ABA

This Pineapple can intercept Wi-Fi traffic

John Simek threw a Pineapple into the works of online security. Neither a spiky fruit nor the hand grenade nicknamed after it, the Pineapple used by the vice president of Sensei Enterprises Inc. is a device that could cause explosive damage to those who use Wi-Fi to access and operate…

Jun 1, 2013 7:10 AM CDT

Firms are at risk of security breaches inside and out

Most major U.S. law firms have been victims of security breaches, and the unwelcome threats likely operated covertly for up to nine months before they were discovered. For many, the first whiff of insidious action comes from a knock on the firm’s door by the FBI. In 2011, the U.S.…

Jun 1, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Employment picture for law grads looks pretty much the same as a year ago—for better and worse

Employment data released in late March by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar indicates that 2012 law school graduates face essentially the same job market that greeted the class of 2011. The data reflects the known employment status of 97.4 percent of the 2012 graduates…

Jun 1, 2013 6:50 AM CDT

Legal education section announces new staff director during a time of close scrutiny

Barry A. Currier is stepping into the key staff position supporting the work of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar at a particularly difficult and challenging time for law schools, recent graduates and the profession in which those new lawyers are trying to find work.…

Jun 1, 2013 6:40 AM CDT

Bar leaders at ABA Day spend a lot of time on the Hill—and that’s just how they want it

When leaders of the ABA and representatives of other bar associations from around the United States descend on Capitol Hill for a few days every spring, they are all business as they lobby members of Congress on issues of importance to the legal profession and the justice system. The three-day…

Jun 1, 2013 6:30 AM CDT

Do unpaid pro bono internships violate the law? ABA says they should be allowed

The ABA wants to pave the way for law students and recent grads to work on pro bono matters in unpaid internships with for-profit law firms and corporate legal offices. ABA President Laurel Bellows, in a letter (PDF) to the U.S. Department of Labor, seeks assurances that the agency will…

May 30, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

ABA offers help to those hit hard by Oklahoma tornadoes

The president of the American Bar Association has extended her sympathies to victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes and says the ABA is organizing relief efforts to provide legal help to survivors of this week’s storms. “There are no words to ease the pain of the families who lost loved ones…

May 24, 2013 6:13 PM CDT

Schools that are nailing law practice technology; Prof compares SLU to Pakistan; Tumblr drama

Legal services delivery entrepreneur Richard Granat wrote at eLawyering Blog about the efforts of the ABA’s eLawyering Task Force to identify the top law schools currently teaching legal practice technology. “We include within this category courses that train law students in document automation, legal expert systems, and other course work…

May 10, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Do ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws make society safer, or more dangerous? ABA holds hearing

At a Thursday hearing, Illinois Appellate Court Judge Michael Hyman, chair of the ABA Coalition on Racial & Ethnic Justice, laid out the questions that the ABA’s National Task Force on Stand Your Ground Laws is grappling with—and that he said the nation has to face—in the wake of the…

May 3, 2013 8:02 PM CDT

Gender equality is theme of ABA Law Day program

The ABA is celebrating Law Day with a program this evening focusing on gender equality. The Washington, D.C., event will consider questions such as: Has constitutional equality for women in the United States been realized? What are the appropriate roles of courts, legislatures and advocacy groups in advancing gender equality?…

May 1, 2013 11:53 AM CDT

ABA helps lawyers thrive by being at the forefront of new practice areas

Serving the growing number of elders who need legal help. Guiding companies through complicated efforts to combat cybercrime. Practicing law that focuses on collaboration. These are among expanding fields of law that offer opportunities to new law school graduates, those looking to return to law and seasoned practitioners in search…

May 1, 2013 9:50 AM CDT

How protected should communications between lawyers and a firm’s in-house counsel be?

Growing numbers of law firms are employing in-house counsel to help them navigate an increasingly complex environment of ethics duties and regulatory requirements. But the use of in-house counsel also is raising new issues about the relationship between law firms and their clients. One of the most perplexing questions is…

May 1, 2013 8:10 AM CDT

Lawyers say they like storing data online

For a profession sometimes criticized as being slow to change, the law seems to be flying into use of cloud computing for legal work. The ABA Legal Technology Resource Center’s 2013 survey of ABA lawyers shows a heady amount of satisfaction with online-based software solutions. Among this year’s findings in…

May 1, 2013 7:20 AM CDT

Section keeps LSAT requirement for law school applicants—at least for now

To the possible chagrin of prospective law students throughout the United States, it appears likely that the national accreditation standards for law schools will retain the requirement that applicants take an admission test. For all intents and purposes, that means the LSAT. In March, the council of the ABA Section…

May 1, 2013 6:50 AM CDT

ABA opinion cautions judges to avoid ethics pitfalls of social media

Judges don’t have to sit by the now-proverbial telephone hoping to make contact with the rest of the world. Instead, they may join the growing numbers of people who participate in electronic social networking. That was the conclusion reached by the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility in…

May 1, 2013 6:40 AM CDT