Wed.Mar 01, 2023

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Don't Underestimate the Importance of Closure Letters

ALPS

Over the years, I have found that the use of closure letters varies greatly, not only between firms, but even between attorneys practicing at the same firm. The excuses I often hear include statements like “we do a lot of flat fee in-and-out work here, so the effort just isn’t worth it,” “I’m not about to say goodbye get out of here, particularly to any of my good clients,” or “these matters never really close.

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Human rights organizations urge UN to keep mandate of body investigating Tigray conflict

JURIST

A group of 60 civil and human rights organizations Tuesday urged the United Nations to oppose Ethiopia’s request to end the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), the body tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Ethiopia-Tigray conflict. The organizations, led by Human Rights Watch (HRW), cited Ethiopians’ lack of faith in official institutions as an incentive to keep ICHREE as the country grapples with the conflict.

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Trending Sources

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Supreme Court Finds Jury Instruction Analogizing Reasonable Doubt to Surgery Involving a "Precious One" Was Improper

EvidenceProf Blog

Imagine that a judge's instruction on guilty beyond a reasonable doubt includes the following paragraphs: Now, ladies and gentlemen, I find it helpful to think about reasonable doubt in this way. Because I had the great fortune to speak with.

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US Supreme Court rules against Delaware in $400M interstate unclaimed property dispute

JURIST

The US Supreme Court Tuesday released a unanimous opinion holding that certain abandoned financial instruments that are similar to money orders may be recovered by the state in which they were purchased. In Delaware v. Pennsylvania , the court ruled that these abandoned financial instruments, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, fell under the definition of “money order” in the Disposition of Abandoned Money Orders and Travelers Checks Act of 1974 (Federal Disposition Act or FDA),

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Recipe for a Failed CLM Implementation

Selecting and implementing CLM technology can be daunting, leading to underutilization or abandonment. Factors like provider differentiation, inadequate planning, and lack of user training contribute to these failures. Recognizing these pitfalls is crucial for successful adoption, ensuring organizations harness the full potential of CLM for streamlined contract management.

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“2023 Scalia Lecture | William Baude: ‘Beyond Textualism?'”

HowAppealing

“2023 Scalia Lecture | William Baude: ‘Beyond Textualism?'” Harvard Law School has posted this video on YouTube. The post “2023 Scalia Lecture | William Baude: ‘Beyond Textualism?'” appeared first on How Appealing.

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Formal Complaint Lodged Against Federal Judge For Handcuffing Crying 13-Year-Old Girl

Above The Law

Ninth Circuit announces that it's going to have a look at judges traumatizing children. The post Formal Complaint Lodged Against Federal Judge For Handcuffing Crying 13-Year-Old Girl appeared first on Above the Law.

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“SCOTUS’ Predictions Based on Lower Court Judges”

HowAppealing

“SCOTUS’ Predictions Based on Lower Court Judges”: Adam Feldman has this post at his “Empirical SCOTUS” blog. The post “SCOTUS’ Predictions Based on Lower Court Judges” appeared first on How Appealing.

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Looks Like Poisoning The Country With A Far-Right Judiciary Is Very Lucrative

Above The Law

Leonard Leo got rich(er) while we lost our rights. The post Looks Like Poisoning The Country With A Far-Right Judiciary Is Very Lucrative appeared first on Above the Law.

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New York City Advocates and Legislators Push To End ‘Predatory Court Fees’

The Crime Report

Advocates and legislators gathered outside of a supermarket in Brooklyn last week, rallying behind the End Predatory Court Fees Act, a piece of Albany legislation aimed at eliminating New York court surcharges and fees including mandatory minimum fines, incarceration on the basis of unpaid fines and fees and garnishment of commissary accounts. “In grocery stores like this one across the state, food prices are surging by an average of 10 percent,” Peggy Herrera, a community leader with the Center

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Contract Lifecycle Management: A Business Enabler Exploring On-Ground Challenges

CLM tools have always strived to push contract management into the digital age for almost 30 years. But the complexities of digitising a legal document are numerous. The current scenarios in business development have shown that having a fully automated CLM has become a mandate for every law firm and in-house legal department. To determine if you need a CLM system, it's essential to clearly identify the on-ground business challenges you aim to solve.

