Columns

Legal’s weakest link? Proactively securing your third-party ecosystem; here’s how to address it

Law firms and legal departments require heightened data privacy and cybersecurity risk policies because of the wealth of privileged, confidential and regulated information—including personal data, trade secrets, financial data, employee information and intellectual property they control. To mitigate risks, legal professionals must elevate their security strategy to a risk-driven approach.

Mar 3, 2026 8:04 AM CST

ABA Day 2026: The legal profession in action

From March 24 to 26, the legal profession will gather in Washington, D.C., for ABA Day, the American Bar Association’s largest annual associationwide advocacy event. It is a national campaign of coordinated advocacy that engages attorneys, law students and advocates from every corner of the legal community.

Mar 2, 2026 9:03 AM CST

Artificial intelligence reflects the people in the room

We like to imagine technology as neutral, but the reality is that artificial intelligence is developed behind doors that most of us will never enter. I was rudely reminded of this concept last year, when a generative AI prompt making the rounds caught my attention: “Based on what you know about me, draw a picture of what you think my current life looks like.”

Mar 2, 2026 9:01 AM CST

Chemerinsky: 6 takeaways from the Supreme Court’s tariffs decision

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Friday invalidating President Donald Trump’s tariffs will have enormous legal and practical significance. In a 6-3 decision in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, with seven different opinions filling 170 pages, the court held that the tariffs Trump imposed are illegal.

Feb 25, 2026 1:57 PM CST

The one question every mentor, coach and boss should be asking

Embodying the notions of professionalism is important to long-term success. Be formal but not unfriendly. Friendly but not informal. Efficient but also effective. Zealous but also reasonable. Inquisitive but not annoying. Confident but also humble. Driven but not fanatical. Autonomous but also collaborative. Firm but also flexible.

Feb 25, 2026 7:05 AM CST

Good legal writers use AI as an amplifier, not an author

By a strange twist of history, baby boomers—the generation once ridiculed for technophobia—have become the loudest evangelists for artificial intelligence in law and business. They fill LinkedIn with tales of efficiency, celebrating how easily artificial intelligence turns rough notes into finished drafts and reports. To them, it feels like long-earned liberation from tedium.

Feb 19, 2026 2:13 PM CST

Old Attorney, New Tricks: ‘Boomer lawyer’ gives AI a try

Can you teach an old boomer lawyer new tricks? I am a septuagenarian who is uncomfortable adapting to technology. I thought we had it all with the invention of the sticky note.

Feb 19, 2026 9:03 AM CST

Why do lawyers resist plain language?

Why do legal writers resist or dismiss plain language? I addressed that question in my book Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: “You can point to an assortment of reasons ... but ... they come down to ... lack of will, lack of skill and lack of time.” I’ve explored each of these three reasons in more detail in the book.

Feb 12, 2026 8:43 AM CST

How to Pivot Your Career: Transitioning from a federal prosecutor to private practice

For nearly 15 years, my identity was intertwined with my professional role as a public servant. I worked as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Labor’s regional solicitor's office in Chicago, representing the government in OSHA, MSHA, wage and hour, whistleblower and ERISA matters.

Feb 9, 2026 2:21 PM CST

From the Gridiron to the Courtroom: Judges draw on Vince Lombardi’s wisdom

The coach’s memory is kept alive by those making references to his countless aphorisms about success, effort and the gridiron itself—including judges.

Feb 5, 2026 8:54 AM CST

How Justice Sandra Day O’Connor became this lawyer’s matchmaker

When lawyer Mary Noel Pepys met U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in 1994, she never imagined that one day she would become her matchmaker.

Feb 3, 2026 9:02 AM CST

True-crime doc exposes generations of family secrets

The Secrets We Bury isn’t your typical slick, serialized HBO Max drama, soaked in prestige and production. Nor is it a standard, gritty courtroom thriller with smoking guns and snappy objections. Ultimately, it’s a true-crime documentary with a side of familial psychoanalysis and basement excavation, topped with a helping of psychic readings and communion with the dead.

Jan 29, 2026 12:22 PM CST

Chemerinsky: The Fourth Amendment comes back to the Supreme Court

From 2021 until 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court did not decide one case involving traditional Fourth Amendment issues. But this term, there are two Fourth Amendment cases, one already decided and one to be argued this spring.

Jan 28, 2026 12:33 PM CST

Precision, persistence and finding your voice in the room

Early in my career, I thought confidence in lawyering came from having the right answer—and having it quickly. I watched seasoned litigators rattle off key holdings from memory, negotiate effortlessly with opposing counsel, and speak with authority that seemed innate. I assumed confidence was something you either had or didn’t, and that my job as a young lawyer was to quietly absorb as much as possible until one day I magically crossed some invisible threshold.

Jan 28, 2026 9:27 AM CST

Should the bottom line be up front? Only with context, Bryan Garner says

Many lawyers have eagerly adopted the buzzword “BLUF”—bottom line up front—as if invoking the acronym were synonymous with careful thinking. The catch is that almost no one stops to ask the important question: What exactly is meant by “bottom line”? The answer isn’t obvious, and it shifts with context.

Jan 27, 2026 12:54 PM CST