ABA

‘Clear error’ standard of review in factual disputes applies in patent claims, SCOTUS says

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled for a drug company fighting generic competitors in a decision on the proper standard of review in patent infringement cases involving factual issues. In a 7-2 decision (PDF), the Supreme Court held that factual conclusions by trial judges in claim construction cases should be…

Jan 20, 2015 10:45 AM CST

William Mitchell launches new law school hybrid, welcomes 85 students for 1 week of on-campus class

A unique legal education experiment began Monday at William Mitchell College of Law. Under a special variance from the American Bar Association, the school welcomed a group of students for a four-year part-time juris doctor degree program. It will require only one week of class attendance per semester at the…

Jan 14, 2015 9:45 AM CST

International law bar takes aim at overbroad bans on Shariah law

The story of Florida's anti-Shariah law movement began three years ago with a courtroom bang, but it ended last May in a legislative whimper.

Jan 1, 2015 6:05 AM CST

How can you advise clients about Ebola? ABA’s Health Law Section offers learning opportunities

Almost from the moment a U.S. hospital received its first patient from the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the possibility that the disease could spread to this country became a matter of legal concern as well as a potential medical crisis.

Jan 1, 2015 5:55 AM CST

Does the UK know something we don’t about alternative business structures?

For two nations sharing a language and legal history, the contrast in the visions at play in the legal systems of the United States and United Kingdom is more than striking. It’s revolutionary. The debates in the U.S. go on: Should ethics rules blocking nonlawyer ownership of law firms be…

Jan 1, 2015 5:51 AM CST

Washington state moves around UPL, using legal technicians to help close the justice gap

Michelle Cummings looks forward to this spring, when she expects to take on her first law client. By then, the Auburn, Washington, resident will have completed her studies and taken the state licensing examination. Provided she passes, she will begin practicing right away.

Jan 1, 2015 5:50 AM CST

2005-2014: Technology changes the rules

While Pangea3’s lawyers slept through a warm and humid night in Mumbai in November 2010, major changes were afoot for them in chilly New York City. Half a world away, the ink was drying on a deal that would join the legal process outsourcer, deliberately based in India, with American…

Jan 1, 2015 4:50 AM CST

ABA immigration initiatives bring hope to those who come here to begin anew

In July 2014, at a detention center near San Antonio, tears flowed from the eyes of the young children describing their journeys away from violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Despite this trauma, you could still see the hope in their eyes that America might protect them. Between October…

Jan 1, 2015 4:00 AM CST

It’s unethical for prosecutors to allow debt collectors to use official letterhead, says ABA opinion

The ABA’s most recent ethics opinion pulls no punches in stating emphatically that it is a clear violation of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for prosecutors to provide official letterhead to debt-collection companies that then create demand letters threatening prosecution to scare individuals into paying their debts. The problem,…

Jan 1, 2015 2:40 AM CST

Retired Gen. Earl Anderson, an ABA Medal recipient, has served his country and the ABA

Earl E. Anderson already was 69 years old in 1988 when he became active in the ABA’s leadership. But over the next quarter-century, Anderson—who has been an ABA member for more than 60 years—has played significant roles in creating a new division for government lawyers, helping guide the association’s efforts…

Jan 1, 2015 1:00 AM CST

ABA urges the Treasury Department to exempt law firm clients from certain reporting rules

The ABA is urging the U.S. Department of the Treasury to incorporate language protecting the confidentiality of law firm clients into a proposed rule establishing customer due diligence requirements for banks and other financial institutions. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, began the rule-making process in…

Jan 1, 2015 12:50 AM CST

ABA Announcements

2015 BOARD OF GOVERNORS ELECTION At the 2015 Midyear Meeting, the Nominating Committee will announce nominations for district and at-large positions on the ABA Board of Governors for terms beginning at the conclusion of the 2015 Annual Meeting and ending at the conclusion of the 2018 Annual Meeting. Pursuant to…

Jan 1, 2015 12:45 AM CST

Proposals would curb lobbyist influence on state attorneys general

Proposals to limit lobbyists’ influence over state attorneys general are being advanced after a New York Times series highlighted the problem. One proposal asks the ABA to change model ethics rules to bar attorneys general from discussing investigations or official matters during fundraising events, the New York Times reports. The…

Dec 29, 2014 1:59 PM CST

ABA urges SCOTUS to uphold ethics rule banning judicial candidates from soliciting contributions

The ABA has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Florida judicial conduct rule that bars judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign funds. The issue in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar is whether the Florida ban violates the First Amendment. The ABA argues in its…

Dec 29, 2014 9:35 AM CST

1L enrollment drops nearly 30 percent from 2010 high; when were figures last so low?

Corrected: First-year enrollment at ABA-approved law schools dropped this year to the lowest point since 1973, when there were 53 fewer accredited law schools. The 204 ABA-accredited law schools enrolled 37,924 full- and part-time first-year students in the fall of 2014, a drop of 4.4 percent from 2013 and a…

Dec 16, 2014 10:27 AM CST