Daily Briefs

City of Detroit Law Department has relocated offices
The City of Detroit Law Department has relocated to First National Building, 660 Woodward, Suite 1800, Detroit, MI 48226.

ABA urges high court to uphold university’s  admissions policy
The American Bar Association is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the University of Texas at Austin's use of race as one of myriad factors in undergraduate admissions decisions.
In an amicus brief filed Aug. 13 in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the ABA cited its policies and activities since the late 1960s that have promoted diversity in legal education and the legal profession, including those of its Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

“As this long history demonstrates, the ABA is convinced that increased participation by our nation’s racial and ethnic minorities in its legal and leadership positions remains critical today and that undergraduate institutions are a necessary part of the pipeline to law schools and the legal profession," the brief states.

Arguing that a diverse legal profession is “a compelling state interest,” the ABA notes that “the legal profession plays a critical role in American society. Lawyers formulate and implement our laws, resolve commercial disputes and protect the rights of citizens. … Diversity in the profession shows that the path to leadership is open to all citizens and demonstrates that the justice system serves the public in a fair and inclusive manner. Moreover, such diversity improves the quality of legal services and judicial decisions, and is necessary for successful competition in the global marketplace.”

According to the brief, race-conscious admissions policies have helped make law schools, and consequently, the legal profession more inclusive of racial and ethnic minorities.

iPad Practice: iPad for Legal Professionals

The use of innovative technology in the practice of law will be highlighted at an interactive seminar in Lansing on Aug. 20. Organized by the State Bar of Michigan Practice Management Resource Center, “MiPad Practice: iPad for Legal Professionals,” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Lansing Community College West Campus Auditorium at 5708 Cornerstone Drive. Speakers will introduce attorneys to the iPad by teaching them to get documents onto iPads, to get the most out of e-mail, and how to sync with iCloud. Speakers will also share 10 “must have” iPad apps for lawyers, the recommended settings for attorneys on iPads, how to do legal research on an iPad, how to give presentations from iPads, and how to utilize an iPad in court. Attorneys who own iPads are encouraged to bring them along, but it is not necessary to own an iPad to attend the seminar, which costs $95. To register for the seminar, visit www.michbar.org/pmrc/mipad2.cfm.

For more information, contact SBM Practice Management Advisor JoAnn Hathaway at jhathaway@mail.michbar.org or (517) 346-6381.

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