Wisconsin Bill Proposes Age Verification And Parental Permission For Social Media Accounts Republican Rep. David Steffen has introduced a bill in Wisconsin that would require social media companies to verify the age of users in the state and obtain parental permission for minors to open accounts. The legislation also prohibits children under 18 from accessing their accounts between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. unless parents opt out of these requirements. (24 views)
New York to Ban Fossil Fuels in Most New Buildings, a Historic Move Towards Zero Emissions New York is set to make history by becoming the first state in the US to pass a law prohibiting the use of fossil fuels in most new buildings. The law would eliminate the use of gas stoves, furnaces, and propane heating in favor of climate-friendly alternatives like induction stoves and heat pumps. The ban, waiting to be voted on this week, would take effect in 2026 for... (4 views)
Ropes & Gray Shutting Down Business Restructuring Practice in Hong Kong On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Ropes & Gray announced that the law firm would be shutting down its business restructuring practice in Hong Kong. The leader of its Asia restructuring group, Daniel Anderson, will be leaving the firm. According to a report from Law.com, Anderson will be taking his practice to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, although a spokesperson from... (68 views)
Barber Ranen Spinoff Attracts 110 Lawyers from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith According to one of the founders of a newly-formed spinoff firm, approximately 110 lawyers from U.S. law firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith have signed agreements to leave the firm and join the spinoff. The new firm, Barber Ranen, may eventually see up to 140 lawyers join, with around 60 Lewis Brisbois lawyers becoming partners. The firm will be led by John Barber,... (1298 views)
Addressing the Growing Need for Elder Law Attorneys In recent years, elder law has become an important issue related to access to justice. The U.S. has a growing number of elderly citizens who require legal assistance. Yet, very few lawyers have specialized training to cater to their needs, and only a few are willing to serve those who cannot afford to pay. Multiple organizations are working to address this problem, such as... (13 views)
United States Launches Program to Protect Journalists from Legal Intimidation On Tuesday, the United States initiated a program to safeguard journalists globally from legal intimidation tactics to stifle dissenting opinions. Samantha Power, the head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), referred to this increasing trend as "lawfare" and unveiled the Reporters Shield program during a United Nations event commemorating... (11 views)
Stanford Law School Tops the List for Federal Clerkships Among All Law Schools in the US New data from the American Bar Association reveals that a quarter of Stanford Law School's 2022 graduates secured federal clerkships, giving it the highest percentage among all law schools in the US. This puts Stanford ahead of the University of Chicago Law School, which held the top spot for the past two years but has now slipped to third place, with just over 20% of... (68 views)
NLRB Reinstates "Setting Specific" Test for Abusive Employee Conduct On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board overturned a decision made during the Trump administration that made it simpler for employers to punish employees who made discriminatory, harassing, or vulgar remarks during a workplace dispute. The Democrat-controlled board voted 3-1 to revert to a "setting specific" criterion that had been in place for decades to determine... (34 views)
Prominent Law Firm Squire Patton Boggs Expands to Dublin with New Office On Monday, Squire Patton Boggs, a prominent global law firm, established an office in Dublin, following the trend of numerous international law firms in the Irish capital. The Dublin office will concentrate on cross-border M&A, particularly on private equity and corporate advisory work, according to Dennis Agnew, the managing partner of the Dublin branch, in an email. The... (20 views)
US Government May Delay Tradable Credits for Electric Vehicles Manufacturers Two sources familiar with the matter reveal that the U.S. government might postpone its decision to grant tradable credits to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers under a renewable fuel program. The delay is due to concerns about potential legal challenges to the plan. The proposed scheme aimed to reward EV automakers like Tesla with credits for charging their vehicles... (5 views)
Cornell Law School Tops American Bar Association Rankings for Large Firm Job Placement According to new data from the American Bar Association, Cornell University's law school had the highest percentage of its 2022 graduates placed in jobs at large law firms compared to any other law school in the United States. This is the second consecutive year that Cornell has taken the top spot, with nearly 80% of its juris doctor graduates securing positions at firms... (96 views)
Majority of Americans Believe Society is Less Civil than a Decade Ago, Blame Social Media and Public Officials - ABA Survey A new poll by the American Bar Association (ABA) has found that most Americans believe society is less civil than it was a decade ago. They blame social media and public officials for the decline. The ABA’s annual Survey of Civic Literacy involved 1,000 respondents, of whom 85% said civility in today's society is worse than ten years ago. Only 8% said it was better, and... (7 views)
Winston & Strawn Hires Blockchain-Focused Deal Maker For Its Digital Assets And Blockchain Technology Group Winston & Strawn, a Chicago-based law firm, has recently announced that it has hired Will Turner, a blockchain-focused deal maker, from Greenberg Traurig's Miami office. Turner will be working as a partner in Winston's mergers & acquisitions practice and its digital assets & blockchain technology group. This appointment comes less than two years after he joined Greenberg... (13 views)
Virginia Law School Tops Job Placement Among American Bar Association-Accredited Institutions New figures reveal that in 2022, more than 95% of juris doctor graduates from a particular school landed permanent, full-time positions requiring bar passage, the highest percentage among all 197 law schools accredited by the American Bar Association. Virginia surpassed Columbia Law School, which held the top spot for job placements among 2021 law graduates. Though Duke... (8 views)
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Florida Voting Restrictions Backed by Republicans On Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld several voting restrictions in Florida that Republicans backed. The court overruled a lower court judge who had determined that the laws intentionally discriminated against minority voters. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel of judges, in a split 2-1 decision, stated that the evidence did not prove that lawmakers... (4 views)
