ABA Journal: Modern Law Library
Mon, 27 Oct 2025 21:30:38 +0000
Mon, 27 Oct 2025 21:30:38 +0000
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ABA Journal: Modern Law Library
Legal Talk Network
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ABA Journal
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Can the raucous history of Chicago's lakefront teach us how to preserve land for public use?
Can the raucous history of Chicago's lakefront teach us how to preserve land for public use?
Wed, 21 Jul 2021 11:00:00 +0000
Chicago's lakefront with its parks, museums, beaches and public spaces is an accident of history. But can we take lessons from that history to create sustainable and environmentally responsible public spaces? Joseph D. Kearney and Thomas W. Merrill look at the political, commercial and legal wrangling–some of which involved very strange bedfellows–that led to the development of lakefront land and its preservation for public use in their new book, Lakefront: Public Trust and Private Rights in Chicago. From the enigmatic Aaron Montgomery Ward, who amassed a massive fortune that funded his legal battles to keep the lake views from his flagship store, to the rapscallion "Captain" George Wellington Streeter, whose squad of armed squatters long held the land that now forms the neighborhood of Streeterville, Kearney and Merrill share the backstories of a number of the historical figures who helped make the Chicago lakefront what it is today. They also dig into one of the city's most ambitious engineering projects: reversing the flow of the Chicago River to carry its sewage away from Lake Michigan–to the dismay of the cities downstream. Quirks of urban history and competing public and private interests led to landmark cases which created legal doctrines still in use today. And the legal wrangling is far from over; in recent years, a Star Wars museum proposed by George Lucas and the presidential library of Barack Obama have both run into lawsuits over how lakefront land can be used and developed. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Kearney and Merrill discuss the shenanigans that ultimately gave the city and the state of Illinois one of its most priceless parcels of land and preserves it for public use. They also discuss how they envision other local, state and federal entities could use some of this history when designing land use regulations and protecting resources for public use.]]>
Chicago's lakefront with its parks, museums, beaches and public spaces is an accident of history. But can we take lessons from that history to create sustainable and environmentally responsible public spaces? Joseph D. Kearney and Thomas W. Merrill look at the political, commercial and legal wrangling–some of which involved very strange bedfellows–that led to the development of lakefront land and its preservation for public use in their new book, Lakefront: Public Trust and Private Rights in Chicago. From the enigmatic Aaron Montgomery Ward, who amassed a massive fortune that funded his legal battles to keep the lake views from his flagship store, to the rapscallion "Captain" George Wellington Streeter, whose squad of armed squatters long held the land that now forms the neighborhood of Streeterville, Kearney and Merrill share the backstories of a number of the historical figures who helped make the Chicago lakefront what it is today. They also dig into one of the city's most ambitious engineering projects: reversing the flow of the Chicago River to carry its sewage away from Lake Michigan–to the dismay of the cities downstream. Quirks of urban history and competing public and private interests led to landmark cases which created legal doctrines still in use today. And the legal wrangling is far from over; in recent years, a Star Wars museum proposed by George Lucas and the presidential library of Barack Obama have both run into lawsuits over how lakefront land can be used and developed. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Kearney and Merrill discuss the shenanigans that ultimately gave the city and the state of Illinois one of its most priceless parcels of land and preserves it for public use. They also discuss how they envision other local, state and federal entities could use some of this history when designing land use regulations and protecting resources for public use.]]>
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National Security, Leaks and Freedom of the Press: The Pentagon Papers Fifty Years On. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Bollinger and Stone discuss their experience working on the project, the developments they found most surprising, and some of the best practices suggested by the commission.]]>
As the 50th anniversary of the Pentagon Papers case approached, First Amendment scholars Lee Bollinger and Geoffrey Stone knew they wanted to mark the occasion somehow. Much has changed since RAND Corporation employee Daniel Ellsberg decided spend weeks photocopying some 7,000 pages of a classified report on the war in Vietnam and sneaking them out via his briefcase to be published by the New York Times and the Washington Post. For one thing, since 2011, the complete report has been made available to the public by the National Archives. For another, it has become both easier to download and spirit away classified information, and easier to use digital trails to identify any leakers. In the digital age, should we still be using the Pentagon Papers case as precedent, and how should we approach modern examples of leakers like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Reality Winner? Bollinger and Stone gathered together about 30 experts in the fields of national security, journalism and academia to tackle the questions raised by 50 years of post-Pentagon Papers jurisprudence. The commission's report and essays from the various contributors were compiled into the book National Security, Leaks and Freedom of the Press: The Pentagon Papers Fifty Years On. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Bollinger and Stone discuss their experience working on the project, the developments they found most surprising, and some of the best practices suggested by the commission.]]>
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Legal Talk Network
