YourABA July 2020

Professional Development

Building on opportunities in the new legal landscape

by Teresa J. Schmid, JD, MBA, LP.D, CAE, ABA Center for Professional Responsibility

Few 2020 law school graduates who do not already have a confirmed job offer can feel secure that legal employment will be readily obtainable when they enter the workforce. This is especially true when many legal employers are at risk themselves because of an economic downturn to which no discernable end is in sight.

Professional Development

Will Zoom win the videoconferencing wars?

by Hank Stout, ABA Law Technology Today

Social distancing and shelter-in-place orders have made videoconferencing a more than likely permanent feature of most workplaces. Various industries have met the challenge of a workforce operating predominantly from home in innovative ways over the last several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and chief among them is the Zoom call.

Professional Development

Report: Women lawyers of color are ‘left out and left behind'

“Having to deal with assumptions of inferiority, intellectual or otherwise, and constantly having to prove myself no matter how senior or qualified or experienced I am is something my white male peers do not have to do. It is psychologically exhausting.”

Professional Development

After COVID-19, returning to the office won’t be business as usual

Despite some optimism in the medical community about a possible COVID-19 vaccine or treatment within the next year, don’t expect law firms to return to business as usual anytime soon. In fact, just getting back into the building will be complicated.

Professional Development

Tips to help families navigate the COVID-19 crisis

Be careful, be patient, be kind. That was the collective advice offered to lawyers by five legal experts exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected family life.

Professional Development

Wanted: Volunteers for ABA immigration projects

The American Bar Association’s three immigration projects in Texas and California are looking for pro bono lawyers, as well as volunteer researchers, writers and paralegals.

Professional Development

How to pull the mask off your biases

Whether we want to admit it or not, everyone has biases — they are ubiquitous and part of the human condition. But we can counteract bias to change how we see and interact with others, personally and professionally.

Professional Development

New opinions guide judges on fines, lawyers on client fraud

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility in May released separate formal opinions addressing the obligations of judges to inquire into a litigant’s ability to pay fines and fees and the duty of lawyers to avoid assisting a client in a crime or fraud in a non-litigation setting.

Professional Development

Racial justice resources website launches

As a way to intensify its efforts to ensure justice and fairness for all, the American Bar Association has launched the ABA Racial Equity in the Justice System website, which is a central clearinghouse of ABA-related information and resources for attorneys, the legal profession and the public on a wealth of issues addressing bias, racism and prejudice in the justice system and society.