BigLaw DEI leader encountered bias after standing up to ‘nearly all-white firm,’ bias suit alleges

The former vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Armstrong Teasdale alleges in a bias lawsuit that the law firm fired her after rebuffing her requests for additional staff and preventing her from doing her job.

Jul 8, 2024 12:37 PM CDT

5th Circuit ‘glossed over complexities,’ Supreme Court says in refusing to curb US social media contacts

Two states and five social media users don’t have standing to sue U.S. officials for allegedly pressuring social media companies to curb protected speech, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

Jun 26, 2024 9:49 AM CDT

Courts grant injunctions against Biden’s student loan repayment plan

The future of President Biden’s new student loan repayment plan is in doubt after a pair of federal judges issued separate injunctions Monday preventing the government from fully implementing and forgiving any more loans through the program while they consider lawsuits to end the policy.

Jun 25, 2024 12:55 PM CDT

Former top prosecutor in St. Louis ‘remains elusive,’ says state auditor who can’t find her

The former top prosecutor for St. Louis “remains elusive,” and “her whereabouts are currently unknown,” according to a May 6 press release by the Missouri state auditor.

May 7, 2024 2:23 PM CDT

ABA should consider impact of rape-disclosure questions on bar applications, 3 senators tell association

The ABA should study the prevalence of bar admissions questions that require the disclosure of campus sexual misconduct complaints and requests for orders of protection, according to a letter by three members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Apr 29, 2024 12:17 PM CDT

10 temporary federal judgeships would become permanent under Senate bill approved on voice vote

The U.S. Senate on Saturday approved by voice vote a bipartisan bill that would make permanent 10 temporary federal district court judgeships.

Apr 23, 2024 9:36 AM CDT

DEI ‘lives on’ after Supreme Court ruling, but critics see an opening

The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision this week in favor of a St. Louis police sergeant was almost universally cast as a win for workers, who now have a lower bar for proving discrimination claims. But it’s also being held up by conservative activists intent on dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, who say it will give them added firepower to quash workplace programs reserved for minorities, women and other underrepresented groups.

Apr 22, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

Job transfers can be discriminatory without needing to show significant harm, SCOTUS rules

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday that people suing under the main federal job-bias law don’t have to show a transfer caused them a significant disadvantage. Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said Congress required only that employees show some sort of harm, even if it’s not a major one.

Apr 17, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

Law schools examine pedagogy as NextGen bar exam looms

Updated: With the dawn of the NextGen bar exam approaching, some law schools are adjusting curricula to better prepare students for the test’s specific demands.

Apr 16, 2024 2:10 PM CDT

Municipal residency requirement for elected official leads to disbarment

Feb 1, 2024 1:40 AM CST

Lawyer who went for ambulance joyride, former BigLaw partner among those disciplined in Illinois

Updated: Among the attorneys disciplined by the Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday are a lawyer who led police on a 60-mile chase in an ambulance and a former Polsinelli shareholder who was temporarily barred from a courthouse.

Jan 19, 2024 9:08 AM CST

‘Nuclear verdicts’ and ‘litigation tourism’ are partly why these state courts are top ‘judicial hellholes,’ report says

Courts in Georgia and Pennsylvania are named as top "judicial hellholes" for their friendliness to tort plaintiffs in a report by the American Tort Reform Foundation.

Dec 8, 2023 2:13 PM CST

Merger will create ‘super-regional’ Midwestern firm

Ulmer & Berne and Greensfelder Hemker & Gale announced Tuesday that they are merging effective Feb. 1, a combination that will produce a “super-regional firm” with about 275 lawyers in nine offices.

Dec 7, 2023 9:08 AM CST

Only 7 states imposed new death sentences in 2023; 1 of them has passed new laws likely to expand number

Texas and Florida accounted for more than half of the executions this year, with Florida putting six inmates to death and Texas executing eight, according to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Dec 5, 2023 8:15 AM CST

Supreme Court considers whether police officer’s job transfer was sex discrimination under Civil Rights Act

The justices agreed to decide whether Title VII prohibits discrimination in transfer decisions “absent a separate court determination that the transfer decision caused a significant disadvantage.”

Nov 30, 2023 10:29 AM CST