Summer reading and a book coming to the silver screen
Summer reading and a book coming to the silver screen
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 11:00:00 +0000
Summer is upon us, vaccinations are making travel safer, and you may be looking forward to getting some leisure reading done. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, host Lee Rawles shares some of the books she's read since our favorites reads of 2020 episode. We are also re-airing a 2017 interview we did with David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. A film adaptation of the book is currently in production, with Martin Scorsese directing and Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemmons and Lily Gladstone featured as actors. Check out the interview before the movie's expected release in 2022. Mentioned in this episode: The Premonition, by Michael Lewis In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox, by Carol Burnett The Second World War, by Anthony Beevor D-Day: The Battle for Normandy, by Anthony Beevor A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: A Cultural History of Murder in Ancient Rome, by Emma Southon The Pacific War Trilogy by Ian W. Toll - Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 - The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944 - Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 The Romanovs: 1613-1918, by Simon Sebag Montefiore 500 Miles from You, by Jenny Colgan Scottish Bookshop series by Jenny Colgan Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman ]]>
Summer is upon us, vaccinations are making travel safer, and you may be looking forward to getting some leisure reading done. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, host Lee Rawles shares some of the books she's read since our favorites reads of 2020 episode. We are also re-airing a 2017 interview we did with David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. A film adaptation of the book is currently in production, with Martin Scorsese directing and Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemmons and Lily Gladstone featured as actors. Check out the interview before the movie's expected release in 2022. Mentioned in this episode: The Premonition, by Michael Lewis In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox, by Carol Burnett The Second World War, by Anthony Beevor D-Day: The Battle for Normandy, by Anthony Beevor A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: A Cultural History of Murder in Ancient Rome, by Emma Southon The Pacific War Trilogy by Ian W. Toll - Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 - The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944 - Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 The Romanovs: 1613-1918, by Simon Sebag Montefiore 500 Miles from You, by Jenny Colgan Scottish Bookshop series by Jenny Colgan Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman ]]>
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A Stirring in the North Fork(plus a children's book and a second novel) Torres decided he would write the first full-length non-fiction account of these camps and the people who lived and died in them: Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood.]]>
When Mark A. Torres was researching his first novel, A Stirring in the North Fork, he came across a piece of local history he'd never known about. Starting during the labor shortages of World War II, Long Island had been home to dozens of camps for several decades, some of which kept migrant workers in deplorable–and often deadly–conditions. As general counsel for the Teamsters Union Local 810, Torres was fascinated. But information about these camps was available only in news accounts, film documentaries, memoirs and local records. Years after completing A Stirring in the North Fork(plus a children's book and a second novel) Torres decided he would write the first full-length non-fiction account of these camps and the people who lived and died in them: Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood.]]>
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In fact, lawyers who specialize in emergency management and handling crisis situations are more in demand than ever, and it doesn't take a contagious deadly pathogen to need their services. In Crisis Lawyering, Brescia and Stern gathered personal accounts from lawyers who handled everything from Hurricane Katrina recovery, to international kidnappings of journalists, to the Muslim ban and contentious family law cases, all of who make the point that a crisis can pop up in cases large and small. Whether you want to make a career out of handling crisis cases or you want to weather a crisis that's been foist upon you, the authors in the various chapters have tips and tricks learned from their own experiences. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Brescia and Stern talk about the writing process, their own experience with emergency management in government and the private sector, and delve into the ethical issues the legal profession should be examining as its members are forced to make hard choices in crisis situations. For example, the medical profession has come together to produce standards for triage during mass casualty incidents. Should lawyers hold themselves to a different standard of care in the legal equivalent of a mass casualty incident?]]>
When they were putting together their new book, Crisis Lawyering: Effective Legal Advocacy in Emergency Situations, editors Ray Brescia and Eric K. Stern didn't know that the world would soon be gripped by a pandemic–but they knew that being ready for crises large or small could only benefit attorneys. In fact, lawyers who specialize in emergency management and handling crisis situations are more in demand than ever, and it doesn't take a contagious deadly pathogen to need their services. In Crisis Lawyering, Brescia and Stern gathered personal accounts from lawyers who handled everything from Hurricane Katrina recovery, to international kidnappings of journalists, to the Muslim ban and contentious family law cases, all of who make the point that a crisis can pop up in cases large and small. Whether you want to make a career out of handling crisis cases or you want to weather a crisis that's been foist upon you, the authors in the various chapters have tips and tricks learned from their own experiences. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Brescia and Stern talk about the writing process, their own experience with emergency management in government and the private sector, and delve into the ethical issues the legal profession should be examining as its members are forced to make hard choices in crisis situations. For example, the medical profession has come together to produce standards for triage during mass casualty incidents. Should lawyers hold themselves to a different standard of care in the legal equivalent of a mass casualty incident?]]>
