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The modern women's movement and the exigencies of the Vietnam War combined to produce a dramatic change in the composition of law school student bodies in only a few years. The speed with which women continue to be incorporated into the legal profession will be affected by many factors. (MLW)

Reports on developments pertaining to law and the legal profession in the U.S. as of November 1983. Social Security self-employment tax for a retired partners from a law firm who engages in part-time work for a firm; Copyright of software programs; Liability of selling handguns; Recognition of the psychotherapist-patient privilege.

Presents the model rules of professional conduct for lawyers in the U.S., adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association on August 2, 1983.

Provides suggestions on how to control or manage interruptions, which is one of the major time management problems of the lawyers. Types of interruptions experience by a lawyer; Importance of a priority hour or quiet hour; Phone management; People management.

Discusses the duties of lawyers working in an international banking transactions in the U.S. Types of financial transactions encounter by a lawyer; Preparation of a draft of the international loan agreement; Participation in the negotiations with the foreign borrower; Legal issues that are likely to arise in the course of negotiations; Conditions concerning the bank's obligation to disburse funds under the agreement. INSET: The International Lawyer's Weltanschauung.

Presents changes in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in the U.S. Standards lawyers must meet when signing pleadings, motions and other papers; Expansion of the authority of district judges to manage and control cases through pretrial conferences and scheduling orders; Reduction of excessive discovery and evasion of reasonable discovery requests.

Focuses on trial simulations or mock trials, a practice wherein litigators stage a version of a forthcoming trial before a group of spectators. Characteristics of a mock jury; Ways of staging the simulation; Benefits for trial lawyers and witnesses.

Discusses the concept of interest on lawyers' trust accounts (IOLTA), which is gaining popularity in the United States. History of the country's first IOLTA plan created by the Florida Supreme Court during the mid-1970s; Programs supported by IOLTA across the country; Procedures for participating in a voluntary IOLTA program.

Focuses on the requisites of an effective criminal defense in the United States. Illustration of an ineffective defense; Qualities of a good defense lawyer; Supreme Court and government opinion on criminal defense.

Investigates some of the legal skills that lawyers possess that do not work well at home. Art of questioning; Precision in thinking and speaking; Will to win legal arguments.

Reports on news and developments on the practice of law in the U.S. as of June 1983. Scope and character of a vehicle search based on probable cause; Issues concerning First Amendment rights and copyright law violations; Requirements for lawyers' reinstatement; Confidentiality of health care transactions.

Offers advice for lawyers and clients on how to choose a disability insurance policy in the U.S. Definition of total disability in a typical group policy; Benefits for the partially disabled person; Comparison of disability income; Problems associated with individual disability coverage. INSET: Comparing the Contracts.

Examines the concept of self-regulation, a fundamental aspect of professionalism in the law profession. Necessity of professional self-regulation in the establishment of high standards and the protection of the public from unscrupulous or incompetent lawyers; Criticisms against self-regulatory procedures in the law profession.

Examines the problem of incompetence among trial lawyers in the U.S. Inability of fresh law school graduates to step in and conduct criminal trials; Steps on how trial judges can upgrade the quality of legal representation; Need to reform the system of legal education in criminal law.

Presents the lawyers memorialized in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol, Washington D.C. Uriah M. Rose; James P. Clarke; John E. Kenna; John James Ingalls; George Washington Glick; William Allen.

Discusses the uses and abuses of forensic science in the U.S. legal processes. Incorporation of objective scientific data into the resolution of social and legal issues; Role of forensic scientists in the determination of factual circumstances; Conflicts between forensic scientists and lawyers.

Profiles several civil war lawyers. Academic background; Career history; Achievements and awards; Contributions to law and politics.

Outlines the goals of the American Bar Association relevant to law and the legal profession compiled as of 1980. Improvement of the justice system; Delivery of legal services; Improvement of the law; Role of ABA as the representative of the legal profession; Increase in public awareness and understanding of the legal system; Improvement of professional competence and ethical conduct.

