American Bar Association

Mar 8, 2012

Lawyers leery of preemptive strike to failure-to-warn claim

The confusing state of the U.S. Supreme Court’s preemption jurisprudence got trickier late last month with a ruling throwing out a state-based failure-to-warn claim on the grounds that federal law occupied the field of locomotive safety.

Feb 10, 2012

Create consensus about goals

In corporate America, mission statements have long been in vogue — and decidedly vague. Most such documents promise to “do the right thing” for customers, employees and society.

Feb 7, 2012

Scalia: Courts flooded with ‘nickel and dime criminal cases’

There are problems with the nation’s federal court system.

Feb 6, 2012

LAWBIZ COACHES CORNER: Are some firms ‘more equal’ than others?

Last year, a group of large national and international law firms petitioned the American Bar Association with a complaint about state bar regulation, contending that, given their multi-state corporate practices, such firms are restricted by the separate state bar admission requ[...]

Jan 26, 2012

ABA should pause before backing digital-only laws

The American Bar Association in February will be asked to endorse a proposed uniform law aiming at new standards for state government websites that host legal materials.

Dec 28, 2011

Legal ethics a hot topic in 2011

Legal ethics news this year ran the gamut from high-tech – can I friend the employee of an opposing party? – to more traditional challenges, such as attorney advertising and judicial recusal.

Dec 13, 2011

Attorneys wary of non-lawyer ownership

As the idea of expanding law firm ownership beyond attorneys inches forward, Wisconsin practitioners doubt the business model will be an attraction.

Dec 7, 2011

ABA proposes change in firm ownership rules

The American Bar Association’s Ethics 20/20 Commission has proposed changing the Rules of Professional Conduct to permit other service professionals, such as accountants, social workers and public relations professionals, to partner with attorneys to own up to 25 percent of a law firm.

Nov 18, 2011

Rules of confidentiality evolve with e-communications explosion

In August, the American Bar Association issued two formal opinions on the same day, both dealing with electronic lawyer-client communications in a workplace setting.

Nov 15, 2011

Discarded laptops, flash drives create ethical obligations for lawyers

A recent Florida Bar opinion advising that lawyers have an ethical duty to sanitize their storage devices has put a spotlight on how attorneys handle their discarded equipment.

Oct 28, 2011

BLAWG LOG: Do these Halloween laws scare you?

As a small law firm, do you carry out fun Halloween events at your firm like dress up in costumes, bring in treats, or decorate the office? If so, continue to do it because you probably are not breaking the law (and I am sure your firm is having a fun-tastic time).

Sep 27, 2011