June, 2022

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The Graying of America’s Prison Population

The Crime Report

Despite a decline in prison populations over the last 15 years, the number of people serving sentences of life without parole (LWOP) has continued to grow. According to a report released Thursday by The Sentencing Project, the worst is yet to come, as a large swath of people serving life without parole are growing into their elderly years. “Older incarcerated people describe sentences of life without the possibility of parole—with the expectation that they will die in prison—as particularly crue

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Freedom House report accuses Rwanda of transnational repression

JURIST

Freedom House released its complete report on transnational repression Thursday where it accused Rwanda of being one of the worst offenders. Transnational repression is a phenomena where a country will suppress dissent and target dissidents outside of its borders. The report documented the anti-repression policies of nine countries: Canada, Germany, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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10 Things We're Glad Have Changed in the Paralegal Profession

Paralegal Brief Submitted Articles

Are you new to the paralegal profession? Have you been a paralegal for years? Read the top 10 things we're glad have changed for legal professionals.

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Cherry-picked history and ideology-driven outcomes: Bruen’s originalist distortions

SCOTUSBlog

Share This article is part of a symposium on the court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Saul Cornell is the Paul and Diane Guenther chair in American history at Fordham University and adjunct professor of law at Fordham Law School. The majority opinion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen invokes the authority of history but presents a version of the past that is little more than an ideological fantasy, much of it invented by gun-rights a

Court 145
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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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Take the Lead (Part I): How to Build a Modern Law Firm Intake System

MyCase

The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were like a figurative asteroid that violently crashed through the shared expectations of lawyers around client intake —in much the same way that a literal, giant asteroid sent dinosaurs scrambling in all directions. Eventually, the remaining dinosaurs evolved, and–if you believe (spoiler alert) the end of Jurassic Park–they became birds and took flight. .

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Google Earmarks $8M for Job Skills Training for Formerly Incarcerated

The Crime Report

Google announced Wednesday that the company will be dedicating an additional $8 million to its justice reform work initiatives, particularly to help formerly incarcerated individuals reaccess the job force through training and by supporting the development of a national automatic clearance tool for criminal records. . Half of Google’s $8 million investment will go to a new Grow with Google Fund. $4 million will facilitate programming to build digital and career skills for at least 100,000 former

Laws 144
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Germany unveils plan to deregulate legal name and gender change process

JURIST

The German government Thursday presented plans to make it easier for transgender people to legally change their first name and gender, ending the current rules which require an expert assessment and court authorization. Under Germany’s current “transsexual law,” which was put in place under the Transgender Act of 1980, individuals are required to go through a lengthy process of obtaining assessments from two experts and a court decision in their favor.

Legal 274
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Guest Post: Climate Litigation in Japan: Citizens’ Attempts for the Coal Phase-Out

ClimateChange-ClimateLaw

By Yumeno Grace Nishikawa, LLM*. The Supreme Court of Japan may soon weigh in on a growing field of climate litigation in Japan against coal-fired power plants. On May 6, 2022, the Citizens’ Committee on the Kobe Coal-Fired Power Plant filed an appeal to Japan’s Supreme Court in Citizens’ Committee on the Kobe Coal-Fired Power Plant v. Japan , their case challenging the legality of a governmental approval that allows for the construction and operation of new coal-fired power plants.

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Announcement of opinions for Friday, June 24

SCOTUSBlog

Share On Friday, June 24, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements. The post Announcement of opinions for Friday, June 24 appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

Court 145
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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.

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Design Patent: Invalid as Unduly Functional

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. Golden Eye Media USA v. Evo Lifestyle Products ( Fed. Cir. 2022 ) (nonprecedential). Evo’s design patent claims an “ ornamental design for a foldable bag ” as shown in the figures above. This style of bag is known as a “trolly bag” in the UK and is used in shopping carts (trollies) to maintain order in reusable fashion.

Court 141
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Quick Ways To Refresh, Optimize, And Modernize Your Legal Resume

Above The Law

While a resume is the initial threshold to land an interview, it’s no longer a laundry list of your tasks, job functions, and responsibilities. The post Quick Ways To Refresh, Optimize, And Modernize Your Legal Resume appeared first on Above the Law.

Legal 145
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Can America Build ‘Humane’ Prisons?

The Crime Report

Could future prisons look like this? The entrance to San Diego’s Las Colinas Women’s Detention and Reentry Facility, designed by HMC Architects. Photo: by Lawrence Anderson via Architectural Digest. The popular image of a prison, informed by movies and TV series like Orange is the New Black , is something close to a zoo, where individuals deemed too dangerous to be allowed to roam free in society are caged like animals.

Legal 142
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China announces ban on industrial projects to combat climate change in key zones

JURIST

China Friday announced that it will ban new steel, coking, oil refining, cement, and glass projects in key zones to combat climate change by lowering pollution and carbon emissions. The plan establishes a zoning system to reduce carbon emissions. The zones classify urban areas, main agricultural production areas and key ecological function areas. It is “strictly forbidden” to increase the production capacity of steel, coking, oil refining, electrolytic aluminium, cement, and flat gla

Laws 272
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Generative AI for Contracts Is Here: New Tools to Accelerate Drafting and Editing

The emergence of generative AI is reshaping the landscape of contract management, enabling businesses to generate and negotiate legal agreements with greater ease and speed. In this on-demand webinar, Hal Marcus, VP of Product Marketing at Evisort discusses how Evisort's generative AI transforms contract creation and negotiation, empowering legal teams to streamline processes while reducing risk.