Presents the final draft of the model rules of professional conduct adopted by the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates on August 10, 1982. Member of the ABA Commission on Evaluation of professional standards; Lawyers' responsibilities; Client-lawyer relationship.

Focuses on the consulting services offered by accountants to lawyers in the United States. Professional relationship of accountants and lawyers; Range of services offered by accountants following significant changes to the profession; Changing needs of clients and increasing competition in the face of relatively fixed demand for traditional services.

Presents news briefs related to law in the U.S. as of September 1982. Defamation charges; Computer law and teleinformatics; Professional ethics of lawyers.

Relates a lawyer's courtroom experiences in the U.S. Relationship with judges; Criminal lawsuits; Views about justices of peace.

Presents excerpts from the Commission on Evaluation of Professional Standards' report submitted to the American Bar Association on the professional conduct of lawyers in the United States. Model of professional conduct; Professional activities undertaken by lawyers; Revisions in the final draft published in May 1981. INSET: The Kutak Commission.

Presents news briefs pertaining to law in the U.S. as of July 1982. Lawyer's dismissal from the practice of law for failure to complete the mandatory continuing legal education requirements of the Colorado Supreme Court; Extent of bank's liability on failure to transfer of funds through a Telex request; Issuance of a writ of mandamus directing a military judge to dismiss all charges against a second lieutenant.

Presents the American Bar Endowment Annual Report for 1980-81 devoted to research studies of the American Bar Foundation. Factors accelerating the pace of research activity; Inhibiting factor in the public's use of lawyers; Role of law schools; Lawyers' professional development; Public service and education activities of the ABA; Summary of the ABF studies in the legal profession category.

Interviews Wells Search Associates Vice President Bert H. Early, who served the American Bar Association (ABA) from 1962-81, to assess the ABA and to look into the future of the U.S. legal profession. Changes in the profession and the ABA; Role of lawyers; Problems or issues facing the profession; Organizational changes in the ABA; Oversupply of lawyers.

Presents developments related to lawyers in the United States as of December 1981. Question on the constitutionality of the position of bank members in the Federal Reserve System's Open Market Committee; Interest of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in evaluating the work papers of certified public accountants; Disclosure of tax returns.

Highlights activities and achievements of the United States-based American Bar Association for 1980-1981. Voice of the legal profession; Reduction of incidence of lawyer defalcation; Technical assistance for implementing the bar association's victim-witness intimidation recommendations; Inauguration of the National Legal Malpractice Data Center.

Focuses on role of the United States-based American Bar Association. Need for the legal profession to have a voice in issues affecting it and the public; Legal services corporation; Federal judiciary issues; Public understanding about the law; Legal services delivery.

Describes the professional working relationship between lawyers and legal assistants in a law practice. Consideration of the ethical guidance offered by a superior; Areas in which a nonlawyer can assist according to the American Bar Association Model Code of Professional Responsibility; Importance of delegating responsibilities as part of the team approach to law practice; Role of lawyers in maintaining the confidentiality of their clients; Difficulties associated with defining unauthorized practice of law.

Discusses the role of legal service people to reduce inflation rate and waste. Social values of legal service; Legal assistance to low-income clients; Social function of acting as watchdogs over the inappropriate use of governmental dollars and combating activities that drain the productivity of the private sector; Forms of legal services advocacy.

Discusses the role of both agency and industry lawyers in settling litigation and preparing regulations that will work. Failure to acknowledge the opportunity discussions to improve rather than compromise promulgated regulations; Complexity of the agency regulations; Danger that exists in negotiation process.

Interviews Lowell R. Beck, the executive vice president of the National Association of Independent Insurers in the U.S. Views on the role of the legal profession in the 1980s; Views on the organized bar and the American Bar Association; Views on the American society's need for lawyers.

Discusses the response of the American Bar Association to the challenge of the 1980s. Development of the alternative dispute resolutions and procedures; Reduction in the costs and complexities of litigation; Establishment of a high quality services by lawyers and judges.

Presents information on articles and publications of interest to lawyers in the U.S. Article on the location of the High Court of Australia in Canberra; Case and article on the purchase of flight insurance policies at the airport; Administrative law issue of the 'Duke Law Journal'; 1979 yearbook of the Supreme Court Historical Society. INSET: Laughing Stock.

