Want to improve AI for law? Let’s talk about public data and collaboration

When data scientists want to know if their artificial intelligence software can recognize handwritten digits, they have to test it. For most, this means taking a dataset of black-and-white handwritten symbols and running it through the software.

May 22, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Improving access to justice via technology

“Access to justice” is an interesting phrase. It suggests a right to justice, one that is generally accepted as a fundamental part of American culture and which is recognized in our Constitution’s Bill of Rights. But, in today’s world, access to justice is too often only theoretical.

May 17, 2018 7:15 AM CDT

What is the most you’ve ever billed or worked in a year?

This week we took note of Daniel Bliss, a Michigan lawyer who reported in an annual survey conducted by the publishers of American Lawyer that he billed 3,600 hours last year. That's about 70 hours per week—every week.

May 16, 2018 1:08 PM CDT

It’s time to enter the ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction

It's time to get creative. Entries are being accepted for the 2018 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction through 5 p.m. CDT on Friday, June 1.

May 16, 2018 12:55 PM CDT

From paper to digital documents, Judge Andrew Peck traveled (and set) the discovery trail (podcast)

For litigators accustomed to conducting discovery inside large warehouses surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of cardboard file boxes, combing through several forests' worth of paper to find the few relevant documents was like trying to find the needle in the haystack.

May 16, 2018 8:00 AM CDT

Help select the winner of the 2018 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

The finalists for the 2018 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction have been announced, and now readers will have a chance to weigh in.

The books nominated for the eighth annual award are Exposed, by Lisa Scottoline; Proof, by C. E. Tobisman; and Testimony, by Scott Turow.

May 15, 2018 9:00 AM CDT

Cartoon Poll: Pick the purrfect caption that gets your tail wagging

We had a doggone blast perusing more than 200 entries for this month’s cat-and-canine-themed cartoon caption contest. But we need your help to determine the winner. The caption that gets…

May 14, 2018 4:44 PM CDT

ABA Journal wins best Web News Section and other national honors at 2018 Azbee Awards

ABAJournal.com won a national gold award for best Web News Section and the ABA Journal received an honorable mention for Magazine of the Year in its revenue category at the 2018 Azbee Awards. The awards, given by the American Society of Business Publication Editors on Thursday in Washington, D.C., recognize outstanding work by business-to-business, trade, association or professional publications.

May 11, 2018 3:09 PM CDT

How can we fight to reduce bias? 6th Circuit judge shares her thoughts (podcast)

Studies have shown that implicit bias is something that affects everyone to some degree. So what steps can legal professionals at all ranks take to make the justice system fairer and more equitable?

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles speaks with Judge Bernice Donald of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and professor Sarah E. Redfield of the University of New Hampshire School of Law about Enhancing Justice: Reducing Bias, a book published by the ABA.

May 10, 2018 8:30 AM CDT

Do you read novels?

Can reading literary fiction help lawyers develop more empathy? Or do reading such works warp your mind a little bit?

May 9, 2018 10:45 AM CDT

Judges and the administrative state

The term “administrative state,” or the more pejorative term “deep state” are trending concepts that conjure up images of conspiracies and government bureaucrats run amok.

May 9, 2018 8:30 AM CDT

Legal tech has a diversity problem, new report says

New research confirms what many had suspected: women and minority founders are underrepresented in legal technology.

May 9, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Should SCOTUS arguments be livestreamed?

Last week, in a break from usual practice, the U.S. Supreme Court released audio of oral arguments in Trump v. Hawaii, which concerned the legality of President Donald Trump's travel ban.

May 2, 2018 12:59 PM CDT

The ABA’s role in protecting judicial independence

The independence of the judiciary is an important pillar in any democracy. But throughout history it has also proven to be a fragile one, and there continue to be many examples of that fragility in the United States and throughout the globe.

In the U.S., the courts’ unique role has come under attack on many occasions, despite the constitutional protections designed to ensure that courts are accountable to the law and free from interference by the executive and legislative branches.

May 1, 2018 8:30 AM CDT

10 Questions: Lawyer’s memoir recalls growing up Jewish in Japan during WWII

Isaac Shapiro detailed his unique experience during World War II. His parents, Jewish emigres from Russia, were living in Berlin when Adolf Hitler began his rise to power. Sensing danger, they fled, eventually settling where they thought their young family would be safe: Japan.

May 1, 2018 1:55 AM CDT