Careers

Pilot on Ebola rescue mission was company general counsel

One of the pilots who flew to Liberia to pick up an American missionary stricken with Ebola was the general counsel of the transport company hired for the mission. Randall Davis is vice president and general counsel of Phoenix Air Group Inc. in Georgia. He tells the Daily Report (sub.…

Aug 8, 2014 12:44 PM CDT

Meet the judge considering the fate of Oscar Pistorius

The judge who is considering the fate of double-amputee track star Oscar Pistorius had several careers after her childhood in a two-room home in a poor, black township in South Africa. Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa worked as a social worker and a journalist before she began to study law, the…

Aug 8, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Lawyers offer tips on how to adapt to the ongoing disruption in the legal market

It’s no secret that the legal industry has undergone a radical shift over the last few years as clients are demanding better, faster and cheaper legal service. It’s a shift that continues to develop and could yet take some unexpected twists and turns. While that can be scary for many…

Aug 7, 2014 11:54 PM CDT

Law grads sue over ‘Barmageddon,’ seek refund of software fee and punitive damages

Law graduates in at least two states have filed suit over a so-called Barmageddon software glitch that reportedly made it impossible for a number of test-takers to submit their answers on time last month on the first day of the bar exam. Although the deadline was extended in all affected…

Aug 7, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

What kind of jobs are JD advantage?

The statistic isn’t surprising. The proportion of new law grads in JD advantage jobs goes up as bar passage jobs drop and unemployment rises. For the class of 2013, the percentage of grads in JD advantage jobs nine months after graduation was 13.8 percent, according to the National Association for…

Aug 6, 2014 12:10 PM CDT

These 50 law firms have been named best for women

Fifty law firms have been named the best for women because of family friendly policies and initiatives that help female lawyers advance. Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers announced the list on Tuesday in a press release (PDF). The findings of this year’s 50 Best Law Firms for Women survey of…

Aug 5, 2014 3:23 PM CDT

James Brady, gun-control advocate wounded in ‘81 attack on President Reagan, dies at 73

James Brady, a former White House press secretary who became a prominent advocate for gun control after he was severely wounded in a 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, died Monday following what his family described as a series of health issues. He was 73 years old. The attack…

Aug 4, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Lawyer not required to report colleague’s mental lapses absent ethics violation, ethics opinion says

Lawyers aren’t required to report another lawyer’s cognitive decline unless it is tied to an ethics violation, according to a Kansas ethics opinion. The opinion by the Kansas Bar Association’s ethics committee considered the need to report a law firm partner who left the firm, but continued to practice despite…

Aug 4, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

12 movies with pivotal lessons featuring lawyers

Movies transport us. They take us to different times and places, bringing laughter in one moment and tears in the next. But no matter how outlandish the plot, at their core movies examine the human condition. We tell stories about ourselves to ourselves, even if the characters are ostensibly aliens or animals or fuzzy monsters. They are based on realities we can learn from.

Aug 1, 2014 10:40 AM CDT

ABA initiatives have made a difference from small communities to Capitol Hill

It has been a great honor and privilege to serve as president of the American Bar Association this past year, as we mobilized our profession to work on challenging, timely issues of law and justice. A main priority was to help resolve a paradox that faces our profession and society—the…

Aug 1, 2014 10:09 AM CDT

Did male justices in Hobby Lobby have ‘a bit of a blind spot’? Justice Ginsburg says yes

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agrees that five of the court’s male justices had a bit of a blind spot when they ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that closely held corporations can’t be required to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives over their owners’ religious objections. Ginsburg made the statement in…

Jul 31, 2014 4:46 PM CDT

Students try to avoid law school costs with ‘reading law’ path to law license

Chris Tittle doesn’t want to rack up a $100,000 debt to attend law school, so he is trying an alternative: He is “reading the law” as part of a four-year apprenticeship, a route to a law license that is allowed in his home state of California. Only a few states…

Jul 30, 2014 5:53 PM CDT

Barmageddon? Bar exam takers in multiple states can’t upload tests; deadlines extended

Bar exam test takers have overcome test-day roadblocks in the past. Above the Law recalls persistent test takers who carried on after fainting, while in labor, and during an earthquake. But the website says there was a disaster of greater proportions Tuesday evening when students in multiple states experienced delays…

Jul 30, 2014 4:58 PM CDT

Revered former ‘Judge Biff,’ known for his fairness and sense of humor, is dead at 77

Vincent A. Bifferato Sr., a legendary former Delaware superior court judge known for his fairness, his courtroom presence, his courtesy and his sense of humor during more than 30 years on the bench, has died of esophageal cancer. He was 77 years old. Remembered for his “unerring sense of right…

Jul 29, 2014 6:45 PM CDT

Growing up during BTK serial-killing spree informed author’s new crime novel (podcast)

Alafair Burke's fascination with crime stories came far before her career as first a prosecutor and then a law professor. In this podcast, she discusses how the BTK serial killings affected her childhood, and shares details on her novels and career.

Jul 28, 2014 9:00 PM CDT