Domestic Relations

When does marriage become a legal trap?

Divorce attorneys are bracing for a legal shift as more states adopt covenant marriage, a voluntary but restrictive contract limiting grounds for divorce.

Mar 27, 2025 12:30 PM CDT

Former Duane Morris partner arrested on outstanding warrant related to Michigan assault case

Updated: A former Duane Morris partner was arrested on an outstanding Michigan warrant at his condo in Chicago’s South Loop on Friday, the same building where his wife’s body was found in a stairwell in October 2024.

Mar 10, 2025 3:16 PM CDT

Protect domestic violence survivors by protecting their pets, ABA House says

At the ABA Midyear Meeting in Phoenix on Monday, the ABA House of Delegates considered how to best meet the needs of pet owners in family law and civil protection order proceedings.

Feb 3, 2025 6:42 PM CST

Arizona judge who championed domestic violence survivors dies at 77

Judge Elizabeth "Ellie" Finn, a champion of specialized courts who served as a judge in Arizona for more than 42 years, died Dec. 27 at age 77.

Jan 9, 2025 2:54 PM CST

Meet 11 ABA members who inspired us in 2024

In this year’s Members Who Inspire series, the ABA Journal featured 11 outstanding ABA members who brighten the world around them.

Dec 20, 2024 2:12 PM CST

Supporting Survivors: ABA and its members have shaped the Violence Against Women Act for 30 years

The Violence Against Women Act passed in September 1994. VAWA, as it’s commonly known, was the first federal law to focus on preventing and combating sexual assault and domestic violence. Maricarmen Garza credits VAWA for bringing her to the ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence.

Nov 26, 2024 2:27 PM CST

Did ethics case constitute ‘crying in baseball’? Kansas supremes debate discipline as ‘sword’

Updated: A Kansas attorney has received a six-month stayed suspension for making “inflammatory attacks” on an opposing counsel and including “irrelevant information” in a court filing intended to diminish his client’s estranged wife.

Nov 14, 2024 1:02 PM CST

Duane Morris partner ousted after wife found dead in stairwell and her parents allege domestic violence

Updated: A judge in Cook County, Illinois, has granted a temporary restraining order that prevents a now-ousted partner at Duane Morris from retrieving the remains of his wife after her body was found in a stairwell in his South Loop residential building last month.

Nov 12, 2024 9:42 AM CST

Ex-fiancee must return $70K ring after failed engagement, court says

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Friday ruled that, from now on, an engagement ring must be returned to the buyer if the wedding falls through, regardless of who’s at fault.

Nov 11, 2024 9:30 AM CST

5th Circuit becomes ‘proving ground’ for aggressive arguments by conservatives

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans has become "a proving ground for some of the most aggressive conservative arguments in American law,” according to the New York Times.

Sep 4, 2024 8:59 AM CDT

Divorce attorneys share the most outlandish requests they’ve seen

You don’t have to be a celebrity to make outlandish divorce requests. Divorce lawyers have seen everything, from parakeet-support requests to arguments over who gets to keep the coffee maker.

Aug 29, 2024 8:40 AM CDT

Ex-babysitter who hit infant 40 years ago pleads guilty to manslaughter in his 2019 death

A former babysitter pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday for the 2019 death of a 35-year-old man, saying in an apology letter she hit him when he was a baby 40 years ago.

Aug 22, 2024 9:56 AM CDT

Rule change to allow paraprofessionals to offer limited legal services proposed by top Texas court

The Texas Supreme Court is seeking comment on a proposal that would allow qualified nonlawyers to provide some legal services to low-income Texans.

Aug 7, 2024 10:19 AM CDT

Gun laws aren’t ‘trapped in amber,’ SCOTUS says while upholding restraining-order gun ban

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal law banning gun possession by those who are subject to domestic-violence restraining orders.

Jun 21, 2024 10:03 AM CDT

Netflix’s true-crime documentary about woman stalking man flows like book you can’t put down

It’s rare to find a true-crime documentary that is equal parts entertaining, educational and polished to the point of resembling something you’d see on the silver screen. Netflix’s new documentary Lover, Stalker, Killer meets those criteria, though, all the while finding a way to fit an incredibly engaging narrative into…

Jun 20, 2024 1:25 PM CDT