Aba Journal: Asked And Answered

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act is decades-old, many businesses, including law firms, continue to treat it as a suggestion, rather than federal law, according to Eve Hill and Jason Turkish, two lawyers who represent plaintiffs in disability cases. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Business hasn’t slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, which tore many couples apart, according to family law attorneys Stacy D. Phillips, who practices in Los Angeles, and Bonnie E. Rabin, who practices in New York. However, the COVID-19 crisis has made it easier to work together. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Physical aspects aren’t the only changes in federal litigation, according to two veteran Chicago litigators. They think jurors, particularly those younger than age 40, are much more forgiving when a witness is caught lying, few care whether a party admits to drug use, and many expect significant documentation from law enforcement trying to defend misconduct charges. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

The heavy, hardback editions of Martindale-Hubbell law directories, which were published annually and had different volumes for each jurisdiction, represented an important tool for executive search consultants back in the 1980s, before internet access was common, and lawyers’ backgrounds could only be found through paper or word of mouth. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

In the late 1980s, law school groups for gay and lesbian students met off campus in case members didn’t want the school community to know their sexual orientation. And there were so few female faculty at law schools, if two or more were seen together talking, male faculty would ask what they were up to. So if they were actually up to something, such as persuading their dean to adopt a faculty parental leave policy that was longer than a few weeks, they would meet off campus, too. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

A few decades ago, there were no page limits for U.S. Supreme Court briefs, and that brought considerable headaches for the clerks who had to read them. Also, the justices rarely, if ever, asked more than 15 questions total during oral arguments. But that changed in 1986, after Antonin Scalia joined the high court. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Many Harvard Law School students knew of classmate Rehan Staton through a July 2020 video that went viral, which featured him opening a Harvard Law School acceptance email. There’s a lot more to him than the video, and Staton wanted to connect with classmates more significantly while they attended remote classes over the past year. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Lawyer Patrick Krill learned to be more flexible during the pandemic, with inspiration from "Be Water," an ESPN documentary about martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

As the dean of Pennsylvania State University's law school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and at a time of significant social unrest, Hari Osofsky tried to say yes whenever possible. Leadership involves taking in a variety of viewpoints, she explains, and recognizing what students, professors and administration want is a good way to guarantee people that they are being heard. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Lawyer and author David Lat thinks remote working for lawyers is here for the foreseeable future, and that’s just one of the many significant changes that he sees the pandemic bringing to the legal profession. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Emily D. Baker wanted a diversion from 2020, so she started doing her own legal commentary about pop culture, with topics including a pair of "Satan Shoes" associated with rapper Lil Nas X and the conservatorship of Britney Spears. Today, Baker is considered to be an influencer. According to her, she earns more than she did as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Howard Bashman of How Appealing discusses blogging during COVID-19 and how appellate work in Pennsylvania has changed in the pandemic.

Lawyer Beth Bourdon is willing to go places where other attorneys may be hesitant, including this summer when she joined Parler.

A Colorado law professor recently discussed how he incorporates mindfulness in his life and finding “pandemic positives” with ABA Journal Senior Writer Stephanie Francis Ward.

SCOTUS lawyer Jeffrey L. Fisher breaks down how he had to adapt during the coronavirus crisis for three recent Supreme Court cases that he argued.

Law professor April Dawson talks to Senior Writer Stephanie Francis Ward about finding creative ways to use technology in the classroom, even before the pandemic.

Karen Kaplowitz talks with the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward about how many people are discovering the benefits of long-term telecommuting and why they may continue to support the work schedules after the pandemic ends.

Kenneth White, a former assistant U.S. attorney known as "Popehat" on Twitter, spoke with ABA Journal Senior Writer Stephanie Francis Ward about what he's been up to during the COVID-19 crisis.

While Veena Dubal has adopted to working at home with three young children during the COVID-19 pandemic, the “reply guys” came after the California law professor on Twitter for her support of a 2020 state law that extends employee classification status to gig workers. Dubal tells ABA Journal Senior Writer Stephanie Francis Ward that she thinks that people’s anxieties are running high amid the pandemic, and some public relations groups harness that energy to support client platforms, particularly on social media. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

This past spring, when few people realized that most July bar exams would ultimately be canceled, Molly Coleman decided to forgo the test, for the time being, despite her lawyer father’s objections. Coleman chats with ABA Journal Senior Writer Stephanie Francis Ward about moving back to St. Paul, Minnesota—her hometown—less than a week before the area erupted in protests following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in late May. She was joined by her fiance—a University of Michigan Law School student—and the couple postponed their September wedding to 2021, given health concerns with large gatherings. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.