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Lawyers: Why Is It So Hard to Ask for Help?

Attorney at Work

Asking for help is crucial to your success, both personally and professionally. Here are five ways to get better at asking for it and accepting it. Lawyers are expected to always know the answers, handle the pressure and not make mistakes. Wow! No wonder our jobs can cause us so much stress! Even when we are meeting these unrealistic expectations, we can benefit from letting others help us.

Lawyer 136
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Court strikes down Maine’s ban on using public funds at religious schools

SCOTUSBlog

Share The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Maine violated the Constitution when it refused to make public funding available for students to attend schools that provide religious instruction. The opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts was a broad ruling, making clear that when state and local governments choose to subsidize private schools, they must allow families to use taxpayer funds to pay for religious schools.

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Families of criminal defendants are scammed by con artists watching Zoom hearings

ABA Journal

Scammers posing as prosecutors and court personnel are watching Zoom hearings and collecting money from families of criminal defendants who want to win release of…

Court 135
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Alex Jones Lawyers Want Off The Connecticut Sandy Hook Case

Above The Law

No, this isn't another ploy to postpone the trial. Why ever would you ask that? The post Alex Jones Lawyers Want Off The Connecticut Sandy Hook Case appeared first on Above the Law.

Lawyer 140
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You Deserve a Better Personal Injury Case Management Software

Paralegals are the nerve center that hold the entire Personal Injury practice together. You have an extremely diverse set of responsibilities, from legal research to drafting to administration tasks, and must communicate with all stakeholders (internal and external) at the practice. Paralegals need a robust system that can organize information, automate many mundane tasks, and save time every day.

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New Michigan Law Empowers Police to Seize Cash at Airports

The Crime Report

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed two bills ( HB 4631 and HB 4632 ) that expand civil forfeiture at airports, making it much easier for law enforcement to seize, and permanently keep, cash and other valuables from travelers without requiring a conviction, Forbes reports. While Michigan did reform its civil forfeiture laws less than three years ago by approving a criminal conviction provision for airport seizures, it only applied to cases where the owner fought back in court (a costly and

Laws 138
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Americas human rights body urges El Salvador to respect rights of detainees

JURIST

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Friday urged the El Salvador government to comply with international human rights obligations in its treatment of over 36,000 Salvadorans detained during its state of national emergency. The El Salvador government declared a nationwide emergency on March 27, reportedly to combat a spike in gang-related killings.

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Human Capital: The SEC’s Next Disclosure Frontier

Intelligize Blog

The Securities and Exchange Commission this year proposed new rules regarding corporate disclosures of environmental performance to great fanfare. A less-heralded ESG-related proposal also seems to be in the works, as the agency is working on “rule amendments to enhance registrant disclosures regarding human capital management.” The latest project follows the SEC announcing in 2020 […].

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Justices will hear case that tests power of state legislatures to set rules for federal elections

SCOTUSBlog

Share The Supreme Court will take up a case from North Carolina next term that could upend federal elections by eliminating virtually all oversight of those elections by state courts. On Thursday, the justices granted review in Moore v. Harper , a dispute arising from the state’s efforts to draw new congressional maps in response to the 2020 census.

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The Complete Guide to Contract Lifecycle Management

Are you tired of juggling contracts and missing deadlines? Do you want to ensure compliance and avoid costly disputes? Gatekeeper's Complete Guide to Contract Lifecycle Management is 38 pages of insights, tips, and templates. What's in the guide? 7 chapters covering all stages of the contract lifecycle from inception through to renewal and close-out Handy 10-point checklists for every stage to give you a clear playbook to work from 13 Excel templates ready to use in your business Who's it for?

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Uvalde, Texas, police had no legal duty to act, experts say; Supreme Court precedent cited

ABA Journal

Police in Uvalde, Texas, are unlikely to face civil liability for failing to rush in to confront shooter Salvador Ramos, 18, at Robb Elementary School…

Legal 139
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Lawyers’ Mental Health Suffers When They’re Viewed Only As Billing Machines By Their Firms

Above The Law

How can law firms improve attorney wellness? By valuing associates as more than profit centers. The post Lawyers’ Mental Health Suffers When They’re Viewed Only As Billing Machines By Their Firms appeared first on Above the Law.

Lawyer 140
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25 Years After Court Ruling, Released Sex Offenders Endure ‘Shadow Prisons’

The Crime Report

On June 23 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Kansas v. Hendricks , upheld the practice of detaining people convicted of sexual offenses beyond prison sentences under the guise of treatment. The landmark 5-4 ruling also concluded that the Kansas law governing the practice did not constitute double jeopardy since it merely authorized “civil” rather than “criminal” commitments.

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US Supreme Court adds controversial election case to October 2022 docket

JURIST

The US Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hear a controversial election case which deals with an emerging legal theory based on the elections clause of the US Constitution. The theory claims that under the elections clause, state legislatures have unchecked power to determine election policy and implementation, and that power cannot be checked by state courts or state constitutions.

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In-House Legal Departments – A Comprehensive Guide to Best-in-Class Reporting

Generating reports for your in-house legal team can take days, and sometimes weeks! Collating information in word documents or spreadsheets across the team can be a giant headache. Tailoring content to consider various stakeholders may be a repetitive task. If you’re doing Legal Department reporting – make it count! If you’re not, it may be time to start.