Careers

Employees of some nonprofits get notified they don’t qualify for student loan forgiveness program

Some nonprofit employees counting on the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program recently received word that they don’t qualify, for reasons that remain unclear. The change might be related to an employer’s tax status. Part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, the PSLF program includes…

Jun 2, 2016 10:12 AM CDT

Bias claims against Mintz Levin are revived; associate had searched computer system for evidence

May a lawyer search a law firm’s computers to find evidence of bias to bolster her case? In some circumstances, the answer is yes, the highest court of Massachusetts ruled in a decision that revives gender bias and retaliation claims against Mintz Levin. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on…

Jun 2, 2016 5:45 AM CDT

Rocket Lawyer’s Charley Moore sees lawyer collaboration as the future (podcast)

“Nicholas Negroponte’s book Being Digital had a profound effect on me,” Charley Moore recalls. “The book said that anything that can be digitized will be. It’s just a matter of who endeavors to participate in that transition.” Moore, who has been selected as a Legal Rebels Trailblazer by the ABA…

Jun 1, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

California lawyer pledges to fund college for 27 kindergartners

Elder law attorney Marty Burbank knows all about planning charitable donations. But when he pledged to fund the college educations of 27 kindergartners in Anaheim, California, he says, "it just kinda came to me."

Jun 1, 2016 3:20 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer found a new career as a pastry chef while in prison

Less than a decade ago, Richard Creamer was enjoying the financial rewards of being a successful real estate and entertainment lawyer, including multiple homes and nice cars. Then it was suggested to him by a real estate investment partner that he could do better by playing a role in a…

May 31, 2016 12:45 PM CDT

In Colorado, the number of practicing female lawyers drops sharply each decade, report says

Statistics in Colorado chronicle differences in the law-practice dropout rate between male and female lawyers. The number of practicing male lawyers remains constant until retirement age, while the number of practicing women lawyers “declines sharply from decade to decade,” the Denver Post reports. Women make up about half the state’s…

May 31, 2016 6:56 AM CDT

These two justices are the most interrupted in oral arguments; is a gender dynamic at play?

Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor have been interrupted by other justices more often this term than any of their colleagues. Sotomayor was interrupted 57 times and Kagan 50 times, according to findings by lawyer and Ph.D. candidate Adam Feldman, Mother Jones reports. Third was Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who…

May 31, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

10 Questions Live: Groundbreaking transgender judge talks bathroom laws

Phyllis Randolph Frye is the first openly transgender judge in the nation. On Thursday, she talked with the ABA about recent bathroom laws as well as her own experiences as a transgender individual over the last four decades. “I did come out of the closet in ‘76,” Frye said. “At…

May 26, 2016 5:35 PM CDT

This law school sent the most grads into full-time, long-term legal jobs

The University of Chicago Law School sent nearly 91 percent of its 2015 graduates to full-time, long-term legal jobs, earning it a No. 1 spot on a list of the top schools for such employment. The National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports on its findings, which are based on ABA…

May 26, 2016 9:25 AM CDT

Baylor denies rumored ouster of Ken Starr after report on school’s handling of campus sex assaults

Baylor University is denying reports that its board of regents has ousted Ken Starr from his job as school president. As of now, Starr is still at the helm as president and chancellor of the Waco, Texas-based school, university spokeswoman Lori Fogleman told the Associated Press in an email. “We…

May 25, 2016 12:35 PM CDT

Researchers suspect grit isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

Grit is the new buzzword used to explain why some people become overachievers. Those with self-discipline and determination can achieve more than those with a high IQ or natural talent, the theory goes. But two Harvard researchers believe success is more complicated than that, the Washington Post reports. Researchers Todd…

May 25, 2016 8:08 AM CDT

These law schools top rankings that focus on quality legal jobs

Yale Law School and Harvard Law School have traded places in Above the Law’s latest law-school rankings that focus on lawyer jobs and quality positions. Yale Law School moved up from No. 5 to No. 1 in Above the Law’s rankings of 50 law schools, while Harvard Law School moved…

May 24, 2016 8:10 AM CDT

Chance to work on ‘biggest disputes in trial work’ lures small litigation boutique to Boies Schiller

A small New York boutique known for its lawyers’ complex litigation skills will be joining forces with Boies, Schiller & Flexner next month. Former federal prosecutor Sean O’Shea, 59, who served as business securities fraud section leader for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn before forming his own firm 20…

May 24, 2016 6:18 AM CDT

Trump hires BigLaw lawyer for running-mate review

Donald Trump has hired A.B. Culvahouse, a partner at O’Melveny & Myers, to review potential running mates in his GOP presidential bid. Culvahouse vetted Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate in 2008, NBC News, Bloomberg Politics, Bloomberg Big Law Business and CNN report. Culvahouse, a former chairman of O’Melveny,…

May 20, 2016 1:01 PM CDT

Former ABA president Hubbard to receive new Burton Award for ‘Leadership in Law’

The Burton Awards for Legal Achievement were launched 17 years ago primarily to recognize good legal writing. But over the years, the awards have expanded, with a variety of categories recognizing excellence also in teaching, journalism, public service in government, public interest work and efforts by general counsel. This year…

May 19, 2016 1:05 PM CDT