ABA Journal

2013 surveys foresee future doldrums in legal spending

Two reports from early autumn may have brought on the chills for the legal profession. Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group polled law firm leaders, finding a drop in expectations for 2013 profits and revenue. According to the poll of 72 firms, 39 percent of respondents expected 2013 profits to…

Dec 1, 2013 8:50 AM CST

Funding cuts threaten federal courts’ ability to do their work, ABA cautions Congress

The ABA is urging Congress to restore cuts in funding for the federal courts that went into effect earlier this year and to protect the judicial branch from future budget reductions that would undermine the ability of the courts to carry out their constitutional and statutory functions. “Our concern for…

Dec 1, 2013 7:40 AM CST

What qualities do you look for in potential hires?

Last week, a reader asked Corporette about tips for hiring a new assistant. “What should I look for in a new assistant? What questions should I ask during an interview?” asked the attorney, the newest in the trio of lawyers who would share the assistant. Corporette’s Kat Griffin didn’t have…

Nov 26, 2013 6:48 PM CST

Unconventional childhood helps ‘Free Spirit’ author to advocate for domestic-abuse victims (podcast)

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal's Molly McDonough interviews Safran about the memoir he wrote of his experiences, Free Spirit: Growing Up on the Road and Off the Grid. He shares the breakthrough moment he had with a pro bono client, in which he found himself bonding with her by sharing stories of the domestic abuse he and his mother suffered during his childhood.

Nov 25, 2013 2:30 PM CST

Food truck vendors dig in for a piece of street turf against brick-and-mortar restaurants

Entrepreneur Greg Burke ekes out his living hawking sausages and breaded-and-fried meat sandwiches aboard the Schnitzel King, a food truck he operates in Chicago. But he says restrictive local ordinances make it tough to keep his head above water. So Burke is suing the city for what he contends are…

Nov 23, 2013 2:33 AM CST

Should small firms be the ones to close the access-to-justice gap? | How to be a great local counsel

Corrected: Last week, the New York City Bar Association announced some new pilot programs: a New Lawyer Institute, which would offer a yearlong comprehensive CLE curriculum for 2014 law grads, and a law firm incubator that would “enable new lawyers to address the unmet civil legal needs of the middle…

Nov 22, 2013 2:30 PM CST

What it’s like to build a new law firm in the post-downturn market (video)

Bruce Barket, founding partner at Barket, Marion, Epstein & Kearon, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about the challenges in building a law firm after the legal profession’s slowdown in 2008. Barket and his three partners started their own criminal defense firm two years ago, and the firm has grown…

Nov 21, 2013 7:00 PM CST

What was the most unusual (but true!) excuse you have had for being late to court or the office?

Reader Judy Shields tells us she was late to court last week. Why? “Because our cat brought a live flying squirrel into my closet,” she writes. “While I was able to get clothes from the rest of the house, my shoes were all in the closet, and I figured shoes…

Nov 20, 2013 8:45 PM CST

Vote for your favorite caption in our legal-themed cartoon contest

After receiving more than 250 cartoon caption entries (100 more than in our inaugural contest), ABA Journal staffers have selected three favorites. Now it’s your turn to pick the best, the winning caption that will be published in an upcoming issue of the ABA Journal: “No, the jury will not…

Nov 19, 2013 2:30 PM CST

Do most litigators have ‘impostor syndrome?’ | Men vs. women on ‘having it all’

At Associate’s Mind, Alabama lawyer Keith Lee notes how many young professionals suffer from “impostor syndrome” in which the person feels as though they’re secretly unqualified for their responsibilities. Houston criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett noticed the post and points out at Defending People that the syndrome (“you call it…

Nov 15, 2013 2:29 PM CST

BigLaw partners can’t really be entrepreneurial, consultant says (video)

This year has been a “long slog” for most major law firms, with revenues and profits rising modestly, if at all, law firm consultant Bruce MacEwen tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia. Two aspects of BigLaw make it difficult for law firms to change that, he says. First, despite claims they…

Nov 14, 2013 4:38 PM CST

Is it a smart move for a company to make work-life balance policies?

Last month, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs announced a policy requiring junior analysts to spend some time each week away from the office. “According to one Goldman analyst, the firm’s junior bankers have been told that unless they receive a special waiver [because of ‘critical client activity’], they aren’t supposed…

Nov 13, 2013 5:15 PM CST

Victims are taking on websites for posting photos without their consent

In the summer of 2012, Hollie Toups got a disturbing call from a friend. Toups is from a small town near Beaumont, Texas, where nobody is that much of a stranger. Her friend had overheard some men talking about a pornographic website with local women on it—and they had mentioned…

Nov 9, 2013 12:30 AM CST

Police don’t pay judgments against them, article says | A bulletproof business suit? Is that legal?

Corrected: When University of Denver law professor Nancy Leong teaches criminal procedure, she always arranges for a police officer to come to class. “I remember one time in particular when a student asked an officer whether the officer would be more unhappy if evidence he found was excluded from trial…

Nov 8, 2013 2:30 PM CST

Why Milbank sends its 4th-year associates back to school (video)

David Wolfson, partner at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy and chair of the firm’s professional development committee, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about the Milbank@Harvard program. The week-long course at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School takes mid-level Milbank associates through a wide range of professional development courses.…

Nov 7, 2013 6:31 PM CST