This posting includes an excerpt from the Report on the Investigation Into Unauthorized Removal, Retention, and Disclosure of Classified Documents Discovered at Locations Including the Penn Biden Center and the Delaware Private Residence of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. prepared for the Attorney General of the United States by Special Counsel Robert K.…
Articles Posted in Legal News and Views
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on Lawyers’ Use of Listservs
Lawyer listservs are often used by attorneys and other professionals to help keep up with changes in the law. But they pose some potential for violating confidentiality model rules On May 8, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released formal opinion 511 which provides guidance for…
Ethical Standards for Election Administration: A Report from the American Law Institute (ALI)
Election administrators and their staff, spread throughout thousands of voting jurisdictions in the United States, perform a core service dedicated to maintaining and preserving our democracy. Their work has become significantly more difficult, as our contentious politics have clouded much of what they do with misunderstanding and distrust. These challenges…
ABA Survey: Most Think That U.S. Democracy is Weaker Than it was Five Years Ago
According to responses to the 2024 ABA Survey of Civic Literacy, 74% of individuals surveyed said that U.S. democracy is weaker than it was five years ago. Most blamed misinformation, disinformation, and political parties for contributing to this result. The survey is released each year to mark Law Day, observed annually on…
American Criminal Law: A captivating Journey Through Justice–A Review
Thinking back on my fifty plus years as a practicing law librarian, I have come to believe that criminal law is one of the more humanistic of legal disciplines because it can reach people at such a personal level. Paul H Robinson* and Sarah M Robinson capture this thought in…
Attorney General Merrick Garland Discusses AI, National Security
The United States has an important lead in the development of artificial intelligence that is crucial to the country’s economy and national security, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime in San Francisco. “The Justice Department’s first job is to…
AI and Eyewitness Identification: A Double-Edged Sword
Eyewitness accounts, once considered a gold standard, have faced increasing scrutiny due to their susceptibility to memory errors and biases. Forensic evidence, while highly valuable, comes with its own set of limitations, such as the time-consuming nature of analysis and the potential for contamination. Enter the age of technology, which…
New ABA Ethics Opinion Guides Government Lawyers
The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released Formal Opinion 509 on Feb. 28, 2024. According to the announcement, Formal Opinion 509 provides guidance on how disqualification rules apply to both current and former government lawyers under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. “It specifically…
The View of Generative AI at Top Law Firms and Corporations: A LexisNexis Legal Innovation Survey
Between December 3, 2023, and January 3, 2024, LexisNexis Legal and Professional conducted a survey across 266 Managing Partners and other leaders at American Law 200 and other large law firms. Nearly a third of the executives surveyed indicated their firms had a dedicated budget for generative AI for 2024…
ABA Criminal Justice Section: Upcoming Events
From: January 31, 2024 through May 3, 2024: Webinars, CLEs, and In-Person meetings January 31-February 5, 2024 2024 ABA Midyear MeetingFebruary 13, 2024 White Collar Observations from the Other SideMarch 6-8, 2024 White Collar Crime 2024 April 11-12, 2024 2024 Forensic Science and Information Technology Institute May 1-3, 2024 Health…