YourABA September 2017

Practice Technology

7 Ways artificial intelligence can benefit your law firm

Have you heard the buzz? Artificial intelligence is taking the legal world by storm—and lawyers are embracing the change, despite their traditional resistance to technology.

Ethics

Conflicts of interest: Examining a current client as an adverse witness

Lawyer accepts engagement with P and files lawsuit against D. In discovery, Lawyer discovers C is a key witness that might also have in his possession documents that are relevant to the litigation. C, however, is a current client of Lawyer in an unrelated matter.

Legal Delivery

9 innovators share big ideas for expanding access to justice

Even in legal circles, innovation can come in different forms -- not merely technology. That was the message Saturday when a diverse group of legal innovators outlined their organizations’ recent initiatives in a Ted-talk style program called “Spotlight on Innovation: Micro-Presentations on the Cutting Edge of Legal Services.”

Client Protection

As border searches of electronics rise, here’s how to protect your clients’ data

ABA members have been voicing concerns about searches of lawyers’ devices at the U.S. border “and the risks that those searches posed to the privileged and confidential information which is maintained on those electronic devices,” said retired US District Court Judge in Southern Court of New York Shira A. Scheindlin, now of counsel with Stroock & Stroock & Levan.

New study reveals how juries think and behave

American juries suffer from a dual public image, said Shari Seidman Diamond, a psychologist and lawyer who holds a joint appointment at the American Bar Foundation and Northwestern University. They are seen on the one hand as incompetent and biased, as well as naïve and easily manipulated, and on the other as a repository of folk wisdom and common sense.

Practice Management

Don’t try this at work: Bad practices in hiring

Want to pay a big fat fine? Try this: After Oct. 31 in New York City, ask your next job applicant how much she makes at her current job.

Immigration

How Trump has impacted immigrants, religious minorities in workplace

Since the 2016 election and more recently with the Trump administration policies targeting immigrant communities––including the travel ban from six Muslim-majority countries, the expansion of deportation efforts and the attacks on sanctuary cities––anti-immigrant harassment and bullying has been widely reported at schools, workplaces and places of business.

Courts & Judiciary

Reporters and cameras in the court: Judges sound off

On paper, judges and reporters have a lot in common. Both try to be impartial, both sort through facts in search of the truth. And both want the public to understand what’s going on in the American justice system.

Career

Best-selling writers share how to make the leap from lawyer to author

Does a background in law help in becoming a best-selling writer? There is no definitive answer to that question, but a panel of accomplished attorney-authors gave ABA members insight into the matter.

Diversity & Inclusion

Ways to tackle your implicit biases

A panel of lawyers explored the difficult topic of implicit bias within the legal profession, pointing out that understanding bias begins with better appreciation of one’s own prejudices.