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One of Hirono's strongest influences is her mother, Laura Hirono, who passed away at 96 shortly before this episode was recorded. After escaping an unhappy marriage in Japan to an abusive man, Laura Hirono brought her two eldest children back to her birthplace of Hawaii when Mazie Hirono was seven years old, with her youngest son and parents joining them later. The economic hardships the Hirono family endured were formative for Hawaii's future Democratic senator. Her campaigns to provide economic support and healthcare for families, as well as her strident opposition to the Trump administration's family separation policy, were bolstered by her personal experiences. Her speech against ending the Affordable Care Act, made mere days after a major surgery to treat kidney cancer, was the first time she spoke publicly about the childhood death of her sister back in Japan–a death that might have been preventable if the family could have afforded medical treatment. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Hirono talks about how the Trump administration made her decide to use her voice in a different way, and what it's been like to serve in the Senate after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Hirono also discusses her service on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including the tumultuous Supreme Court nomination hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She shares her thoughts on the importance and limitations of civility, and how taking up one of her mother's favorite forms of artwork has helped her as she's survived cancer treatments and governmental upheavals.]]>
Sen. Mazie Hirono's newly released book, Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter's Story, is part political memoir and part love letter to her family and the state she represents. As Hawaii's first female senator, and the only immigrant currently serving in the U.S. Senate, Hirono had a set of unique obstacles to overcome. One of Hirono's strongest influences is her mother, Laura Hirono, who passed away at 96 shortly before this episode was recorded. After escaping an unhappy marriage in Japan to an abusive man, Laura Hirono brought her two eldest children back to her birthplace of Hawaii when Mazie Hirono was seven years old, with her youngest son and parents joining them later. The economic hardships the Hirono family endured were formative for Hawaii's future Democratic senator. Her campaigns to provide economic support and healthcare for families, as well as her strident opposition to the Trump administration's family separation policy, were bolstered by her personal experiences. Her speech against ending the Affordable Care Act, made mere days after a major surgery to treat kidney cancer, was the first time she spoke publicly about the childhood death of her sister back in Japan–a death that might have been preventable if the family could have afforded medical treatment. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Hirono talks about how the Trump administration made her decide to use her voice in a different way, and what it's been like to serve in the Senate after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Hirono also discusses her service on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including the tumultuous Supreme Court nomination hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She shares her thoughts on the importance and limitations of civility, and how taking up one of her mother's favorite forms of artwork has helped her as she's survived cancer treatments and governmental upheavals.]]>
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In their new book, AI for Lawyers: How Artificial Intelligence is Adding Value, Amplifying Expertise, and Transforming Careers, Waisberg and Hudek attempt to answer these questions and provide an accessible guide for firms considering how AI might add to their practices. They also pulled in other minds in the legal tech community to speak to the use of AI beyond the kinds of contract review Kira Systems focuses on, such as in litigation analytics, legal research and e-discovery. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Waisberg and Hudek discuss their experiences as early proponents of artificial intelligence, the unique programming challenges presented by legal language, the still-developing ethical debates and common misconceptions about AI.]]>
As the founders of a company that provides AI-powered contract analysis software, Kira Systems' Noah Waisberg and Dr. Alexander Hudek are used to facing skepticism, fear and doubt from attorneys. Will AI steal their jobs? Would using it violate ethics rules? How can it be good for a business model that relies on the billable hour to cut down on the amount of time it takes to review a contract? In their new book, AI for Lawyers: How Artificial Intelligence is Adding Value, Amplifying Expertise, and Transforming Careers, Waisberg and Hudek attempt to answer these questions and provide an accessible guide for firms considering how AI might add to their practices. They also pulled in other minds in the legal tech community to speak to the use of AI beyond the kinds of contract review Kira Systems focuses on, such as in litigation analytics, legal research and e-discovery. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Waisberg and Hudek discuss their experiences as early proponents of artificial intelligence, the unique programming challenges presented by legal language, the still-developing ethical debates and common misconceptions about AI.]]>