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“Pa. High Court Poised to Kick Off 2023 Argument Session; Three cases in particular have captured the attention of the plaintiffs and defense bars, with advocates on both sides appearing as amici in matters impacting the realms of medical malpractice, products liability and venue”

HowAppealing

“Pa. High Court Poised to Kick Off 2023 Argument Session; Three cases in particular have captured the attention of the plaintiffs and defense bars, with advocates on both sides appearing as amici in matters impacting the realms of medical malpractice, products liability and venue”: Aleeza Furman of The Legal Intelligencer has this report.

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Are Drill Bits Now Abstract Ideas Too?

Patently O

The following is a really wonderful Guest Post from UC San Francisco Law School Professor Jeffrey Lefstin focusing on a recent ITC decision finding a claimed drill bit abstract because of its functional limitations. by Jeffrey Lefstin Not too long after the Supreme Court decided Mayo v. Prometheus , I wrote an article suggesting, based on some of the history that followed Funk Brothers , that patents on ordinary industrial processes and compositions could become ineligible in Mayo ’s wake.

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“Georgia Supreme Court justice finds value in being uncomfortable; The Honorable Verda M. Colvin shares lessons during Holmes-Hunter Lecture”

HowAppealing

“Georgia Supreme Court justice finds value in being uncomfortable; The Honorable Verda M. Colvin shares lessons during Holmes-Hunter Lecture”: Krista Richmond of UGA Today has this report. You can view the lecture online, because the University of Georgia has posted on YouTube a video titled “ 2023 Holmes-Hunter Lecture.” The post “Georgia Supreme Court justice finds value in being uncomfortable; The Honorable Verda M.

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Partners Should Not Fear Their Friends When Making Hiring Decisions

Above The Law

Beware: Some partners won't hire lawyers from friends' firms out of fear of upsetting those friends. The post Partners Should Not Fear Their Friends When Making Hiring Decisions appeared first on Above the Law.

Lawyer 126
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California Civil Discovery Act Undergoes Significant Overhaul

Short article looking at the new CCP 2016.

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“John Roberts takes center stage in the battle over student loan forgiveness”

HowAppealing

“John Roberts takes center stage in the battle over student loan forgiveness”: Joan Biskupic of CNN has this news analysis. The post “John Roberts takes center stage in the battle over student loan forgiveness” appeared first on How Appealing.

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NY Top Court: ‘Long Forbidden Routine’ of Visible Shackling Applies To Verdict Reading and Jury Polling

The Crime Report

The New York Court of Appeals decided last month that a trial court violated the rights of a defendant by restraining him while the jury announced their verdict. In the case of People v. Oscar Sanders, lawyers with Davis Polk and advised by the Legal Aid Society successfully appealed to the New York Court of Appeals on behalf of defendant Oscar Sanders and secured Sanders a new trial.

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“Washington lawyer Tom Goldstein leaves Supreme Court practice, law firm”

HowAppealing

“Washington lawyer Tom Goldstein leaves Supreme Court practice, law firm”: David Thomas of Reuters has this report. And Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson and Lydia Wheeler of Bloomberg Law report that “ Tom Goldstein Retires from High Court Bar After Reinventing Path; Goldstein argued 45 cases before justices; Took unusual path to Supreme Court advocacy ” (subscription required for full access).

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Legal AI Knows What It Doesn’t Know Which Makes It Most Intelligent Artificial Intelligence Of All

Above The Law

Casetext's Co-Counsel thinks like a good junior lawyer, which is exactly what lawyers need from AI. The post Legal AI Knows What It Doesn’t Know Which Makes It Most Intelligent Artificial Intelligence Of All appeared first on Above the Law.

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Dangers of Digital "Reporting": Legal Risks and Unreliable Transcripts

In the world of legal proceedings, the choice between a certified stenographer and digital "reporting" holds significant implications. Certified stenographers go through rigorous training and testing and stand as the gold standard for accuracy in capturing every word. Their expertise ensures a reliable record, a crucial foundation for legal cases.

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“Standing for Gravediggers? A Comment on the SG’s Concession in the Student Debt Forgiveness Case and a Coda on the Major Questions Doctrine and Fairness.”

