ABA Journal

Inter Alia

87 ABA Journal Inter Alia articles.

How a yearslong toxic tort case ended in record $363M verdict

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But what if the two points span over 30 years? How do you manage to build that straight line? Through focus and restraint. And that is exactly how we exposed three decades of misdeeds and obtained a $363 million verdict.

California lawyer blazes a new career path as a firefighter and EMT

Aha moments are often likened to lightning strikes. But California family lawyer Nicole “Nico” Smith’s life-changing decision to become a professional firefighter followed an actual lightning strike.

How I made a career in mass torts

The law appealed to me for many reasons, the primary one being that one person, regardless of socioeconomic status, can take action and stand against a company or governmental actor that had wronged them and realize some modicum of justice—unlike many other legal systems found around the world.

GC of Fender overcame life challenges to hit a high note

Aarash Darroodi’s boyhood in Iran led to a turbulent, decades-long journey during which he was separated from his parents, survived war, traveled throughout the Middle East and parts of Asia, and eventually landed a dream job as the top lawyer at one of America’s most iconic music companies.

10 Questions: This Latina lawyer launched a makeup line inspired by her culture and community

Regina Merson didn’t feel represented—or respected—by the makeup brands she was buying. That realization eventually led the Dallas lawyer to launch her own cosmetics company called Reina Rebelde—Rebel Queen—in 2013, to celebrate the depth, diversity and beauty of the Latina culture and community.

Senator’s book argues dark money controls the country and courts

In The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse examines the influence corporate interests and right-wing billionaires have had on the judicial system and American democracy.

Laws are needed to prevent crowd crush disasters like Astroworld, expert says

Astroworld 2021 was one of the deadliest concerts in U.S. history. In all, 10 people in the audience died from injuries they sustained in the pressure-packed crowd that night. The youngest was a 9-year-old boy. According to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, they all died from compression asphyxia when the pressure of the crowd against their chests prevented them from breathing.

Former NBA lawyer is changing the game with holistic legal consulting for athletes

When she joined the Clippers in 2015, Nicole Duckett was the first Black woman to serve as a chief legal officer for any NBA team. In July, she founded Nikki Duckett Collective, a full-service legal consulting firm that provides holistic representation to ambitious elite athletes. It’s about global branding, savvy deal-making and long-term success—things Duckett already has spent decades achieving for her clients.

A lawyer’s passion for pets prompts career switch

“A few months before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I left federal government service as an attorney for a maritime regulatory agency to honor my life’s mission to work in the pet health equity space. Pet health equity is a growing field dedicated to providing access to veterinary care and veterinary products for companion animals, regardless of their owner’s resources and location.”

Lawyer’s son creates podcasts to shine a light on criminal injustice

When Jason Flom was a boy, his father, Joseph, a renowned mergers and acquisitions lawyer, gave him a piece of advice: “Do whatever you want for a living, but make the world a better place because that’s the only success that matters.”

How law, family and history shaped my career

“Life is a dance. For more than a decade, the legal profession has been the floor on which I’ve danced. It’s been hilariously comical, painfully awkward and immensely powerful. At its best, practicing law is a medium through which we experience and discover who we are when the lights are the brightest, when we’ve fallen short and when we dare to lead. That is our profession’s genius. Here’s what I’ve discovered while dancing to our profession’s mesmerizing tune.”

This Boston lawyer has spent nearly 4 decades developing dual careers in law and advocacy

In 1986, Cooley partner Michael N. Sheetz was a freshly minted law school graduate heading to Boston to start his career in commercial litigation. But he knew he wouldn’t be satisfied focusing solely on his private practice. So he also began volunteering for the Anti-Defamation League. Fast forward more than 35 years, and Sheetz remains actively engaged as both a lawyer and an ADL volunteer, parallel pursuits he has likened to dual careers.

Crusaders protecting the unborn willingly sacrifice the living

“The conservatives of the U.S. Supreme Court, through rulings blocking gun control, greenlighting executions, condoning abortion-provider bounty hunting and forced maternal labor, has demonstrated a ghastly tolerance for violence,” writes ABA Journal Assistant Managing Editor Liane Jackson, the author of Intersection, a column that explores issues of race, gender and law across America’s criminal and social justice landscape.

The President v. Omarosa: Winning at arbitration, against the odds

It was fate that brought Omarosa Manigault Newman and me together.

The Constitution Gets Strict Scrutiny: New books offer fresh takes on America’s founding text

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down some monumental and controversial decisions this session on issues ranging from abortion access to gun control, sparking renewed public debate and interest in our constitutional and civil rights. Two new books offer an engaging layperson’s primer on the Constitution’s most important aspects—from the preamble to the Bill of Rights to the 14th Amendment.

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