Month: December 2022

SCOTUS NEWS


By Amy Howe

on Dec 13, 2022
at 10:55 am

The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning added three new cases to its merits docket for the 2022-23 term. The justices considered all three cases – involving federal securities laws, the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause, and the proper remedy when a defendant is tried in the wrong place – at their private conference last week. Although the justices announced an initial set of new grants from that conference on Friday afternoon, Tuesday’s grants follow a recent pattern of issuing a second set of grants from the court’s final regularly scheduled conference of the year.

The justices agreed to review the case of Adam Samia – whom the federal government describes as a “hitman” who “committed an array of crimes worthy of a James Bond villain.” Samia was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the

…
Read More

The Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Special Interest Section (FCIL-SIS) of AALL needs your leadership and vision! 

The Nominations Committee hereby welcomes submissions for Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and Secretary/Treasurer of the SIS for 2023. 

FCIL-SIS Annual Nominations For: 2020 Deadline: December 16, 2022
  • The position of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect requires a three-year commitment, as Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, Chair, and Immediate Past Chair, and will be expected to attend the AALL annual meeting the first two years.  
  • The position of Secretary/Treasurer requires a two-year commitment, and the holder of this office is expected to attend the AALL Annual Meeting both years. More information is available in the FCIL-SIS Bylaws.

Please consider nominating yourself or one of our outstanding colleagues for these important positions. (If nominating someone other than yourself, please communicate first with that person to ensure their interest in serving.)

Nominations will be accepted through December 16th, 2022. Results will be announced in the Spring newsletter.

Please submit your nominations and any questions to:

…
Read More

by Janet Peros, Senior Research Analyst, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Editor’s Note: We are happy to post two takes on a recent course on “Managing Your Work Environment” offered by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), and facilitated by Judith Millesen, Ph.D.  Both authors were recipients of grants from the Private Law Librarians and Information Professionals (PLLIP) section of AALL.  Thank you to Connie and Janet for taking the time to share their thoughts on their experiences and takeaways from the course.

In September, AALL offered a four week online course, Managing Your Work Environment. I was able to attend this rewarding program facilitated by Judith Millesen, PhD, Director of Strategic Planning, Fundraising, and Capacity Building, Association Options, thanks to a generous PLLIP grant.

The course format included pre-course work, three asynchronous weeks, and the fourth and final week had a live session for everyone to

…
Read More







Taylor Young


December 9, 2022
ABA TECHSURVEY, Feature

The 2022 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report: Marketing & Communication Technology is now available for purchase!

The ABA Legal Technology Survey Report is the most comprehensive study available of lawyers’ actual technology use, spanning a vast range of topics from security and basic office software to technology budgets, marketing tools, and much more. The survey has been published annually for more than 20 years.

The 2022 edition features five volumes, each with detailed charts, tables, and trends: 2022 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report: Combined Volumes I-V

Vol. IV: Marketing & Communication Technology

  • Websites
  • Blogs
  • Social Media
  • Communication Tools
  • Marketing Tools
  • Analytics





Check Also



The results of the 2022 ABA Legal Technology

…
Read More

A cherished, century-old Acoma shield was stolen from the pueblo in the 1970s. Decades later, it showed up in a French auction catalog.

Congress last week sent a bill to President Joe Biden’s desk that aims to crack down on the export of Native American patrimony, defined as objects with lasting historical or cultural significance.

The law — known as the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony, or STOP, Act — makes it a crime punishable by fines and a year and a day in jail for those who export items like the Acoma shield. The penalty is 10 years for a second offense. The law allows some exceptions, like in cases where a tribe has relinquished possession of an item.

It also empowers US Customs and Border Patrol to size such things and return them to their rightful owners. And it offers support to a coalition of tribes across the

…
Read More

StructureFlow, a London company whose platform enables visual modeling of complex corporate transactions, has raised $3.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round.

The company, launched in 2019, said it will use the funding to accelerate development of its visual modeling platform and to boost its sales and marketing efforts, with a particular focus on expansion in North America.

The funding round was led by UK-based venture capital firm Venrex, with participation by angel investors Chris Adelsbach and Tariq Khan. The round brings the company’s total seed funding to $8 million.

StructureFlow’s software is already used by some of the world’s largest and most prestigious law firms, including three of the five UK ‘Magic Circle’ firms and a number of Am Law 100 US firms, the company said.

The software enables real-time collaboration around complex corporate transactions, including brainstorming deal structures, designing steps plans, and mapping transactions and disputes.

…
Read More
Notorious BIG At Billboard Music Awards

Notorious B.I.G. (Photo by Larry Busacca/WireImage)

Sometimes Your Words Just Hypnotize The Court: Federal judge is apparently the only one in the courtroom who paid attention in the 90s.

To All The Partners In The Office I Was Hustlin’ In Front Of/Sued Me When I Was Just Tryin’ To Bill Some Hours To Feed My Daughter: Firm employment agreement charges associates for not making hours, which is… a strategy.

It’s Unbelievable: That Alex Jones keeps telling courts that he’s bankrupt… and yet keeps coming up with millions of dollars from between the couch cushions.

Mo Money, Not Mo Problems: Simpson Thacher, Mayer Brown, Sidley, and Ross Aronstam

…
Read More
ARGUMENT ANALYSIS


By Ronald Mann

on Dec 7, 2022
at 11:57 pm

Unless they find another case in the next few weeks, the argument Tuesday in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley will bring a close to this term’s encounters with the Bankruptcy Code. As I explained in my preview of the argument, Bartenwerfer presents a statutory puzzle: whether the language of the code permits a person in bankruptcy to discharge a debt incurred through the fraud of her husband.

The question comes from the language of Section 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code, which  protects – and thus preserves from the discharge – any creditor’s claim for “money … obtained by … actual fraud.” The claim in the case was incurred through the fraud of David Bartenwerfer; Kate Bartenwerfer, who did not herself commit fraud, is nevertheless liable for that fraud because David was acting as her partner (in selling the house that

…
Read More

UC Davis’ Kevin R. Johnson, dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law, School of Law, and professor, Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, issued the following letter today (Nov. 28).

Dear UC Davis School of Law Community,

Beginning today (Nov. 28), UC Davis School of Law will no longer provide data to US News & World Report for use in compiling its law school rankings. This decision has been made after receiving guidance from the law faculty, campus leadership, students, alumni and others.

Kevin Johnson

Major flaws with the US News rankings are well-documented. Although law schools have worked in good faith with the magazine on improvements, US News has failed to significantly change the rankings methodology. The survey techniques, accuracy and fairness of the rankings remain problematic, which results in misleading rankings of law schools. Even small changes in one variable can lead to a dramatic shake-up of

…
Read More

Divorce AttorneyIf you are in the state of affairs of going by a divorce or perhaps your partner has already filed for a divorce, chances are you’ll want to take into account getting a divorce legal professional. I think that the rationale behind the divorce dictates the kind of habits that one can have in the course of the break-up or separation of belongings. Many have been know to just grow out of love and in agreement with each other that it is the proper factor to do and accept it for what it’s. Nonetheless, when there’s a specific purpose for the divorce corresponding to infidelity, many negative feelings arise and thus take over both events. One celebration, as the one that is harm, could change into vindictive in many ways as a result of quantity of pain they may really feel and the opposite party may just reply to the …

Read More