When it comes to diversity in the legal profession, we often focus on the federal judiciary, law firms, and in-house legal departments. But where most legal work gets done and lay people have the most contact with the law is in state courts. And the diversity scorecard in state courts often gets ignored. But the Brennan Center of Justice has, since 2019, focused on just this issue, at least for the highest courts in each state. The Center recently updated its State Supreme Court Diversity. The update results, unfortunately, were consistent with prior years and, in a word, are appalling.The Study was based on data shared by Professor Greg Goelzhauser at Utah State University. It is based on detailed demographic and professional information from a number of sources. These sources include biographical statements, obituaries, newspaper articles, and listed membership in affinity organizations.
All too often, we think of the legal market, especially for law firms, as being composed of BigLaw or at least lawyers that bill by the hour.
Lost in the acrimonious abortion debate in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling are fundamental and downright scary questions. What does the brave new world of privacy? What privacy protections are there, or what should there be now that abortion is illegal in so many states? A brave new world that may terrify tech companies and ultimately all of us.
I had an interesting discussion recently with 
Several 
At the risk of stating what perhaps should be obvious, lawyers valued for their abilities and insight are generally happier. They are certainly happier than those valued almost entirely on their production (i.e., billable hours). The latter group is by and large less healthy than the former. And in the long run, the happier lawyers are more–not less– productive than their unhappy, stressed out brethren.
Last
Early on in the ABA’s most recent annual diversity 
Early this week,