editor’s legal news picks

stay current with all the latest legal topics 

Nice Guys Can Finish First

Nice Guys Can Finish First

When I first got into sales in the 1990s, the model was pretty clear. The loudest person in the room usually won. The most aggressive closer got the deal. And the guy with the slicked-back hair and the perfect pitch was the one everyone was supposed to emulate....

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Your Legal Clients Are Already Using AI. Now What?

Everyone in the legal profession is talking about AI. Conferences, bar association panels, LinkedIn posts, law school curriculums. The conversation is everywhere. But most of it is still framed around the future tense: AI is coming, AI will change things, attorneys...

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Legal Ops Has a New AI Mandate: Show the Money

Legal Ops Has a New AI Mandate: Show the Money

For Alyse Wilkinson, senior director and certified risk manager at WSP, ROI has to speak the language of the business. She said her team used AI prompts to help the CFO find legal spend data more quickly.       For Alyse Wilkinson, senior director and certified risk...

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The End-to-End Medical Record Retrieval Playbook

The End-to-End Medical Record Retrieval Playbook

The medical record problem in personal injury is often a pipeline problem. Firms may use separate tools or vendors for authorizations, retrieval, OCR, chronologies, and case intake. Each handoff can add delay, duplicate data entry, and make it harder to track which...

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Lateral Associate Hires Are All The Rage

Lateral Associate Hires Are All The Rage

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to a new report from Firm Prospects, what percentage of law firm associate hires were laterals, i.e., they came from other law firms, in 2025? Hint: Last year, laterals outpaced the hires...

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Experience Rewarded — See Also

Firms Are Hiring More Laterals Than Law Students: Killing OCI has its consequences. Quinn Emanuel Earns Another Benchslap!: If an associate did what the leading partner on the matter did, they’d have been shown the door. Let’s Look At Trump’s Settlement Agreement: It...

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Trump Wants Florida Judge Removed From BBC Case

Trump Wants Florida Judge Removed From BBC Case

The president's lawyers argue the judge's past role in another one of his lawsuits "creates an appearance of impropriety." The BBC, meanwhile, says this is an attempt to delay providing financial records sought in discovery from the Donald J. Trump Revocable...

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Shots Follow Court Hearing — See Also

Litigant Allegedly Opened Fire On Opposing Counsel: She was charged with two counts of attempted first degree murder. Look At This Lawyer, Dog; He’s Going To Jail: Attorney jailed on bestiality charges. Churn Baby, Churn: Associate burnout lateraling is real and law...

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Top Tax Biglaw Firm

Top Tax Biglaw Firm

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to Vault’s most recent practice area rankings, which Biglaw firm ranks the highest in tax? Hint: This firm also took home Vault’s top spot for firms in the Mid-Atlantic. See the answer on the...

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Berkeley Law Implements AI Ban

Berkeley Law Implements AI Ban

“The challenge for law schools is to teach students how to effectively use AI, but to prevent it from being used to cheat on exams or papers, said Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, adding that the school is looking to “do both by incorporating it into the legal writing classes...

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Biglaw Culture Is Fueling The Associate Lateral Churn

Biglaw Culture Is Fueling The Associate Lateral Churn

Are you a law firm partner wondering why your midlevel associates keep leaving? Well, the good folks at Chambers have some thoughts. The State of the US Legal Talent Market 2026: What’s Really Motivating the Next Generation of Associates? surveyed 8,200 associates...

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Announcing the Finalists for the 2026 Elite Trial Lawyers

Announcing the Finalists for the 2026 Elite Trial Lawyers

We are pleased to unveil the finalists and honorees for The National Law Journal Legal Awards highlighting the top litigation and appellate work from the past year.       We are pleased to unveil the finalists and honorees for The National Law Journal Legal Awards...

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When Did The First Amendment Become A Money Printer?

When Did The First Amendment Become A Money Printer?

Brace yourself. This fact pattern is stupid. In Tennessee, a former sheriff recently earned an $800k+ settlement after his free speech rights were infringed. Police arrested him at his home and jailed him for over a month because he posted a Charlie Kirk meme. It was...

