Health Law

Should we expect new regulations on data privacy and consumer protection?

When it comes to data protection and privacy, some states have already taken the lead in trying to protect consumer data. But in these political times, expecting or hoping for the federal government to follow suit seems about as likely as seeing pigs fly.

Feb 12, 2025 8:51 AM CST

Lights, Camera, Contracts: The harsh legal reality of reality television

The main legal need surrounding reality show participants concerns their employment status—or lack thereof. Reality show participants are treated as independent contractors, which technically lets networks and productions evade many of the labor laws that protect employees.

Feb 10, 2025 8:59 AM CST

Should lawyers get billable-hour credit for time off? It should be encouraged, ABA House says, but not before debate

What can make the ABA House of Delegates have an hourlong lively debate? Apparently, it’s a resolution aimed at helping ease lawyer stress and achieve a better work-life balance.

Feb 3, 2025 6:58 PM CST

BigLaw firm took several pages from ‘Retaliating Employer’s Handbook,’ suit alleges

Updated: A counsel at Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle has filed a retaliation lawsuit against the law firm and several partners, including one defendant who moved into the plaintiff’s Seattle apartment building—allegedly on the firm’s dime.

Jan 23, 2025 11:11 AM CST

Hold the Phone: K-12 school electronic device policies must be carefully considered, lawyers say

As more school districts tighten up student cellphone policies on campus, three reasons are often cited for the change. Lawyers, however, caution that the policies should not be as simple as prohibiting phones on campus.

Jan 14, 2025 11:02 AM CST

Supreme Court agrees to review cases involving student loan debt and preventive care

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear three new cases, including challenges to a federal rule that forgives student debt and to the part of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance companies to cover some preventive care services.

Jan 13, 2025 3:20 PM CST

Law grads with past substance-use disorders suffered disability bias in quest for license, DOJ says

Would-be Tennessee lawyers encountered unlawful disability discrimination when they were required to submit to “burdensome examinations” and conditions triggered by their past diagnosis or treatment for a substance-use disorder or a mental health disorder, the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded.

Jan 6, 2025 3:15 PM CST

Top 10 Your Voice columns of 2024

One of the ABA Journal’s most precious assets is our access to engaged legal professionals with a knack for writing and a point of view to share. Since 2018, we have featured their words in our Your Voice section. Here are the top 10 of 2024.

Dec 24, 2024 9:00 AM CST

SCOTUS will decide whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue over state’s defunding of Planned Parenthood

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to consider whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue over South Carolina’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood.

Dec 23, 2024 9:23 AM CST

Texas AG sues out-of-state doctor over mail-order abortion pills

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued a New York doctor this week for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a suburban Dallas woman in violation of Texas law—setting up the first major legal challenge to “shield laws” enacted by some Democratic-led states to protect doctors providing abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

Dec 16, 2024 10:30 AM CST

Opioid suits can’t be based on nuisance law in Ohio, top state court rules in $650M win for pharmacies

A decision by the Ohio Supreme Court on the state’s product-liability law is good news for three national pharmaceutical chains ordered to pay more than $650 million for contributing to the opioid epidemic.

Dec 12, 2024 3:23 PM CST

Top Montana court allows gender-affirming care for trans minors during litigation, citing privacy protections

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday cited state constitutional privacy protections when it upheld a judge’s decision to block a law that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Dec 12, 2024 11:52 AM CST

Lawyers spar in Supreme Court over constitutional rights in transgender health care case

The lengthy arguments this week in United States v. Skrmetti—a major case about whether a Tennessee law barring certain medical treatments for transgender minors violates the 14th Amendment—were marked by past positions, anticipation of future battles, a historical first and one justice’s curious silence.

Dec 5, 2024 2:15 PM CST

Lighting a Spark: Students learn about environmental justice from attorneys in public service project

Last month, students in Washington, D.C., got to learn about environmental justice from actual environmental lawyers.

Dec 5, 2024 11:29 AM CST

Idaho can enforce ban on aid to minors who leave state for abortions, with one exception, 9th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has blocked just one provision of Idaho’s abortion-trafficking law that bans aid to minors getting abortions.

Dec 3, 2024 10:15 AM CST