ABA Journal

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen on a jury form?

Last month, we noted that a Pennsylvania judge scolded a couple after the boyfriend filled out the girlfriend’s jury summons form with all manner of disrespectful answers. Drayke Jacobs-Van-Tol responded to questions such as “How many children do you have” with smart-aleck answers, including “none survived the abortions” and “The…

Mar 19, 2014 5:00 PM CDT

Should napping at work be encouraged? | Federal judge returns to popular blog with an announcement

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf announced in January that he would stop posting at Hercules and the Umpire. But the judge logged back on a week ago and told readers that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Because I made such a fuss about legal realism and transparency while…

Mar 14, 2014 1:45 PM CDT

What did you learn from your legal mentor? And mentors, what have you learned from your mentees?

Last week, career coach Cordell Parvin wrote a pair of posts about a mentor-mentee relationship between a partner and an associate at Canadian law firm Bennett Jones. Associate Christie Conway told Parvin that one thing her mentor, partner Greg Liakopoulos, did that helped build trust “was establish a policy that…

Mar 12, 2014 6:00 PM CDT

Cartoon Poll: Vote for your favorite Lady Justice caption now

After browsing some 200 entries to this month’s legal-themed cartoon caption contest—wow, were there a lot of references to stinky feet, the Bobbits and one disturbing mention of 50 Shades of Grey—our staff has selected the following finalists. Please use the poll to vote for your favorite. “They told me…

Mar 11, 2014 8:05 PM CDT

Backstreet Boys and bankruptcy trustee head for trial over $3.4 million

Long before they conquered MTV, sold millions of records and perfected dancing while pantomiming hand motions to match their lyrics, the Backstreet Boys were an unknown boy band thrown together by Florida businessman Lou Pearlman. That relationship eventually fell apart as the band alleged Pearlman had cheated them out of…

Mar 10, 2014 10:04 PM CDT

Former Sandusky attorney faces criminal probe

A Pennsylvania attorney who recently made headlines as part of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky’s defense team is facing a criminal probe of his own. According to PennLive/The Patriot News, Carlisle, Pa.-based attorney Karl Rominger is being investigated by the Cumberland County district attorney on allegations that Rominger…

Mar 10, 2014 6:30 PM CDT

SCOTUS reporter notes tighter security after YouTube footage | Copyright and the ‘Oscar selfie’

Last week, footage of a U.S. Supreme Court hearing was posted on YouTube. This week, U.S. Supreme Court reporter Mark Walsh, writing for SCOTUSblog, noticed some “security tweaks” to Supreme Court security procedures. He writes that court observers have speculated that the videos were made with something as small as…

Mar 7, 2014 2:45 PM CST

What differences have you seen among the baby boomers, Gen Xers and millennials in your workplace?

Last week, law firm marketing director Heather Morse wrote about how the changing of the guard, generation-wise, is affecting the legal industry. “Gen Xers do not have faith that ‘it’ (permanent financial success and security) will actually happen, and are therefore willing to take their clients to another firm to…

Mar 5, 2014 7:10 PM CST

Time for a career change? Advice for lawyers on switching things up (podcast with transcript)

Some law practices don't work out, and others die out. How can lawyers tweak what they do–and how they present themselves–to stay relevant? Our guests tell ABA Journal reporter Stephanie Francis Ward how they reinvented their practices and shifted careers, and how others can do so too.

Mar 3, 2014 3:00 PM CST

Law firms have shown little growth in recent years

Graphics by Jamie Gannon Click here (PDF) to see the 2014 Report on the State of the Legal Market. This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “Paralyzed profits? Law firms have shown little growth in recent years.”

Mar 1, 2014 8:49 AM CST

ABA opposes burdensome accounting method affecting law firms

Congress is poised to consider legislation to simplify the tax laws this year, but the ABA says one of the key provisions being considered would have the opposite effect and cause negative unintended consequences—both for the overall tax system and for many lawyers and law firms in particular. The provision,…

Mar 1, 2014 7:50 AM CST

Generation X’s impact on the legal industry | A blogger shares his wife’s lung cancer struggle

“There is a generational shift taking place, and very few people are talking about it, nor the impact it is having on our sales culture, nor our business culture,” Heather Morse, director of marketing for Barger & Wolen in Los Angeles, writes at The Legal Watercooler. Members of Generation X—like…

Feb 28, 2014 2:50 PM CST

If a biopic was made of your legal life, what would be on your movie poster?

Movies are moving front-and-center this week: This Sunday is the 86th Academy Awards. So this week, we’d like to ask you: If a biopic was made of your legal life, what would be on your movie poster? This question was suggested by reader Ken Bresler, and he gave some examples:…

Feb 26, 2014 7:30 PM CST

Cartoon: What is Lady Justice doing in my living room?

For our March legal-themed Cartoon Caption Contest, cartoonist Rina Piccolo came up with this curious scene: Submit the caption you think best fits the above cartoon by sending an email to captions[at]abajournal[dot]com with “March Caption Contest” in the subject line. Only entries received by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, March 9, will…

Feb 25, 2014 5:45 PM CST

Have you ever had a law prof use TV or film to illustrate a concept?

Image from Shutterstock. On a recent snowy Friday when only five students could make it to class, Appalachian School of Law professor Paula Marie Young decided that she would screen a long excerpt from the the film The Negotiator. “It illustrates so many concepts I discuss in my courses,” Young…

Feb 19, 2014 6:36 PM CST