The passage of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, which bans members of Congress and their staff from trading based on nonpublic information, leaves political intelligence professionals and their lawyers struggling to figure out the types of information that they are legally allowed to collect.

For-profit companies, including law firms, should be wary and understand the full implications of federal law before using unpaid interns, a panel of employment experts said during an American Bar Association program.

Being an attorney is a full-time job, but so is being a parent. Danielle Kays, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Chicago, and mom to sons ages 1 and 3 shared 10 tips on how to be successful at both in a recent Sound Advice podcast from the ABA Section of Litigation.

In an airline merger, what’s the most important consideration? Maintaining and increasing the level of competition? Creating greater efficiencies for the airlines? Or protecting consumers’ choices?

Joint defense agreements have been around for a long time, and with them come both advantages and disadvantages. In a Sound Advice podcast from the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, Lee Ziffer of Kuchler Polk Schell Weiner & Richeson LLC explains the purpose of a joint defense agreement and offers guidelines for using the agreements wisely.

Making partner is an important career milestone for practicing lawyers. With better pay, bigger offices and several perks that come with the prestigious promotion, many associates look forward to the day when their hard work is awarded with a partnership offer.
But becoming partner means more potential for problems as well as perks. Many associates don’t realize the risks and ethical responsibilities associated with the position.

Judge E. Savannah Little of the D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings said she once entered the waiting room of her courtroom and found a litigant “barking” at a staff person about an issue. When she told the man she would take care of the issue in court, the man’s eyes “jumped out.”

The trends of more law firm mergers and of attorneys changing jobs more frequently expand the possibility of an attorney-client conflict of interest, a panel of legal ethics experts noted in an American Bar Association program.

Social media makes navigating a marketing campaign a tricky business for lawyers, according to panelists at a recent American Bar Association webinar, “The Ethics of Legal Marketing in a Social Media Age.” While using Twitter, Facebook and other social tools may seem like simple ways for lawyers to effectively introduce themselves to potential clients, the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct suggest that lawyers use these technologies with some caution.

After finding himself in charge of many American Bar Association events focused on issues related to attorneys general, Ashley L. Taylor Jr. realized there was an unfilled need for the chief legal officers of America’s states and territories. They lacked a place for writing, speaking, mentoring and learning from others in the legal profession who devoted time to these issues. As a result, the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law created the State Attorneys General and Department of Justice Issues Committee.

Students should implement a proactive approach and compile a résumé full of accomplishments that sets them apart from the crowd if they want to successfully pursue a career in health law, a panel of health law lawyers said.

Lawyers who practice elder law face a challenging question that many other lawyers don’t always have to ask and answer: Who is the client? “Depending on the circumstances of how the client comes to you, it may be a bit confusing,” said Colorado Springs lawyer Michael A. Kirtland at the teleconference “An Introduction to Elder Law.”