tuesday from cancer. “There are those lawyers whom the ABA changes, and there are those who change the ABA. Bill Horton is one of the latter,” ABA President-Elect Mary Smith said in a tribute.



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States don’t have to 'stand idly by and watch the carnage,' 11th Circuit says in upholding age restriction on gun sales



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Ban on ‘rude’ public comments at town meetings violates state constitution, court rules

A policy allowing only “respectful and courteous” public comments at town meetings violates the state constitution, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled.



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Lawyer who asserted Trump 'won in a landslide' on national TV censured for stolen election claims

A senior legal adviser to then-President Donald Trump has agreed to a public censure while admitting that her false claims about election fraud violated lawyer ethics rules.



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Suit filed on behalf of women denied abortions in Texas despite dangerous health complications

Doctors and hospitals in Texas are turning away pregnant women who face serious health risks and need abortions because the medical providers fear prosecution, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.



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Louisville, Kentucky, police department discriminates and uses excessive force, DOJ concludes

A review of Louisville, Kentucky, policing after the 2020 death of Breonna Taylor in a botched raid has led the U.S. Department of Justice to conclude that the city and its police department have engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional conduct.



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Finance-related notice for Kentucky law school posted by ABA Legal Ed Section

The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law is not in compliance with an accreditation standard focused on financial resources, the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar recently found.



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Lawyer convicted for stealing over $26M gives up law license; money was spent on gambling, jets, 'social companions'

A former managing partner convicted in 2018 for stealing more than $26 million from his law firm and closing business has given up his Georgia law license.



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