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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the North Atlantic Alliance has proven its capabilities to mobilize for collective defense and ably support the Ukrainians fighting for their country, the top NATO military leaders said.

NATO unity was a big part of the discussions in the Pentagon as Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles. 

The latest package of presidential drawdown support for Ukraine is worth $100 million and mostly includes more of the same items the U.S. has sent in the past. 

Read the full complaint to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.

Despite having only four federal judges, Delaware is a "consistent leader" among patent litigation jurisdictions, according to a Morris Nichols lawyer.

U.S. assistance to Ukraine doesn't affect its focus on the Indo-Pacific region, or limit its ability to ensure partners in the Pacific get the hardware and supplies they need, a senior defense official said. 

The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II, who played crucial roles in the country's war effort, during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

Several district attorneys said they would not use a Georgia "heartbeat law"—expanding the concept of personhood—to prosecute women seeking abortion or their doctors or other helpers. But other DAs said they would.

Mayer Brown is taking its first step to bring the design thinking to the workplace with its "Embrace Innovation" series of workshops in two U.S. offices. The two-day program tackles finding the "root causes" of problems, then their solutions.

A romance novel by Judge Wilkinson raises eyebrows, but he says creative writing helps him as a judge and makes his legal writing fresher and more accessible.

Michael Sussmann sought to recruit James Baker to Perkins Coie after Baker left the FBI. On Thursday, Baker took the stand as a key witness in the case against Sussmann.

The "Rogers v. Grimaldi" test for balancing artistic expression against trademark protection applies, even in the world of NFTs. But that wasn't enough to stop Hermes' suit against Mason Rothschild from proceeding.

The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is partnering with the Texas Attorney General’s Office to host two open government seminars in the San Antonio and Edinburg areas in June, featuring training in state open meeting and public records laws. The events are free and open to the public.

The half-day seminars — designed for government employees, journalists, attorneys and members of the general public who want to learn more about the Texas Public Information Act and Texas Open Meetings Act — will take place on June 7 in San Antonio and June 13 in Edinburg.

The San Antonio event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on June 7 at the Victory Center at San Antonio College, 1819 N. Main Avenue. The AG’s office will begin the day with training on the Texas Public Information Act at 9 a.m., followed by training on TPIA cost rules. At 11:30 a.m., FOI Foundation Board Member and Attorney Tom Williams will present a session on the Texas Open Meetings Act. Participants may attend either or both sessions.

The Edinburg event will be held from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., June 13 at the County Commissioners Court Chambers, Annex III, 100 E. Cano Street. Williams will again present on the Texas Open Meetings Act and be followed by the AG’s office, at 2:15 p.m., which will highlight the Texas Public Information Act and associated cost rules. Participants may attend either or both sessions.

The seminars meet the state requirements for open government training for public officials and qualify as Continuing Legal Education for attorneys through the State Bar of Texas.

Register here to attend the seminars.

For more information, contact the FOI Foundation office at 512-377-1575.

The Managing Director’s Office of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar released bar pass data for ABA-approved law schools that lists pass rates based on race, ethnicity, and gender.

The charts include aggregate data in nine different ethnicity categories for 2021 and 2022 broken down by gender. The report uses data reported to the ABA by 196 law schools accepting new students in their ABA Standard 509 questionnaire in the past two years.

“This is the second consecutive year that the section is releasing this data in response to concerns about the lack of national data on bar passage by members of different racial and ethnic groups,” Bill Adams, ABA managing director of accreditation and legal education, said in a press release. “We promised to collect and publish such aggregate data and consider whether the requirements of Standard 316 needed to be reviewed in light of what we collected. We will continue to evaluate the annual data and consider any changes as appropriate.”

Since 2019, when revisions were made to the Standard 316 bar passage rule, ABA-approved law schools must have 75% of their law students pass their bar exams within two years of graduation. Failure to do so results in schools being found out of compliance. The ABA’s legal education section maintains percentage pass rates for first-time takes and the two-year aggregate figure, which is known as the “ultimate” pass rate.

For more information, go to americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.

The Defense Department's Chemical Demilitarization Program reached a milestone in its effort to eliminate the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile and recovered chemical warfare materiel.

This suit was surfaced by Law.com Radar. Read the complaint here.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist at the Pentagon, where they discussed the historic decision by the Swedish government to seek NATO membership.

The Defense Logistics Agency is always seeking opportunities to match America's small businesses with research and development projects that address critical supply chain gaps and security threats.

Texas Bar Foundation donates $6,000 to Tarrant County nonprofit

The Texas Bar Foundation’s donation to Alliance For Children will help facilitate the presentation of a new training course—Behavioral Characteristics of Sex Offenders— for staff and partners. The course will be led by Michael L. Bourke, a former chief psychologist for the U.S. Marshals Service.

“Alliance [F]or Children’s board, staff and partners are grateful to the Texas Bar Foundation for its commitment to communities across Texas,” Julie Evans, Alliance For Children’s chief executive officer, said in a press release. “While we long for a day that child sexual abuse is eliminated, advanced training on the psychological and behavioral characteristics of sex offenders is a valuable tool for the child abuse professionals in Tarrant County towards our collective goal of protecting children and seeking justice.”

Alliance For Children works with groups such as the Texas Bar Foundation to provide services to clients and their families. With the help of 33 Tarrant County law enforcement agencies, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Cook Children’s Medical Center, JPS Health Network, Tarrant County Juvenile Services, and the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Alliance For Children served 2,497children in 2020-2021.

For more information, go to allianceforchildren.org.

 

In Today’s legal market, the practice of law is becoming even more competitive. Lawyers are continuously striving for any advantage to distinguish themselves amongst their peers. As a legal vanity organization, Lawyers of Distinction offers a wide array of options for Lawyers to find a competitive edge when it comes to marketing their services to the legal community and prospective clientele.

Lawyers of Distinction takes a multi-pronged approach to helping their members ‘Distinguish Themselves.’

One of the most useful tools provided by Lawyers of Distinction is their approach to harnessing the power of social media. Social media has taken off exponentially since first introduced and companies use the intrinsic value of social media to market their services to a continuously growing audience. Lawyers of Distinction uses its presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to highlight the organization’s members and their legal achievements.

All members receive a customized welcome post across all of Lawyers of Distinction’s social media platforms upon joining the organization which serves to welcome the new member as well as highlight this honor to Lawyers of Distinction’s diverse community. Members are also able to highlight their legal accomplishments via individualized posts on Facebook and Twitter along with Lawyers of Distinction’s monthly newsletter. By showcasing their members across a variety of social media platforms, Lawyers of Distinction excels at aiding their clients standout among their peers.

Another exciting option for Lawyers of Distinction members is the ability to order custom made member videos. These videos are individually tailored to offer a concise overview of an attorney’s practice and accomplishments and can be embedded in the attorney’s website and social media platforms. In a time where short format production is consumed en masse by the public, Lawyers of Distinction’s member videos allow for their members to reach an even wider audience. While many legal vanity organizations strive to promote their members, none of them come close to Lawyers of Distinction when it comes to marketing its members.

For further information on Lawyers of Distinction and how it can help benefit you and your law practice, visit lawyersofdistinction.com.