Professional Development

349 ABA Journal Professional Development articles.

Martin Scorsese and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear discuss making of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

The film Killers of the Flower Moon “underscores the critical importance of the rule of law and the pursuit of justice,” said ABA President Mary Smith, who interviewed director Martin Scorsese and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear of the Osage Nation in the latest installment of the ABA Presidential Speaker Series.

Nov 15, 2023 2:09 PM CST

How this lawyer uses TikTok to skewer law firm culture

In the past decade, influencer culture has exploded. However, content creation is not just about Gen Zers and millennials promoting new brands, hot products and lifestyle choices.

Nov 15, 2023 8:39 AM CST

Legal profession needs to support Native American female lawyers, new ABA report shows

Native American female lawyers often feel isolated and exhausted, and they have endured pervasive bias and harassment, according to a new report published by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and the National Native American Bar Association on Thursday.

Nov 2, 2023 2:05 PM CDT

Deb Haaland, other Native American ‘first trailblazers’ discuss importance of being at the table

“We are breaking down barriers, so our communities have the representation they deserve everywhere—in statehouses, in Congress, in classrooms, in film, science, and right here, with the American Bar Association,” Secretary Deb Haaland said in her remarks.

Nov 2, 2023 2:00 PM CDT

First-generation law students study and work more hours, rack up more student debt

First-generation law students with parents who never obtained a bachelor’s degree differ in some significant respects from classmates with at least one parent who completed a college degree, according to a new survey of more than 13,000 law students at 75 law schools.

Oct 26, 2023 3:37 PM CDT

Strongest rainmaking partners often have these characteristics, new study says

Partners who choose an “activator approach” are more likely to be successful at business development, according to a new study called Unlocking the Secrets to Successful Business Development: The Rainmaker Genome Project.

Oct 26, 2023 12:29 PM CDT

Navigating the future of knowledge and know-how with generative AI

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Kelly Lake, the CEO and executive director for CEB: Continuing Education of the Bar, a California-focused provider of legal research and continuation legal education.

Oct 23, 2023 8:58 AM CDT

Race, ethnicity, parents’ education level produce differing job outcomes for class of 2022 law grads

Nikia Gray, the executive director of the National Association for Law Placement, is asking legal employers to “stand firm” on their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion after the release of data showing that minorities from the class of 2022 fare worse in employment numbers.

Oct 17, 2023 3:30 PM CDT

ABA’s Equity Summit shines light on DEI issues in legal profession

The ABA is once again hosting a fully virtual conference to educate lawyers, judges, law students and other legal professionals on crucial diversity, equity and inclusion issues and facilitate robust dialogue about how to address these issues.

Oct 17, 2023 8:34 AM CDT

Most BigLaw associates think their firms aren’t trying to keep them, new survey shows

One in four BigLaw associates plan to leave their law firms within the year, according to a new report released by recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa on Tuesday.

Oct 11, 2023 9:32 AM CDT

ABA president announces Martin Scorsese, Dolores Huerta to join new speaker series

Beginning in October, ABA members will hear directly from Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, labor rights icon Dolores Huerta and other influential thinkers and trailblazers.

Sep 26, 2023 10:17 AM CDT

‘Precruiting’ and ‘exploding offers’ create stress for law students seeking summer associate jobs

An increasing number of BigLaw firms are recruiting students for summer associate programs before the formal on-campus interviewing process, a practice dubbed “precruiting.”

Sep 20, 2023 9:28 AM CDT

Lawyer suspended for trying to attend 2 online CLE programs at once

A lawyer’s Maine law license has been suspended after he tried to get continuing legal education credit for attending online programs that happened at the same time.

Sep 19, 2023 3:27 PM CDT

Federal appeals court tosses lawyer’s challenge to anti-bias ethics rule

A Pennsylvania lawyer does not have standing to challenge a state ethics rule banning discrimination and harassment in the practice of law, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 31, 2023 8:55 AM CDT

On Better Terms: What should we do with ‘nonlawyer’?

“Nonlawyer” means someone who isn’t a lawyer. But for years, many have found the word objectionable. And the case against “nonlawyer” isn’t as clear-cut as it might seem, says a lawyer specializing in how to say concisely whatever you want in a contract.

Aug 29, 2023 8:55 AM CDT

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