Norfolk Southern reaches $600 million settlement in East Palestine lawsuit

Norfolk Southern announced Tuesday that it had agreed to a $600 million settlement to resolve a string of lawsuits the railroad faced after last year’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a resolution that lawyers say could help thousands of affected residents.

Apr 10, 2024 3:00 PM CDT

Titanic law helps ship owner limit liability in Baltimore bridge collapse

The owner of the ship that rammed into a Baltimore bridge could face hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims after the accident sent vehicles plunging into the water and threw the eastern US transportation network into chaos. But legal experts said there is a path for reducing liability under an obscure 19th-century law once invoked by the owner of the Titanic to limit its payout for the 1912 sinking.

Mar 27, 2024 1:45 PM CDT

‘Seinfeld’ episode inspired new telemarketing law in New Jersey

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill last week that that requires telemarketers to provide a callback number and to identify themselves and whom they represent within 30 seconds.

May 26, 2023 12:26 PM CDT

Aubrey Coleman is helping bring communities access to high-speed internet and other infrastructure

In January 2021, Aubrey Coleman became a program manager at Microsoft and began working with internet service providers to bring affordable broadband to people living in unserved rural areas across the country. He also partners with community organizations to educate residents on how to obtain federal subsidies to reduce the price of internet access; how to safely navigate the internet; and how to access computers or tablets at lower prices.

Feb 1, 2023 12:50 AM CST

The metaverse and Web3 are all the rage, but the law is stuck at Web1

The metaverse and Web3, including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and more, are evolving to become another Wild West technology frontier where existing laws are hard to apply, legal experts say.

Oct 1, 2022 2:10 AM CDT

Wiretapping’s origins might surprise you

On the cover of author Brian Hochman’s book is a martini cocktail complete with a skewered olive. Hochman shares the real story that inspired the cover in this new podcast episode.

May 11, 2022 8:37 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Prof gets $400K settlement in pronoun case; panic-attack firing leads to $450K verdict

Prof who refused to use preferred pronouns gets $400K settlement

Shawnee State University in Ohio has agreed to pay philosophy professor Nicholas Meriwether $400,000 and to rescind a written warning…

Apr 22, 2022 2:23 PM CDT

Troubled Waters

As interest in outdoor recreation has surged, more people are clashing with property owners over the right to be on the waterways. The conflict over the uses of—and even the definitions of—public and private space is a legal conundrum bedeviling locales across the country.

Feb 1, 2022 4:00 AM CST

Poll: Which ABA Journal magazine cover from 2021 was your favorite?

In 2021, we covered a wide array of diverse, in-depth and hard-hitting legal topics at the ABA Journal.

Dec 13, 2021 9:15 AM CST

Judge Neil Axel uses DUI court experience to tackle traffic safety

Judge Neil Axel works with the ABA’s Judicial Outreach Liaison and Judicial Fellows Program. As one of its two judicial fellows, Axel helps educate judges nationwide on issues involving impaired driving offenses, including drug-impaired driving; evidence-based sentencing practices to reduce recidivism; and the impact of the legalization of marijuana on highway safety. He also works closely with the program’s nine regional JOLs and 22 state JOLs, all of whom provide training and support on impaired driving and other highway safety issues to courts in their areas.

Oct 1, 2021 1:30 AM CDT

Costly Collisions: A small-town personal injury case sends a powerful message to the trucking industry

The number of crashes involving large trucks has been rising during the past decade. And as the number of crashes has increased, so has the size of jury awards and settlements, often resulting in what some lawyers call “nuclear verdicts”—multimillion-dollar damages verdicts significantly higher than expected given the injuries in the case, generally in excess of $10 million.

Oct 1, 2021 12:00 AM CDT

Chicago’s lakefront is an accident of history, but can it teach us how to preserve land for public use?

Chicago's lakefront, with its parks, museums, beaches and public spaces, is an accident of history. But can we take lessons from that history to create sustainable and environmentally responsible public spaces?

Jul 21, 2021 10:00 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: An unusual SCOTUS lineup; suit says Google is a public utility

SCOTUS rules for defendant in career criminal case

Two conservative justices supported liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices Thursday to rule that a crime of recklessness is not a “violent felony”…

Jun 10, 2021 4:09 PM CDT

FCC approves plan to make some phone calls cheaper for inmates and their families

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to make phone calls more affordable for people in prisons or jails by approving a plan to reduce out-of-state call rates by at least one-third.

May 21, 2021 10:16 AM CDT

Police are often first responders to mental health crises, but tragedies are prompting change

Cases such as Quintonio LeGrier’s have prompted demands around the country to reform how police respond to people in mental health crises, a movement that advocates believe can help avert such deadly confrontations.

Apr 1, 2021 4:00 AM CDT