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A top lawyer for the Texas attorney general resigns after calling #MeToo claims ‘pathetic’

A top aide to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton resigned Thursday after criticizing the #MeToo movement on Facebook. Associate Deputy Attorney General Andrew Leonie resigned “effective immediately,” according to a spokesman for Paxton’s office. The New York Times, the Associated Press, the Texas Tribune and the Dallas Morning News have…

Dec 15, 2017 10:35 AM CST

Kozinski faces misconduct complaint initiated by 9th Circuit chief judge after women’s allegations

Updated: As more women come forward with allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct against Judge Alex Kozinski, the question arises: Will the complaints have any impact? A first step was taken Thursday when Chief Judge Sidney Thomas of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals filed an order initiating a complaint against the appeals judge based on a Dec. 8 Washington Post article.

Dec 14, 2017 2:39 PM CST

Anger issues, impulse disorder could explain ‘baffling phenomenon’ of lawyers who shoplift

Experts offer differing assessments of the reasons why some lawyers risk shame and loss of their license by shoplifting. The “baffling phenomenon” of lawyers who shoplift has resulted in ethics cases ending with punishments ranging from public censure to disbarment, Law.com (sub. req.) reports. The publication cites three examples. One…

Dec 14, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Critics ask why Dowd and Cobb have failed to assemble a ‘battalion of lawyers’ for the president

Donald Trump’s legal response to a well-staffed effort by special counsel Robert Mueller is led primarily by John Dowd and Ty Cobb, leading critics to question why they have not “assembled a battalion of lawyers” for the president, according to a Washington Post story.

Dec 12, 2017 11:34 AM CST

Susman Godfrey announces hefty bonuses; other boutique firms also exceed Cravath standard

Susman Godfrey has announced it will pay median bonuses of up to $170,000 for its longest-term associates, though two associates received bonuses of more than $220,000 in recognition for their success in business development. The litigation boutique’s bonuses surpass the standard set by Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which range from…

Dec 12, 2017 9:53 AM CST

Supreme Court law clerks are still mostly white men; which justices had the most diverse clerks?

Updated: U.S. Supreme Court law clerks in the last dozen years are mostly white men, a number that highlights “near-glacial progress” since the first demographic study of clerks in 1998, according to research by a legal publication.

Dec 12, 2017 8:00 AM CST

ABA is ‘greatly concerned’ about low percentage of female and minority US attorney candidates

ABA President Hilarie Bass has sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that asks him to urge senators proposing U.S. attorney candidates to take diversity into account.

Dec 11, 2017 12:14 PM CST

Lawyer works and sleeps in shack to raise money for her nonprofit law firm

A Detroit lawyer who founded a nonprofit law firm to help the poor is working and sleeping in a makeshift shack until she raises at least $18,500 on a GoFundMe page, with the aim of helping more clients. Lawyer Lisa Walinske has a home, but she appears to be homeless…

Dec 7, 2017 10:30 AM CST

BigLaw partner breaks a record held by Thurgood Marshall

Neal Katyal has broken the record held by Thurgood Marshall for the minority lawyer with the most oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. Katyal, a Hogan Lovells partner, broke Marshall’s 50-year-old record on Tuesday when he argued a case involving state jurisdiction over securities class actions, Supreme Court Brief…

Dec 1, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Lessons from the past can propel your future

For me, this career has always been about having choices and the freedom to create the life I wanted. Growing up, I was aware of the consequences of women not having economic independence. I was particularly influenced by my grandmother in Michigan, a talented local radio host who was limited…

Dec 1, 2017 1:35 AM CST

ABA works to address attorney substance use and mental health disorders

The ABA aims to assure that every judge, lawyer and law student has access to support and assistance on alcoholism, substance-use disorders or mental health issues.

Dec 1, 2017 12:50 AM CST

Chicago special prosecutor’s career nearly came to a premature end

Patricia Brown Holmes had become the youngest African-American woman to serve as a Cook County associate judge. Then she was told she might have only six months to live.

Dec 1, 2017 12:25 AM CST

Welcome to the 2017 ABA Journal Web 100

Our inaugural year of this feature honors 50 blogs (and adds five more to our Blawg Hall of Fame), as well as 25 law podcasts and 25 tweeters for lawyers to follow.

Dec 1, 2017 12:01 AM CST

Minorities are still scarce among law firm partners and general counsel

Minority lawyers are an increasing percentage of lawyers at law firms, but their numbers still lag at the partnership level, according to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Sixteen percent of lawyers at law firms are minorities, but only 9 percent of partners are minorities, the Washington Post reports. The pattern…

Nov 30, 2017 3:38 PM CST

Legal secretary is awarded $277K in attorney fees in her overtime suit against her former law firm

A Los Angeles judge on Monday awarded $277,000 in attorney fees to a former legal secretary who prevailed on her claim that the law firm she once worked for failed to pay overtime. Noemi Bernal had been awarded more than $91,000 on the wage claim against J.J. Little & Associates,…

Nov 28, 2017 1:06 PM CST