The current standards for education of new lawyers are problematic, but we cannot fix legal education without addressing the challenges that face the legal system as a whole.
The State Bar of California has created a task force that will consider whether the state should require recent graduates to have practical experience before receiving a law license, and how the practical experience might be obtained.
A Democratic legislator circulated a resolution calling for the removal of supreme court justice Michael Gableman, for presiding over cases involving a law firm that provided him with free legal services. The constitution allows the legislature to remove judges by a two-thirds vote—a process known as a bill of address.
A house subcommittee approved a bill that would allow the governor to replace the five members of the judicial nominating commission who are appointed by the governor without bar association input. (Currently, commission members serve four-year terms and may only be removed for cause.)
A circuit court judge announced her intention to challenge a court of appeals judge in the Republican primary for the open supreme court seat created by Justice Tom Woodall’s retirement. In announcing her candidacy, she pledged not to accept contributions from political action committees.
The approved Pilot Project Regarding Case Management Techniques for Complex Civil Cases took effect in the Southern District of New York on November 1, 2011, and will be in place for an eighteen-month trial period. This article provides background on the project and explores its provisions.
The editor of the National Jurist looks back at themes that emerged at the annual Association of American Law Schools meeting and observes: The level...
The supreme court amended the code of judicial conduct to bar elected judges from hearing cases when a litigant, lawyer, or law firm involved in the case “has made contributions or given such support to the judge’s campaign that the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
Governor Perdue appointed eighteen members—both lawyers and non-lawyers—to the judicial nominating commission she created by executive order in April 2011. The commission will screen and recommend candidates for interim vacancies on the state’s appellate courts and major trial court.
The state bar association released attorney evaluations for trial judges up for reelection in 2012. It marks the first time since 1980 that judges statewide have been evaluated. The bar, which undertook the project to provide voters with more information about judicial candidates, plans to conduct a companion evaluation of judicial challengers.