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As States Purge Medicaid Rolls, Legal Aid Groups Step Up

By Alison Knezevich

With millions of Americans expected to lose Medicaid coverage as states review benefit eligibility following the end of COVID-19 pandemic-related protections, legal aid organizations are working to raise awareness, help people appeal terminations of coverage and educate beneficiaries about their rights.

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From Felon To Firm Owner, Mass. Atty Aids Inmate IP Pursuits

By Rachel Rippetoe

After opening up about his own criminal background and his unconventional path into the legal industry, intellectual property lawyer Keegan Caldwell is now helping incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people file patent applications.

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Analysis

Justices Eye Intersection Of Domestic Violence, Gun Rights

By Marco Poggio

In the fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case centering on the intersection of gun rights and domestic violence. Legal experts say it could be one of several cases involving the Second Amendment the court will be called to decide following its landmark ruling on gun rights last year.

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Pro Bono Spotlight

Sheppard Mullin Helps Afghans Put Down New Roots In Calif.

By Tracey Read

Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP are helping Afghan refugees who have supported U.S. interests in Afghanistan and resettled in the San Diego area win asylum so they can stay in the United States permanently. Here, Law360 speaks with Sheppard Mullin partner Elizabeth S. Balfour and associate Matthew Rebelo about the firm's ongoing efforts.

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BigLaw Attorneys On Navigating LGBTQ Asylum Cases

By Aebra Coe

Taking on asylum cases for LGBTQ immigrants can truly be life-or-death in many cases, with asylees facing persecution, criminalization and even death as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity in their home countries.

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Analysis

Are Attys Being Held Accountable For Client Sexual Contact?

By Hannah Albarazi

When the Missouri Supreme Court recently declined to disbar an attorney accused of sexually assaulting his clients, it was not an anomaly. A Law360 investigation of attorney discipline records found that of more than 100 attorneys disciplined for having sexual contact with clients, the vast majority were allowed to keep their law licenses.

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Probe Finds Failure To Punish 'Torture,' Racism In Ill. Prison

By Marco Poggio

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has failed to punish administrators of a high-security federal penitentiary in Illinois for what have been described as acts of torture and a culture of "rampant racism," according to a report released Thursday by advocates for inmate rights.

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Latham Partners Help Legal Aid DC Launch Endowment

By Alison Knezevich

A new $5 million endowment established by Legal Aid DC, with the help of supporters including Latham & Watkins LLP, will boost efforts to provide services to low-income residents, in a move that aims to ensure long-term financial stability in times of uncertainty.

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Perspectives

Justices' Habeas Ruling Further Saps Writ Of Its Strength

After the U.S. Supreme Court dealt its latest blow to the Great Writ in Jones v. Hendrix, holding that a provision called the “saving clause” cannot be used to file successive habeas petitions after a retroactive change in statutory law, Congress may need to amend the underlying law to ensure a more open habeas process, says Daniel Medwed at Northeastern University.

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Perspectives

Too Often, Use Of K-9 Units Is Cruel And Unusual Punishment

In too many instances, the use of police dogs as weapons violates the Eighth Amendment's protections against cruel and unusual punishment, but as a long line of cases demonstrates, courts have largely failed to acknowledge the unconstitutionality of K-9 unit attacks, says Patrick Buelna at Lawyers for the People.

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Perspectives

Service Members Should Have Right To Unanimous Verdicts

As several recent cases exemplify, service members can be convicted of crimes by nonunanimous juries in military courts and cannot appeal such verdicts, despite Supreme Court precedent from recent years — a glaring constitutional error that Congress should rectify expeditiously, says Kevin Carroll at Hughes Hubbard.

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