Early EU Agreement Requires Disclosure of Copyrighted Material in Generative AI Tools An early EU agreement has stipulated that companies utilizing generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, must disclose any copyrighted material used in developing their systems. This agreement could set the stage for the world's first comprehensive laws regulating this technology. The European Commission began drafting the AI Act almost two years ago to regulate the emerging... (24 views)
Legal Battle Continues Between Florida Governor and Disney over Theme Park Autonomy The legal battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company continues, with legal experts suggesting that DeSantis' previous verbal attacks against Disney might come back to hurt him in court. The company is suing DeSantis to prevent the state from ending its virtual autonomy in central Florida, where its theme parks are located. Last year, Disney... (4 views)
U.S. Appeals Court Rules Uber Drivers Must Follow Arbitration Law, Disqualifying Class Action Lawsuits On Wednesday, a U.S. appeals court based in Philadelphia ruled that Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) drivers must follow the U.S. law that mandates work-related legal disputes to be brought up in private arbitration instead of participating in class action lawsuits in court. The court panel stated that Uber drivers do not meet the criteria for exemption from the arbitration... (13 views)
Tesla Supervisors At Florida Service Center Violate Labor Law, Ruled By NLRB Judge According to a ruling by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas, supervisors at a Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) service center in Florida, they violated U.S. labor law. The managers at the Orlando repair shop were found to have illegally prevented workers from discussing their pay and working conditions or raising complaints with higher-level... (21 views)
Legal AI Startup Harvey Raises $21m In Funding, Attracting More Than 15k Law Firms To Its Waiting List On Wednesday, legal AI startup Harvey announced that it secured $21 million in new funding from investors, including Sequoia Capital, Conviction, SV Angel, and Elad Gil. With the increasing use of advanced generative artificial intelligence tools by lawyers at major law firms, more than 15,000 law firms are on Harvey's waiting list to start using its services. Founded in... (84 views)
Law Firm Nelson Mullins Hires Team of Litigators from Benesch, Launches New Office in Chicago On Wednesday, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, a law firm based in Columbia, South Carolina, announced the recruitment of a group of litigators from Benesch. This team includes four partners, namely Justin Barker, Dawn Beery, Scott McMillin, and Matt Nirider, who will establish a new office for Nelson Mullins in Chicago. McMillin will take on the role of office head in... (50 views)
Law School Class of 2022 Sees Increase in Legal Job Placement The law school class of 2022 entered a robust job market and secured legal jobs at a higher rate than the previous classes of 2021 and 2019, which were affected by the temporary decline in new lawyer hiring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the American Bar Association's recent release, almost 78% of the new Juris doctors from 2022 found jobs that require bar... (1 views)
Unc Students Distribute Warning Tags Ahead Of Supreme Court Rulings On Affirmative Action A group of students at the University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus distributed warning slips to their peers in a busy sunken courtyard at the campus center. The tags read, "Is diversity at UNC important to you? It's under threat." (2 views)
Study Shows Employment Prospects for Law School Graduates Are Improving A new study by the American Bar Association has found that employment outcomes for recent law school graduates have improved significantly, with the proportion of graduates in high-quality jobs trending upward. The study reveals that approximately 85% of law school graduates from the class of 2022 were employed in full-time long-term bar-passage-required jobs or "J.D.... (13 views)
Small and Midsize Law Firms Hiring More Big Firm Lawyers as Large Firms Conduct Layoffs According to legal data company Firm Prospects LLC, while large law firms have been conducting layoffs and reducing hiring, small and midsize firms are seizing the opportunity to hire more big firm lawyers. The data shows that the portion of associates leaving large law firms for those outside BigLaw has shifted over the last two years, from 31% in 2021 to 34% in 2022 and... (59 views)
Newest Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to Deliver Law School Commencement Speeches Ketanji Brown Jackson, the newest justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, is set to break the dry spell of SCOTUS law school commencement speeches this year. Jackson is among a growing list of high-profile women addressing law graduates in 2022. She is scheduled to deliver remarks at the American University Washington College of Law on May 20 and at Boston University School of... (23 views)
Bar Exam Pass Rates Decline Nationwide: New York, Texas, and Florida See Significant Drops Recent reports on attorney licensing exams show a significant decrease in pass rates nationwide, including in New York, Texas, and Florida. In New York, the overall pass rate for the latest bar exam has decreased to 40% from last year's 45%, with a decline of nine percentage points over the past two years. Additionally, the first-time pass rate has dropped from 61% in 2022... (42 views)
Texas Bar Exam Pass Rates Remain Steady in February 2023 According to data released by the Texas Board of Law Examiners, around 59% of first-time test takers passed the Texas Bar exam in February, similar to the passing rate in the same month last year. However, this rate is lower than in previous years, dropping around 10% from a few years ago. In February 2021, just over 70% of first-time test takers passed. (338 views)
Paul Hastings Adds Five-Partner Investment Funds Team From Kirkland & Ellis On Monday, Paul Hastings LLP announced that it had expanded its investment funds and private capital practice by adding a five-partner team from Kirkland & Ellis. The team will be led by veteran partner John Budetti, who has been named the new global chair of the practice. Budetti spent approximately 17 years at Kirkland before joining Paul Hastings as a partner in New... (50 views)
Us Appeals Court Upholds Order Requiring Apple To Change App Store Payment Practices On Monday, a U.S. appeals court upheld a federal court's order that may require Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to change its payment practices in the App Store, following an antitrust case brought by "Fortnite" creator Epic Games. The order could force Apple to allow developers to provide links and buttons for third-party in-app payment options and avoid paying sales commissions to... (7 views)