ABA Journal

10 ways to make time for the things that matter

Tracy Richelle High: “You make time for the things that matter. Period. What matters most on any particular day changes, and you must be flexible. Some days I devote more time to being a lawyer, and other days I devote more to my personal life.”

Oct 1, 2017 3:30 AM CDT

Eye for Errors: Test your skills at editorial triage

Take the Editor’s Quiz: Give these briefs a minimalist edit—confining yourself to outright errors. In each sentence that follows, find one or more glaring errors and one or more venial errors.

Oct 1, 2017 2:40 AM CDT

A Thurgood Marshall trial comes into focus through Connecticut lawyer's screenplay

Ludwig van Beethoven composed an ode to joy. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote an ode to the west wind. Connecticut attorney Michael Koskoff wrote an ode to the jury trial—and it became the movie Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman as a young Thurgood Marshall.

Oct 1, 2017 1:40 AM CDT

How long did it take for you to feel like you were a good lawyer?

At the Law21 Blog this month, legal market analyst Jordan Furlong asked LinkedIn followers who started their careers as law firm associates how many years of practice it took them to feel like “a reasonably competent and confident lawyer.” The median answer? Five years. “What those results also affirmed for…

Sep 27, 2017 10:00 AM CDT

Cartoon Caption: What’s your sentence for this courtroom game of hangman?

Is the counselor making a mockery of the courtroom, or does the judge know which letter to pick next? Make your case for this hangman scenario, and send us your best caption for this month’s cartoon. The winner of our October challenge will see their caption and credit printed in…

Sep 25, 2017 3:45 PM CDT

Drowning in debt? Here are some potential lifelines (podcast)

Six-figure student loans can be a terrifying burden, and one of the top challenges for many law grads. But even if you’ve fallen in arrears, you still may have options to turn your financial situation around.

Sep 25, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

What phrases do you hate hearing when talking to colleagues?

It is important to “begin a conversation in a way that doesn’t make it difficult for the person to respond, disagree, or add their perspective,” communications specialist John Stoker says in a post at his DialogueWORKS blog. He then lists some poor ways for leaders to start a conversation or…

Sep 20, 2017 12:25 PM CDT

Do you volunteer on a regular basis?

Many people chose to make Monday—the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks—a national day of service by spending the day volunteering. And the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma in recent weeks has inspired many people to help with cleanup efforts—lawyers have mobilized, and even one…

Sep 13, 2017 12:17 PM CDT

John Tredennick of Catalyst took the lead in the ‘80s to bring tech to his law firm (podcast)

John Tredennick started a focus on legal technology in 1988—back when law firms saw it as something limited to fancy computers and adding machines. He asked Holland & Hart, the Denver-based firm where he was a partner, to add the words chief information officer to his title. Inspiration came from an American Bar Association conference.

Sep 13, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Cartoon Poll: Which snake-themed caption is most charming?

We had a blast narrowing down the more than 75 entries for this month’s caption contest. But we need your help to determine the slithery standout. So what one is biting at you? The caption that receives the most votes will appear in an upcoming issue of the magazine. Vote…

Sep 12, 2017 11:30 AM CDT

Do you have clients or know anyone affected by the wind-down of DACA? What will they do now?

On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration would be phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. According to a statement from President Donald Trump, no new applications will be processed, but existing work permits will be honored until they expire, and applications in…

Sep 6, 2017 1:15 PM CDT

How the author of ‘The Forgotten Flight’ fought for justice for terror victims’ families (podcast)

If you mention a terrorist attack in which a Libyan suitcase bomb brought down an airliner, most people will be quick to remember Pan Am Flight 103, which crashed on Dec. 21, 1988 in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. But there is another, similar attack that happened nine months later, on Sept. 19, 1989.

Sep 6, 2017 8:43 AM CDT

Harper Lee Prize Goes to Boies Schiller Counsel: 12th book in series takes top honor

Boies Schiller Flexner lawyer James Grippando has won the seventh annual Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for his book Gone Again, the 12th in his Jack Swyteck series, about the adventures of a Miami criminal defense attorney. The novel opens with Swyteck being approached to help stop the execution of a convicted murderer by the mother of the purported victim—who believes her daughter may still be alive.

Sep 1, 2017 2:10 AM CDT

How We Give 100 Percent

Do I really think I am giving less than 100 percent? When I really level with myself, the answer is a resounding no. Despite my attempts to convince myself that I am a girl who does not do everything to the “nth” degree (and I am fine with it), nothing could be further from the truth.

Sep 1, 2017 2:05 AM CDT

Lawyers have to move on from witnesses who won't budge

Do you have some purpose in mind in your persistent questioning? Are your questions a tactical gambit with a strategic goal you can articulate, at least to yourself, and hopefully it becomes apparent to others? Or are you just belaboring the obvious?

Sep 1, 2017 1:45 AM CDT