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Morning Docket: 05.26.26

Morning Docket: 05.26.26

* Judge tosses Kilmar Abrego Garcia charges as result of vindictive prosecution. [Reuters] * Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader clearing final hurdles before merger. [American Lawyer] * Former U.S. Attorney arrested for hit-and-run. [ABA Journal] * In-house counsel are...

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Why Wachtell Is Now Exposed in the Lateral Market

Why Wachtell Is Now Exposed in the Lateral Market

Still, Wachtell hasn't remained entirely unchanged amid the market competition. The firm has re-allocated partner compensation away from the lowest of its junior partner ranks, according to sources.       Still, Wachtell hasn't remained entirely unchanged amid the...

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Smiling Through The Pain — See Also

Paul, Weiss Loses Two More Litigation Partners: They insist everything is still alright. Sure, Just Let AI Do The Hiring Now I Guess: Revolut’s “disruptive” tech adoption is getting ridiculed. Expensive Internet? Blame The Migrants!: Trump wants to pin broadband cost...

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How Appealing Weekly Roundup

How Appealing Weekly Roundup

Ed. Note: A weekly roundup of just a few items from Howard Bashman’s How Appealing blog, the Web’s first blog devoted to appellate litigation. Check out these stories and more at How Appealing. “There Are Scandals. There Is the Law. And Then There’s This.” Emily...

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Payday For General Counsel Is Impressive

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day! According to BarkerGilmore’s 2026 In-House Counsel Compensation Report, what is the median total compensation for General Counsel at large public companies? Hint: The earnings of the top-quartile...

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Goodbye Broadview 6, Hello Broadview Sanctions

Goodbye Broadview 6, Hello Broadview Sanctions

Yesterday the case against protesters for criminal making an ICE agent late to work exploded in spectacular fashion in a Chicago courtroom. “I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of grand jury transcripts involving prosecutors who are the most junior of prosecutors...

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UC Berkeley Cracks Down On AI Use With New Policy

UC Berkeley Cracks Down On AI Use With New Policy

One of the main rationales for AI adoption, besides the lazy “AI is inevitable” slop that gets bandied about, is that it helps speed up the process of thinking. Want a little help organizing your ideas? Throw whatever shards of an argument you have in the black box...

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Keeping Up With AI Has Become Biglaw’s Full-Time Job

Keeping Up With AI Has Become Biglaw’s Full-Time Job

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day. Certainly, nobody wants to say we don’t know what we’re doing. But the reality is, if we’re honest about it, they don’t know what’s going to happen and they’re desperate to keep up with what’s happening. What...

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Morning Docket: 05.22.26

Morning Docket: 05.22.26

* Michael Cohen says he’s applying to the DOJ slush fund. Let’s see how this plays out. [Daily Beast] * Gibson Dunn and Davis Polk eye largest IPO in history — a $2 trillion valuation for a company that brings in about $15 billion a year. Who doesn’t love a 130x...

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What Federal Judges Told Law Grads at Commencements This Year

What Federal Judges Told Law Grads at Commencements This Year

We've rounded up highlights from some remarks delivered by U.S. appellate and district judges about navigating the legal profession, before the graduates walked across stages to grab their diplomas.       We've rounded up highlights from some remarks delivered by U.S....

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Happiness Matters — See Also

The Firms Women Are Happy To Work At: These firms report some of the highest job satisfaction levels! Young Lawyers Need To Figure Out Timing: Now is the best time to read this advice. Experts Say Things Are Bad For The Rule Of Law: This should surprise no one. That’s...

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The Best Trial Prep Partner? It Might Have Four Legs

The Best Trial Prep Partner? It Might Have Four Legs

Dogs are increasingly showing up in courtrooms and law offices as therapy animals, helping litigators and legal teams manage stress, stay focused, and perform better under pressure.       Dogs are increasingly showing up in courtrooms and law offices as therapy...

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