ABA Journal

Cartoon: Exhibit A, B—or Cat? Tell us what’s going on

Can you explain what’s going on in this courtroom? Submit your proposed caption for the court scene depicted by artist Rina Piccolo for a chance to win bragging rights and to see your caption printed in an upcoming issue of the ABA Journal. Submit the caption you think best fits…

Sep 28, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Do you have certifications or advanced degrees besides your JD?

At Divorce Discourse, North Carolina lawyer Lee Rosen discusses pursuing additional credentials. “When I started practicing law, I wasn’t a Board Certified Family Law Specialist,” Rosen wrote. “Then I practiced family law for five years, took a bunch of CLE courses, and applied for certification. I got it and was…

Sep 23, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

‘Sealed Windows’ has won the 2015 ABA Journal short story contest

Congratulations to retired lawyer Andy Greensfelder, the winner of the 2015 ABA Journal/Ross Prize for Legal Short Fiction. Greensfelder, who hails from San Luis Obispo, California, was among 60 entrants in this year’s short story contest. His short story “Sealed Windows” was awarded the $3,000 cash prize on Sept. 3…

Sep 18, 2015 2:00 PM CDT

Who would you want to check out of a ‘Human Library’?

Fifteen years ago a Danish nonprofit started the first “Human Library,” the Good News Network reports. At a Human Library event, volunteers give themselves a book title based on their own attributes—like Iraq War Veteran or Orphanage Boy—and visitors can “check out” the volunteers for a 30-minute conversation. “The purpose…

Sep 16, 2015 12:15 PM CDT

Cartoon Poll: Which toxic tort caption fits the scene?

ABA Journal staffers have sifted through a few dozen entries for our September Cartoon Caption Contest featuring the work of artist Jonny Hawkins. Now it’s your turn to pick a favorite. Vote in the cartoon poll for one of the below captions by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27: • “You…

Sep 16, 2015 8:01 AM CDT

What’s your newest piece of technology?

Apple had one of its many press conferences this week, briefing the world on its latest tablet, smartphone and watch technology. Some of us like to have the latest and greatest of everything; others of us hold fast to our old technology until it dies. This week, we’d like to…

Sep 9, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Jeff Carr ends his retirement to join Valorem Law Group

In the end, Jeffrey Carr’s retirement from the legal industry lasted a shade under one year—or as Cher calls it, “an eternity.” When we last checked in with Carr, he had just wrapped up his 21-year career at FMC Technologies, which included the last 13 years as general counsel. Carr…

Sep 8, 2015 11:29 AM CDT

How a program at an infamous prison helps inmates re-enter society (podcast with transcript)

What good can some men serving life sentence do for other inmates? A great deal, says Judge Laurie A. White, who co-founded a re-entry program for inmates of the infamous Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana. In this episode of Asked and Answered, she tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward…

Sep 8, 2015 8:38 AM CDT

What are you doing when you get your best ideas?

This week, we took note of a judge who finds inspiration—legal inspiration, even—while swimming. “I’ve made some of my best law decisions right there in the pool,” Judge Robert Beach told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’ve got all this time by myself, nobody is interrupting me and I’ll be thinking…

Sep 2, 2015 2:36 PM CDT

Salt Lake City firm Open Legal Services operates as a nonprofit, keeping hourly rates low

Making Hay the Nonprofit Way

Sep 1, 2015 8:45 AM CDT

Reauthorization bill seeks to update a key juvenile justice law after more than 10 years

A bipartisan effort is underway in Congress to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, a 1974 law that provides crucial support for programs aimed at preventing juvenile delinquency. In the view of the ABA, it's time for an update, which hasn't occurred in more than a decade.

Sep 1, 2015 7:00 AM CDT

Roundtable on change and challenge in the business of law

At a rather small table in a large hotel conference room, five pioneers in new legal services met with the ABA Journal in May. Someone suggested the Las Vegas gathering looked like a poker game, but the intention was a discussion of a very different kind of gambling—the risks they've taken in beginning legal businesses outside the traditional law firm and the bets they've placed on the future of the legal industry.

Sep 1, 2015 6:10 AM CDT

Good headings show you’ve thought out your arguments well in advance

The most important part of a brief? That depends on whom you ask. Some say the issue statements. Others say page 1 (which ought to amount to the same thing). Still others say the statement of facts. A few say the conclusion. But one of my favorite answers is the table of contents: Done right, it shows all the substantive point headings arrayed on one or two pages. Certainly those headings are the most important part of the argument section in a brief.

Sep 1, 2015 6:00 AM CDT

Meet our 2015 Legal Rebels

Seventh year. Eleven new honorees. And 111 Legal Rebel profiles. That's a whole lot of change going on in what's too often called a staid profession.

Sep 1, 2015 4:40 AM CDT

10 Questions: Has the ADA measured up?

Robert Burgdorf was the right person in the right place at the right time at the birth of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As an infant, he contracted polio and lost much of the use of one arm and shoulder, regaining some through innovative surgery at age 11. During law…

Sep 1, 2015 3:30 AM CDT