2023

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Every Prosecutor’s Office Should Be Investing in Data

The Crime Report

Local prosecutors hold enormous power over the outcomes of criminal cases. Their decisions – whether to file a case, what charges to bring, what dispositions to offer, and what sentences to seek – impact the lives of individuals and their communities every day. Yet, for decades, little has been known about the inner workings of prosecutor’s offices, as elected prosecutors’ historical resistance to data and transparency has shielded them from accountability both internally and externally.

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Biglaw Firm Conducts Layoffs, Citing ‘Shifting Market Dynamics’

Above The Law

Layoffs continue among even the most successful Biglaw firms. The post Biglaw Firm Conducts Layoffs, Citing ‘Shifting Market Dynamics’ appeared first on Above the Law.

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Elon Musk’s ‘Thermonuclear Lawsuit’ Is Here And It’s… Positively Tepid.

Above The Law

After promising a bombshell of a lawsuit against Media Matters, Elon Musk delivers a dud. The post Elon Musk’s ‘Thermonuclear Lawsuit’ Is Here And It’s… Positively Tepid. appeared first on Above the Law.

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Litigating Enforcement: Germany’s Contested Climate Governance and the New Wave of Climate Litigation

ClimateChange-ClimateLaw

Climate litigation in Germany has achieved another major victory. On November 30, 2023, the Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenburg ruled in DUH and BUND v. Germany that the federal government must adopt an immediate action program (‘Sofortprogramm’) under the Federal Climate Change Act (CCA). The program is intended to ensure compliance with the annual emission targets for the building and transportation sectors for the years 2024 to 2030.

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Empower Your Firm: The Modern Guide To Litigation Financing

Litigation is expensive. Expert witnesses, depositions, staffing, and a long list of other expenses can limit your firm’s options. They strain cash flow, limit taking on new clients, and can even impact case strategy. This guide simplifies the complex world of litigation financing and compares different models and how they can impact the access to justice your firm provides to clients.

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Justices to hear major tax case

SCOTUSBlog

Share The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Tuesday in a challenge to the constitutionality of a provision of a 2017 corporate tax reform law. A Washington State couple went to court to challenge the law after it increased their tax bill by a one-time payment of roughly $15,000. The federal government says that if the tax is struck down, it could cost the government hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue over the next decade.

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In First for A U.S. Appeals Court, 5th U.S. Circuit Court Considers Rule Requiring Lawyers to Certify they Did Not Rely on AI to Create Filings

LawSites

In what it appears would be a first for a federal circuit court, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering adoption of a rule change that would require lawyers and unrepresented litigants to provide a certification regarding their use of artificial intelligence in preparing court filings. Lawyers and other filers would be required to certify either that they had not used AI in drafting the document or that, if they did, “a human” had reviewed the document for accuracy.

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The Rumors Were True: Thomson Reuters Acquires Casetext for $650M Cash

LawSites

Rumors had been swirling that Thomson Reuters was about to acquire Casetext, and they proved to be true. Just before 9 p.m. Eastern time today, TR said it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Casetext for $650 million cash. “The proposed transaction will complement Thomson Reuters existing AI roadmap and builds on its recent initiatives, including a commitment to invest more than $100 million annually on AI capabilities, the development of new generative AI experiences across its p

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Court conflicted over Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan that shields Sacklers from liability

SCOTUSBlog

Share It has been 27 years since the prescription opioid OxyContin first came on the market. The manufacturer of the drug, Purdue Pharma, promoted the drug as less susceptible to abuse, but OxyContin proved instead to be highly addictive. The result was a public health crisis and, eventually, thousands of lawsuits seeking trillions of dollars against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, which principally owns the company and controlled it until recently, accusing them of having deceptively mark

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Mumbai protestors march to Adani Group offices over city slum redevelopment plan

JURIST

Thousands of protestors headed by opposition parties marched to billionaire Gautam Adani’s offices in Mumbai on Saturday to express their objection to his conglomerate’s $614 million reconstruction plans for one of the city’s largest slums. The demands of the protestors include both eligible and non-eligible residents of the slum to be housed inside the redeveloped area, be given bigger homes of 500 square feet instead of the promised 300-350 sq ft. and for the government to ta

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Transforming eDiscovery: Document Summarization, Sentiment Analysis, And Chatbots Take Center Stage

A Synergistic Approach to eDiscovery In the space of eDiscovery, the convergence of document summarization, sentiment analysis, and chatbots represents a significant change in how legal professionals navigate and manage electronic information. These technologies not only expedite the review process but also empower legal teams with deeper insights into the emotional context and key information within electronic documents.

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Law prof pay has dropped 24% in real dollars this decade

ABA Journal

The ABA Journal is read by half of the nation's 1 million lawyers every month. It covers the trends, people and finances of the legal profession from Wall Street to Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Saul Kassin Probes Dangerous Practices in ‘Duped: Why Innocent People Confess—and Why We Believe Their Confessions’ (Book Review)

The Crime Report

Do innocent people really confess to horrific crimes they did not commit? Yes, they do. A masterful recent book from John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Saul Kassin, “ Duped: Why Innocent People Confess—and Why We Believe Their Confessions ,” proves it beyond any doubt. And Dr. Kassin’s book goes further than that. It shows how mobilizing scientific research about interrogations can reduce errors.

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Predictive Policing Software Terrible At Predicting Crimes

LLRX

Crime predictions generated for the police department in Plainfield, New Jersey, rarely lined up with reported crimes, an analysis by The Markup has found, adding new context to the debate over the efficacy of crime prediction software. Geolitica, known as PredPol until a 2021 rebrand, produces software that ingests data from crime incident reports and produces daily predictions on where and when crimes are most likely to occur.

