Imagine immigrating to a country where you don’t know the language, where you don’t understand the way people do things, and where even the laws are different. Are you presumed to know the law? Should you be held to the same standards as the country’s natives?

Heralded as “New Energy for America” during the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama’s agenda to re-vamp the country’s energy policies is ambitious. It seeks to invest in renewable energy, reduce reliance on foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create jobs. Now that Obama has been in office for more than six months, has his agenda moved forward?

Who can forget Perry Mason forcing a confession from someone other than the suspect on the witness stand each week, or divorce lawyer Arnie Becker’s sexy-smooth operating style at McKenzie Brackman on “L.A. Law?”

At opposing corners of the ring that is the U.S. housing market, homeowners and banks are battling it out over bad loans. But no one wins when it comes to foreclosure. Homeowners don’t want to lose their homes, and banks don’t want to be landlords. The result has been a growing number of vacant homes, deteriorating rapidly and blighting communities.

Six former U.S. attorneys general will participate in a discussion with Section of Litigation Chair Robert L. Rothman in a special presidential showcase program Friday, July 31 at 10:30 a.m. at the CLE Center.

Mary Todd Lincoln finally had her day in court – nearly 135 years after she was tried for lunacy in a Chicago courtroom. “The Insanity Trial of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln” was developed by David Weinberg, who produced a modern-day version of the trial on behalf of ABA’s General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division

What can Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday teach today’s lawyers about trial skills? Steven Lubet of Northwestern University School of Law will present a one-man show, “Litigation at the O.K. Corral: How Cross-Examination Won the West,” in a special plenary session on Friday, July 31 at 3:45 p.m in Columbus Hall EF, Gold Level, East Tower of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

User-generated content has become a mainstay of the Internet, and until two years ago, companies that allow third parties to communicate on their Web sites believed they were protected from liability under the Communications Decency Act. But in 2007, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Roommates.com was liable for discriminatory user comments that violated the federal Fair Housing Act.

On June 8 the U.S. Supreme Court announced its groundbreaking decision in Caperton v. Massey Coal Co. The Court ruled that judges should withdraw from considering cases before them when contributions to their election campaigns

The Section of Litigation’s International Human Rights Award is no ordinary honor. The award was created not only to recognize the human rights work of jurists abroad, but also to help its recipients in the foreign jurisdictions in which they work.

This year’s forums, sponsored by the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities will examine a wide variety of issues, ranging from Native American rights to quality education.

In July’s ABA Journal, statistics tell a bleak story about entry-level legal employment. Not only is on-campus recruiting down, but the offers extended by law firms are down, too.