Discusses the role of volunteer lawyers in the success of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in the U.S. Role of ACLU and lawyer Clarence Darrow in the 1925 trial of public school teacher John Thomas Scopes; Representation of anti-Vietnam War demonstrators and school desegration advocates; History of ACLU; Works of some volunteers; Kinds of cases handled.

Focuses on the panel procedure in the administration of medical malpractice claims in the U.S. Components of a panel; Similarity between a panel hearing and an administrative procedure; Factors influencing the effectiveness of a panel procedure as a settlement tool; Attitudes of the lawyers and judges toward the utility and cost effectiveness of the panels.

Offers some advice to lawyers in preparation for a supreme court argument in the U.S. Practicing oral arguments and answering surprising questions; Early arrival in court that allows rehearsal time as well as time to read the crucial cases and anticipate questions; Knowing one's limitations.

Reports on tax-related news and developments of interest to lawyers in the United States, compiled for the month of February 1980. Tax and practical advantages from a partnership or sole proprietorship that establishes a defined benefit plan qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code; Increase in limitation of tax deductible contributions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; Comments on David G. Phillips' article on tax, entitled `Federal income taxation of damages paid or received in litigation'.

Reports on the release of a discussion draft on the model rules of professional conduct by the American Bar Association by the end of January 1980. Result of the consultations of the Commission on Evaluation of Professional Standards; Analysis of the functions of lawyers; Format of the proposed rules..

Reports on the rapid increase of lawyers in the U.S. Contribution of the support of the American Bar Endowment to the profession; Opportunity for experimentation in the patterns of law practice; Acceleration of bar activities in the professional responsibility areas.

Highlights the activities of the American Bar Association (ABA) during 1978 and 1979. Inclusion of issues discussed at the 1979 midyear meeting in Atlanta, Georgia; Programs held on the 22nd annual nationwide observance of Law Day; Booklets proposed by the ABA Commission on Advertising.

Features the accomplishments of the West Virginia Legal Services Plan, one of two major judicare programs in the U.S. Full complement of services normally available under federally funded legal service plans; Private bar participation in legal services for the poor; Wide participation of private lawyers; Strategic distribution of back-up staffed offers; Client satisfaction; Case distribution.

Discusses developments related to the legal profession in the United States, as of August 1979. Issues discussed at the National Symposium on Rural Justice that was held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; Defeat of a pilot program for the certification of lawyer specialists in New York State; Growth of interest in legal issues related to space activities due to the Skylab incident.

Presents some readers' views on articles that were published in the 'American Bar Association Journal.' Criticism of the requirement that lawyers should show minimum competency in federal practice subjects before admission to federal courts; Search for traineeship with an American lawyer or law firm; Criticism of the mandatory pro bono work.

Comments on several developments in the U.S. legal community as of July 1979. Decision in the case 'Erie v. Tompkins'; Clement F. Haynsworth Jr.'s reflections on his rejection by the Senate for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1969; Story of a judge who jokes during court sessions; Strategies in dealing with alcoholic clients.

Examines public criticism of the quality of lawyers and legal services in the U.S. Attack on the competence of lawyers; Evaluation of specific criticisms; Problems with lawyers' fees; Abundance of legal manpower; Continuous increase in the number of laws in the country; Tendency of the law to externalize decisions that are in fact active choices.

Presents news items on the legal profession and the courts in the U.S. as of July 1979. Need for funds to improve law schools; Bar admission problems in Virginia; Residency rule in New York State; Criticisms by Justice Thurgood Marshall against the Supreme Court; Televised hearings in California; Effectivity of franchise disclosure. INSETS: Absence of leading law schools at meet noted;Did the California Supreme Court slip on 'Gallup Poll justice'?.

Presents news items on the legal profession and the courts in the U.S. as of July 1979. Hearings probe problems of victim and witness intimidation; Possible involvement of federal agencies in lawyer discipline; Probe on best-professional books; Fixed-price securities system; Warrant bill protections; Legal malpractice claims.