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In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Wine-Banks and the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles discuss her winding career path, which also led her to becoming the first female general counsel of the U.S. Army and the first woman to be hired as the executive director and COO of the American Bar Association.]]>
Jill Wine-Banks was barely 30 when she became an assistant Watergate special prosecutor investigating President Richard M. Nixon. In Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President, Wine-Banks (who was then known as Jill Wine Volner) shares her experience battling political obstruction, courtroom legal wrangling and the era's sexism. Though she'd originally attended law school with the thought it would help her become a hard-news journalist, she found herself instead under the microscope of a ravenous press that dubbed her "the mini-skirted lawyer." Her memoir, which has been optioned by actress Katie Holmes' production company to be made into a feature film, concentrates on her time in the Watergate special prosecution. She candidly shares not only the work the team was doing behind the scenes but also the difficult time she was having with her marriage and personal life. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Wine-Banks and the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles discuss her winding career path, which also led her to becoming the first female general counsel of the U.S. Army and the first woman to be hired as the executive director and COO of the American Bar Association.]]>
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Legal Talk Network
Interested in infectious disease litigations? Before you accept a case, read this
Interested in infectious disease litigations? Before you accept a case, read this
Wed, 10 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000
When Davis M. Walsh and Samuel L. Tarry began assembling Infectious Disease Litigation: Science, Law, and Procedure, they had no idea that soon a pandemic was going to make the topic more relevant than ever. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Walsh and Tarry talk about the experience of editing the book, the unique challenges of litigating infectious disease cases, their advice for attorneys looking to get into the expanding field, and how COVID-19 might have changed juries' points of view in such cases.]]>
When Davis M. Walsh and Samuel L. Tarry began assembling Infectious Disease Litigation: Science, Law, and Procedure, they had no idea that soon a pandemic was going to make the topic more relevant than ever. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Walsh and Tarry talk about the experience of editing the book, the unique challenges of litigating infectious disease cases, their advice for attorneys looking to get into the expanding field, and how COVID-19 might have changed juries' points of view in such cases.]]>
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Legal Talk Network
What can Texas tell us about the rise and fall of the death penalty?
What can Texas tell us about the rise and fall of the death penalty?
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 12:00:00 +0000
By the late 1960s, use of the death penalty was on the decline in the United States. But after the U.S. Supreme Court declared in the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty as practiced violated the Eighth and 14th Amendments, there was a political backlash. By 1976, Georgia had a new capital punishment system that did pass Supreme Court muster, and other states followed suit–including Texas. In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah examines how Texas reinstated its death penalty and quickly became the leader in the nation in number of executions. Texas has carried out 570 executions since 1976, more than quintuple the total of the next ranked state, Virginia, which has executed 113. Why does Texas stand out this way? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Chammah shares what he learned; how he researched this book; and how and why the surge of death penalty cases in the 1980s and 1990s dropped after the peak in 2000. He discusses elements of Texas history–including the use of lynching–that contributed to the use of the death penalty. He also shares with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles some speculation about what the publicity surrounding the resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus at the end of the Trump administration might mean for death penalty abolition efforts.]]>
By the late 1960s, use of the death penalty was on the decline in the United States. But after the U.S. Supreme Court declared in the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty as practiced violated the Eighth and 14th Amendments, there was a political backlash. By 1976, Georgia had a new capital punishment system that did pass Supreme Court muster, and other states followed suit–including Texas. In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah examines how Texas reinstated its death penalty and quickly became the leader in the nation in number of executions. Texas has carried out 570 executions since 1976, more than quintuple the total of the next ranked state, Virginia, which has executed 113. Why does Texas stand out this way? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Chammah shares what he learned; how he researched this book; and how and why the surge of death penalty cases in the 1980s and 1990s dropped after the peak in 2000. He discusses elements of Texas history–including the use of lynching–that contributed to the use of the death penalty. He also shares with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles some speculation about what the publicity surrounding the resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus at the end of the Trump administration might mean for death penalty abolition efforts.]]>
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Legal Talk Network
Why do barristers wear wigs? 'Dress Codes' explores fashion and the law
Why do barristers wear wigs? 'Dress Codes' explores fashion and the law