HowAppealing

“Standing for Gravediggers? A Comment on the SG’s Concession in the Student Debt Forgiveness Case and a Coda on the Major Questions Doctrine and Fairness.” Michael C. Dorf has this post at his blog, “Dorf on Law.” The post “Standing for Gravediggers? A Comment on the SG’s Concession in the Student Debt Forgiveness Case and a Coda on the Major Questions Doctrine and Fairness.” appeared first on How Appealing.

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The Supposed Economic Benefits Of Marriage Could Be Outweighed By The Financial Risk Of Divorce

Above The Law

Good statistics on how much a divorce costs are not easy to find. The post The Supposed Economic Benefits Of Marriage Could Be Outweighed By The Financial Risk Of Divorce appeared first on Above the Law.

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“Supreme Court Weighs Future of New York Harbor Commission; Justices hear arguments on whether anti-racketeering agency has outlived its purpose”

HowAppealing

“Supreme Court Weighs Future of New York Harbor Commission; Justices hear arguments on whether anti-racketeering agency has outlived its purpose”: Paul Berger and Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal have this report. The post “Supreme Court Weighs Future of New York Harbor Commission; Justices hear arguments on whether anti-racketeering agency has outlived its purpose” appeared first on How Appealing.

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Merrick Garland Gets Yelled At By Ted Cruz, Defends The Justice Department Anyway

Above The Law

No, the DOJ hasn't been politicized. The post Merrick Garland Gets Yelled At By Ted Cruz, Defends The Justice Department Anyway appeared first on Above the Law.

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Optimizing Contract Management and Enhancing Team Collaboration: Insights from a Legal Operations Perspective

Speaker: Adina Marta Newman

Learn about a world of effective contract management and seamless teamwork across departments in this upcoming webinar from Cobblestone Software. You'll discover practical strategies and tips that legal professionals can use to streamline contract processes and enhance collaboration, making significant impact across legal and corporate departments. Join us as we show how you can supercharge contract processes, improve team communication, and take your contributions to the next level.

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“The Role of the Modern State Solicitor General: Current and Former SGs Weigh In.”

HowAppealing

“The Role of the Modern State Solicitor General: Current and Former SGs Weigh In.” The Federalist Society has posted this video on YouTube. The post “The Role of the Modern State Solicitor General: Current and Former SGs Weigh In.” appeared first on How Appealing.

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Casetext Launches Co-Counsel, Its OpenAI-Based ‘Legal Assistant’ To Help Lawyers Search Data, Review Documents, Draft Memos, Analyze Contracts and More

LawSites

With the legal industry consumed with interest in generative AI and legal tech companies scrambling to incorporate the technology into their products, it was a sure bet that, sooner rather than later, Casetext would come out with a product of its own. After all, this is the company that had already launched the powerful neural net search technology AllSearch and that had pioneered products such as Compose , to help lawyers draft litigation briefs, and, in 2016 , CARA, the first product to use AI

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“Why Elite Law and Medical Schools Can’t Stand U.S. News; Our rankings provide students vital, accurate data; Administrators don’t like to be held accountable”

HowAppealing

“Why Elite Law and Medical Schools Can’t Stand U.S. News; Our rankings provide students vital, accurate data; Administrators don’t like to be held accountable”: Eric J. Gertler, executive chairman and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, has this op-ed in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal. The post “Why Elite Law and Medical Schools Can’t Stand U.S.

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Building On Its Acquisition of Parley Pro, LexisNexis Adds Contract Lifecycle Management to CounselLink

LawSites

Building on its acquisition last year of the contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform Parley Pro , LexisNexis is today announcing the integration of Parley Pro’s CLM capabilities to its cloud-based CounselLink enterprise legal management solution for corporate legal departments. CounselLink is also today introducing work intake features designed to facilitate the submission and management of legal requests coming in to the legal department from anyone within the company.

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Visibility Into the Strategy & Supporting Documents of Major US Law Firms

Law Firm Intelligence by Trellis aggregates state trial court data across the Trellis platform enabling users to: look up a particular metric related to a specific law firm (such as, how many cases a law firm had or has against another law firm), and see the actual dockets and documents supporting the metric. Trellis data is maximized in a revolutionary and unique way to provide users an exclusive look into a law firm litigating in state trial courts.