Formidable Foe

Oct 1, 2024 3:30 AM CDT

Justice for Survivors: ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence marks 30 years of advocacy

Oct 1, 2024 12:20 AM CDT

Oct. 26-31, 1948: A deadly fog kills 20 in a Pennsylvania company town

On Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1948, a peculiarly dirty mist settled over Donora. Smog was a fact of industrial life. And in Donora, seated low in the Monongahela River Valley, heavy smog sometimes required streetlamps at midday. But this fog, stalled by a stubborn cold front, grew viscous and increasingly toxic as the week wore on.

Oct 1, 2024 12:10 AM CDT

ABA will bring lawyers to the UK to celebrate historic 1924 visit

In 1924, J. Carroll Hayes penned a detailed account of “a most unique occurrence in the legal world”—the first ABA visit to the United Kingdom. This fall, the International Law Section will commemorate this historic meeting of the minds with “100 Years of the ABA in the United Kingdom: Tradition, Innovation and Influence.”

Sep 26, 2024 12:22 PM CDT

Multitalented lawyer turns passion for Hawaiian history into new film

By day, Lance Collins is a lawyer. By night, (and sometimes day) he’s also a filmmaker, book editor and music producer. Now, he can add another title to his eclectic resumé: screenwriter for a feature-length film now playing on a streaming service near you. “When it comes to my time,” Collins says, “every minute is accounted for.”

Sep 24, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

School district’s ‘equity training’ didn’t constitute First Amendment injury, appeals court says

A public school district can’t be sued for violating the First Amendment rights of two employees who stopped speaking or pretended to agree with presenters during required “equity training,” a federal appeals court has ruled.

Sep 17, 2024 12:24 PM CDT

‘Magic spell hypothesis’ may explain legalese, researchers say

Researchers studying the origins of legalese say lawmakers and lawyers may write laws and legal documents in a convoluted manner to confer a “ritualistic, spell-like element” signaling authority.

Aug 20, 2024 3:12 PM CDT

4 of 5 modern lawyer presidents graduated from T-14 law schools; Harris wouldn’t be in that group if elected

Updated: Vice President Kamala Harris would be the second modern president with a law degree from a school outside the top 14 if she is elected in November.

Aug 20, 2024 8:50 AM CDT

Sept. 24, 1962: Estes scandal goes to court

Aug 1, 2024 12:10 AM CDT

Navy exonerates Black sailors charged in Port Chicago disaster 80 years ago

Eighty years after explosions ripped through the Port Chicago naval facility in California, killing 320, the secretary of the Navy has announced the full exoneration of African American sailors who were charged in 1944 with mutiny and refusing orders to return to work in dangerous conditions loading ammunition.

Jul 19, 2024 8:00 AM CDT

Satan Goes to Court: Lawyers recall bizarre medical malpractice case

In 1991, personal injury lawyers Zachary Bravos and Todd Smith took on the strangest medical malpractice case of their careers—a case that led them to tales of satanic cults, child abuse and cannibalism.

Jul 17, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

Summer reading picks and why a YMCA-funded crusade against obscenity matters today

Do you need some distractions during vacation travel or while lying directly under your A/C unit and sweating? It’s time for The Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode.

Jul 10, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

‘United We Stand’: Lawyers must play crucial role in bringing our nation together

Unity is strength. The wisdom of that truth has been known since ancient times as reflected in Greek fables, such as Aesop's tales about The Four Oxen and the Lion and The Bundle of Sticks, and Chinese stories, such as The Five Chinese Brothers.

Jul 2, 2024 2:04 PM CDT

BigLaw firm was key in launching historic Stonewall project

Over the past few years, lawyers from international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner have devoted thousands of pro bono hours to helping create the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, set to open June 28 in New York City. It will be the first LGBTQIA+ visitor center within the National Park Service.

Jun 20, 2024 9:44 AM CDT

Want to understand the logic behind a Supreme Court opinion? Focus on footnotes, says professor

Numerous books have been written about the U.S. Supreme Court, including some by justices and former justices themselves. But a new book by Peter Charles Hoffer, a distinguished research professor at the University of Georgia, looks at historic rulings through a different lens in The Supreme Court Footnote: A Surprising History.

Jun 18, 2024 8:59 AM CDT