Wed, 03 Feb 2021 12:00:00 +0000
Ask any attorney about the most outlandish clothing they've seen worn in a courtroom, and most will have a colorful story. But what determines the appropriateness of any outfit? In Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History, Stanford law professor Richard Thompson Ford looks at why we wear what we wear; how that has changed over the centuries; and the laws that were codified around what could be worn and in what situations. For example, in the legal profession, fashion is generally quite conservative compared to some other industries. But why are wigs worn by judges and barristers in the United Kingdom, but not in the United States? Why is it a power move in Silicon Valley to wear a T-shirt and jeans? How can your fashion choices wind up getting you charged for murder–or acquitted of those charges? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Ford answers all these questions posed by the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles. They also discuss how Ford's own father trained as a tailor, and the ways it influenced how he himself views fashion. Ford also discusses how researching the book made him change his mind about a particular employment law, and shares the fashion-ating controversy of Elena Kagan and the morning coat. Lastly, for the young attorney just compiling their professional wardrobe, Ford offers advice–and a cautionary tale from his own days as an associate.]]>
Ask any attorney about the most outlandish clothing they've seen worn in a courtroom, and most will have a colorful story. But what determines the appropriateness of any outfit? In Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History, Stanford law professor Richard Thompson Ford looks at why we wear what we wear; how that has changed over the centuries; and the laws that were codified around what could be worn and in what situations. For example, in the legal profession, fashion is generally quite conservative compared to some other industries. But why are wigs worn by judges and barristers in the United Kingdom, but not in the United States? Why is it a power move in Silicon Valley to wear a T-shirt and jeans? How can your fashion choices wind up getting you charged for murder–or acquitted of those charges? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Ford answers all these questions posed by the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles. They also discuss how Ford's own father trained as a tailor, and the ways it influenced how he himself views fashion. Ford also discusses how researching the book made him change his mind about a particular employment law, and shares the fashion-ating controversy of Elena Kagan and the morning coat. Lastly, for the young attorney just compiling their professional wardrobe, Ford offers advice–and a cautionary tale from his own days as an associate.]]>
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The Modern Law Firm: How to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Technological Change, to help ease lawyers' anxiety about this upheaval by helping them identify their firms' "Technology Operational Maturity Level." By identifying a firm's current maturity level, Landa hopes to provide attorneys with a road map of next steps. While The Modern Law Firm was written with midsized firms with 10-100 lawyers in mind, Landa says that with adjustments of scale, the advice can also be relevant to solos and to BigLaw attorneys. Whether or not your firm has the resources to hire a full-time chief technology officer, Landa would encourage all attorneys to take an interest in emerging trends, and he suggests a number of ways to make it a manageable part of one's work life. Landa also discusses the ways that COVID-19 has accelerated the need for technology adoption, and walks through what he has identified as "the Four Pillars of Exceptional Customer Service" to help firms keep and build business.]]>
As a longtime technology consultant to law firms, Heinan Landa knows that lawyers are cautious customers who can be resistant to change. But the old expectations around client service no longer exist, he says, and meeting the new standards requires a shift in the way law firms do business. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Landa tells the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles that he intends his new book, The Modern Law Firm: How to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Technological Change, to help ease lawyers' anxiety about this upheaval by helping them identify their firms' "Technology Operational Maturity Level." By identifying a firm's current maturity level, Landa hopes to provide attorneys with a road map of next steps. While The Modern Law Firm was written with midsized firms with 10-100 lawyers in mind, Landa says that with adjustments of scale, the advice can also be relevant to solos and to BigLaw attorneys. Whether or not your firm has the resources to hire a full-time chief technology officer, Landa would encourage all attorneys to take an interest in emerging trends, and he suggests a number of ways to make it a manageable part of one's work life. Landa also discusses the ways that COVID-19 has accelerated the need for technology adoption, and walks through what he has identified as "the Four Pillars of Exceptional Customer Service" to help firms keep and build business.]]>
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Legal Talk Network
'White Fright' author discusses historical lynch mobs and the attack on the Capitol
'White Fright' author discusses historical lynch mobs and the attack on the Capitol
Wed, 13 Jan 2021 13:00:00 +0000
Historian Jane Dailey discusses her new book, White Fright: The Sexual Panic at the Heart of America's Racist History, and what America's history with lynch mobs can teach us about the attack on the Capitol. She and the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles also discuss how the end of Reconstruction impacts us today, and several key court cases that influenced the way courts considered racial identity.]]>
Historian Jane Dailey discusses her new book, White Fright: The Sexual Panic at the Heart of America's Racist History, and what America's history with lynch mobs can te