ABA Journal

Puerto Rico

26 ABA Journal Puerto Rico articles.

Lawyer’s RICO suit seeks to force fossil fuel companies to pay for hurricane damage

A small-town Illinois lawyer who once sued oil companies over contaminated land has turned her attention to climate change and the companies allegedly fueling the problem.

Federal judge’s ‘people like you’ comments don’t require sentence reversal, 7th Circuit says

A federal judge’s comments about “people like you” weren’t the kind of inflammatory remarks that would require resentencing of a man who pleaded guilty to unlawful gun possession by a felon, a federal appeals court has ruled.

As Biden obtains confirmation of 100th federal judge, focus turns to red state vacancies

President Joe Biden obtained confirmation of his 100th judge with approval of Gina Méndez-Miró to the federal district court in Puerto Rico. Nominations will get tougher for Biden as he begins to focus on nominees in states with two Republican senators.

Top 10 news stories of 2022

Every year, we like to take a look back at the news events and stories that most resonated with our online readers. This year, the financial state of the legal industry dominated the list, accompanied by disciplinary cases, law school rankings and the bar exam.

2 of Puerto Rico’s 3 law schools will get more time to meet bar pass standard

Following repeated failures to show compliance with Standard 316, which requires a bar passage rate of at least 75% within two years, the ABA has given an extension of up to three years to two Puerto Rican law schools.

‘Shameful’ insular cases should be overruled, Gorsuch says, as SCOTUS rules against Puerto Rico resident

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Thursday that the United States doesn’t violate the equal protection clause by denying disability benefits to residents of Puerto Rico.

Weekly Briefs: Trump business misrepresented assets, New York AG says; judge apologizes for weed scolding

Trump testimony sought in business probe

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a motion to compel the testimony of former President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka…

Denying disability benefits to Puerto Rico residents violates equal protection rights, ABA amicus brief says

The ABA filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday arguing that denying disability benefits to residents of Puerto Rico violates the equal protection clause.

ABA legal ed section finds Puerto Rico law school back in compliance with accreditation standard

The University of Puerto Rico School of Law has taken “concrete steps” to demonstrate compliance with an accreditation standard regarding academic support, according to a decision recently posted online by…

Congress should exempt Puerto Rico from shipping law, ABA House says

A nearly century-old shipping regulation is hampering Puerto Rico's economic and physical recovery in the wake of Hurricane Maria last year, and Congress should enact legislation to permanently exempt the island, the ABA House of Delegates declared in a vote on Tuesday.

Proposed Florida law resurrects the debate around the legal duty to help someone in distress

Florida would be in a distinct minority of states if it imposes a duty to rescue people in distress. The rule in the United States is you have no duty to rescue a stranger, and legal scholars are divided on whether that’s a good thing.

Florida nonprofit legal clinic hires Puerto Rican attorneys displaced by Hurricane Maria

The Puerto Rican Bar Association of Florida has opened a nonprofit legal clinic focused on providing legal services to Puerto Ricans who have settled in Florida after fleeing Hurricane Maria—and the clinic is employing displaced Puerto Rican attorneys.

It’s difficult to describe lawyers’ situations in Puerto Rico, but hurricane damage was ‘extreme’

The impact of the hurricanes over the island was not uniform, with some areas suffering extreme devastation. There was greater havoc in the eastern and central parts of the island, so many lawyers in those communities are still without power in their offices.

Island lawyers start to pick up the pieces in the wake of hurricanes

As someone who had lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands since he graduated from law school in 1982, Tom Bolt has experienced hurricane damage firsthand.

“In 1989 we had Hurricane…

Legal aid hotline opens for Hurricane Irma victims

Updated: A legal aid hotline has opened for Hurricane Irma victims in Florida who can’t afford a lawyer.

The hotline number is 866-550-2929, report the Orlando Sentinel and an…

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