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Push To Strip Fox’s Broadcast License Over Election Lies Gains New Momentum

Above The Law

From the 'hey at least we're trying something' department. The post Push To Strip Fox’s Broadcast License Over Election Lies Gains New Momentum appeared first on Above the Law.

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Recipe for a Failed CLM Implementation

Selecting and implementing CLM technology can be daunting, leading to underutilization or abandonment. Factors like provider differentiation, inadequate planning, and lack of user training contribute to these failures. Recognizing these pitfalls is crucial for successful adoption, ensuring organizations harness the full potential of CLM for streamlined contract management.

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The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: What Happens Now?

ClimateChange-ClimateLaw

Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash Climate change litigation has finally reached the world’s highest court. On March 29, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of States with respect to climate change. The UNGA adopted resolution (A/77/L.58) by consensus.

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FAQs on Chat GPT for Solo and Small Law Firms

My Shingle

In the past three months since the November 30, 2023 release of ChatGPT, I’ve seen all kinds of misconceptions about the technology from how it works to whether reliance on it could trigger copyright liability or penalties in Google search engine ranking. Part of the misunderstanding arises from reliance on outdated material – the tech… The post FAQs on Chat GPT for Solo and Small Law Firms appeared first on My Shingle.

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Harvard’s Jacinda Ardean Calls on the United Nations to Crack Down on Free Speech as a Weapon of War

JonathanTurley

Jacinda Ardern may no longer be Prime Minister of New Zealand, but she was back at the United Nations continuing her call for international censorship. Ardern is now one of the leading anti-free speech figures in the world and continues to draw support from political and academic establishments. In her latest attack on free speech, Ardean declared free speech as a virtual weapon of the war.

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Prescribing Red Flags and Suspicious Controlled Substance Orders: Current Cautionary Tales

FDA Law Blog

By Larry K. Houck — Separate decisions by federal district courts in Texas and Puerto Rico in the past two months provide cautionary tales for every pharmacy and wholesale distributor dispensing or distributing controlled substances. On October 10th, based on ability to pay, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas imposed a $275,000 civil penalty on Zarzamora Healthcare LLC, in San Antonio, and its pharmacist-owner.

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Contract Lifecycle Management: A Business Enabler Exploring On-Ground Challenges

CLM tools have always strived to push contract management into the digital age for almost 30 years. But the complexities of digitising a legal document are numerous. The current scenarios in business development have shown that having a fully automated CLM has become a mandate for every law firm and in-house legal department. To determine if you need a CLM system, it's essential to clearly identify the on-ground business challenges you aim to solve.

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Harvey AI Raises $21M In A Series A Round Led By Sequoia

LawSites

The generative AI legal tech startup Harvey has raised $21 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital. When I first wrote about Harvey in November , the previously stealth startup had just emerged with news that it had raised $5 million in funding led by the startup fund of OpenAI, the company that is the developer of the GPT AI technology.

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Supreme Court curtails Clean Water Act

SCOTUSBlog

Share The Supreme Court on Thursday established a more stringent test to determine whether the Clean Water Act applies to a wetland. The ruling was a setback for the Environmental Protection Agency and a victory for an Idaho couple, Michael and Chantell Sackett, who have been battling with the federal government for over 15 years in their efforts to build a house on an empty lot near a large lake.

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UNHCR concerned over consequences of Pakistan deportation orders for Afghan nationals

JURIST

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed concerns during a Tuesday press briefing over Pakistan’s orders for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, saying that the directive has caused fear and panic within Afghan communities. The UNHCR representative in Pakistan, Philippa Candler, cited adverse consequences for Afghan nationals, including registered refugees and individuals with valid documents.

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Colorado bill limits ‘reunification treatment’ in child custody cases, requires training and expertise

ABA Journal

Family courts in Colorado custody cases can’t cut off a child’s contact with a protective parent to whom they are bonded just to improve a relationship with a rejected parent accused of abuse or domestic violence, according to a bill signed into law last week.

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California Civil Discovery Act Undergoes Significant Overhaul

Short article looking at the new CCP 2016.

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Study: Many Officers Are Exposed to Traumatic Events, Few Seek Support

The Crime Report

Police officers face an increased risk of exposure to traumatic events that could cause mental health challenges. But a lack of resources and resistance from officers are among the barriers to sufficient support, according to a study by Canadian professors Rose Ricciardelli of McMaster University and Matthew S. Johnston of Carleton College. . Additionally, the study found staffing shortages and workload issues as additional barriers for officers, both of which have troubled many police departmen

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Ethiopia rights commission reports civilian killings in Amhara region

JURIST

The Ethiopia Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued a report condemning the killing of numerous civilians by drone strikes and house to house searches in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The Monday report documented several incidents of extrajudicial killings, injuries, displacement and property destruction by the government security forces and state militia.

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US appeals court rules in favor of Native American tribe’s hunting rights on ceded lands

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on Tuesday in favor of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation’s dispute with the state of Idaho regarding the tribe’s hunting rights on US land. The court found that an 1868 treaty between the Shoshone and the US allows tribe members to hunt on ceded lands without having to permanently reside on a Native American reservation.

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UN special advisor warns of escalating genocide threat in Ethiopia, calls for urgent action

JURIST

A UN special advisor expressed grave concern Tuesday over the rising threat of genocide and related crimes in Ethiopia. UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu called attention to ongoing battles between government military forces and local militias, highlighting the critical need to address serious human rights violations such as mass executions, sexual assault and the destruction of property.

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Dangers of Digital "Reporting": Legal Risks and Unreliable Transcripts

In the world of legal proceedings, the choice between a certified stenographer and digital "reporting" holds significant implications. Certified stenographers go through rigorous training and testing and stand as the gold standard for accuracy in capturing every word. Their expertise ensures a reliable record, a crucial foundation for legal cases.