Michael Connelly Wins 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

Michael Connelly’s legal thriller The Fifth Witness has been named the winner of the 2nd Annual Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. The Fifth Witness, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List, features a recurring Connelly book character, the maverick Los Angeles lawyer Mickey…

Jul 17, 2012 9:55 PM CDT

What Can the Real Rate Report Tell Us About the Value of Entry-Level Lawyers?

ABA Journal reporter Rachel M. Zahorsky talks with Craig Raeburn, managing director of TyMetrix Legal Analytic, co-producer of the Real Rate Report, and Stuart Dodds, director of global pricing at Baker & McKenzie, as they discuss the impact of the study’s findings on law firm-client relationships, best practices for efficient case management, and how firms can ensure the proper investment in entry-level lawyers to serve clients now and in the future.

Jul 17, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Bar Associations Too Cautious on Ethics of Cloud Computing, Blogger Writes

Clouded Judgment At My Shingle, Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant takes various state bar associations to task for their uniformly similar recommendations that lawyers get their clients’ express consent when they store clients’ data in cloud platforms. “Not only does this kind of requirement throw up a red flag that…

Jul 13, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

What if Lincoln Had Lived? And Faced Impeachment? Law Prof Imagines Possibility in Legal Thriller

Yale Law School professor Stephen Carter imagines President Lincoln surviving an assassin’s bullet and facing impeachment in a new legal thriller. The protagonist is not the president who ended slavery, but is instead an aspiring lawyer who is a law clerk on Lincoln’s legal team, according to the New York…

Jul 12, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

What’s Your Favorite Legal Show on TV Right Now?

Last week, actor Andy Griffith died at the age of 86. While he is best known for the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, many lawyers and others also remember him for his role as Ben Matlock in the show of the same name. While Ben Matlock only garnered an…

Jul 11, 2012 8:33 PM CDT

‘Failing Law Schools’ Author Challenges Law Schools to Make Dramatic Changes

ABA Journal Business of Law Reporter Rachel Zahorsky talks with Brian Z. Tamanaha, author of Failing Law Schools, on the need for new law school models that reflect today’s reality, where the six-figure cost of a J.D. is grossly disproportionate to the economic benefits for most graduates.

Jul 9, 2012 5:35 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Lawyer’s Story of Proud Americans—Who Waited 54 Years for Citizenship

Believing in America On July 4, “Ken” shared at Popehat a story (which he confesses he has posted before) of an Independence Day in the early 1990s in which he was a summer extern for Ronald S.W. Lew, the first Chinese-American district court judge in the continental United States. Lew…

Jul 6, 2012 1:38 PM CDT

What’s the Best Lawyer Vanity License Plate You’ve Seen?

Deadspin noticed a vanity plate—JLA ESQ—on the SUV of Joe Amendola, who recently represented former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky at his trial on sex abuse charges. (The website also noticed an expired vehicle registration sticker.) Earlier, the ABA asked readers on Facebook about lawyers’ license plates. As you hit…

Jul 3, 2012 8:19 PM CDT

Picking a Winner: How to Identify Great Contingency Cases

Podcast Transcript: This ABA Journal podcast is brought to you by WestlawNext, the most advanced technology combined with market-leading content and West’s history of trusted editorial excellence. Helping legal professionals save time is what they’ve been doing for over 125 years. Learn more at WestlawNext.com. Stephanie Francis Ward: If you…

Jul 2, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

The Pedigree Problem: Are Law School Ties Choking the Profession?

John, a senior associate at a regional law firm, read the recruiter’s email a second time, still in disbelief. An experienced litigator, John (who asked not to be identified out of concern for future job prospects) graduated in the top 10 percent of his law school class in 2006 with…

Jul 1, 2012 10:20 AM CDT

Insider Threats: Experts Try to Balance the Constitution with Law Enforcement to Find Terrorists

Jul 1, 2012 10:10 AM CDT

The Threat from Within: What Is the Scope of Homegrown Terrorism?

Jul 1, 2012 10:00 AM CDT

U of Denver’s Law School Takes an Extra Step Toward Transparency for Its Graduate Employment Data

Jul 1, 2012 7:00 AM CDT

‘Entry’ Fee: Surprise–Inexperienced Associates Cost More

Jul 1, 2012 6:49 AM CDT

The Pedigree Problem: Are Law School Ties Choking the Profession?

John, a senior associate at a regional law firm, read the recruiter’s email a second time, still in disbelief. An experienced litigator, John (who asked not to be identified out of concern for future job prospects) graduated in the top 10 percent of his law school class in 2006 with…

Jun 29, 2012 9:53 PM CDT