Latest news with #lawyers
New York Times
a day ago
- General
- New York Times
Pelicans' Zion Williamson accused of rape in lawsuit, denies claims
New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been accused of rape and domestic violence in a civil lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court late Thursday by a woman who said she dated him for almost five years, beginning when he was a freshman at Duke. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages from Williamson. Advertisement In the lawsuit, she alleges that Williamson repeatedly raped her, hit and kicked her and made her fear for her life in several instances, before the relationship ended in June 2023. She also alleged that Williamson falsely imprisoned and stalked her, threatened to kill her and that he had a pattern of 'abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior.' Williamson denied the allegations in a statement through his attorneys, Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C. 'The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless,' his attorneys said. Williamson's attorneys disputed the nature of the relationship, saying he and the woman never dated but maintained 'a consensual, casual relationship.' They said they had 'reported the plaintiff's extortion attempts to law enforcement' and that Williamson 'intends to file counterclaims and seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit.' Williamson's attorneys did not respond to a request for more information on communication with law enforcement. Sam Taylor, a lawyer for the woman, said there were 'numerous misrepresentations' in the response from Williamson's attorneys and denied that it was an extortion attempt. Williamson and the woman had previously engaged in a formal mediation before she filed the lawsuit, Taylor said, but their dispute was not resolved. 'We look forward to the day that our client can get this case to trial and let a jury decide who is credible and who is not credible,' Taylor said. Williamson played at Duke for one season before becoming the No. 1 pick by the Pelicans in 2019. In her lawsuit, the woman said Williamson raped her in September 2020 after he moved to Beverly Hills, Calif. According to the complaint, Williamson's agent picked her up at a hotel and drove her to his home. When he came home later that night, he said the woman could not go to sleep without having sex with him. Advertisement When she refused, according to the lawsuit, Williamson pinned her down on the bed and raped her. He did so again, she said, several weeks later, after she had considered leaving to go see a friend, and then took her phone and laptop away so she could not leave or get medical attention. The woman said that Williamson repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted her through 2023. She also said that Williamson filmed her without her consent and, when she tried to break up with him, said he would disseminate the nude photos and videos of her. Williamson, according to the lawsuit, also said he would threaten to have his security guard shoot the woman in the head, at a time when the security guard was with them and carrying a loaded gun. The lawsuit said that Williamson also threatened to have the security guard kill her parents and told her that he knew their home address. The woman, according to the complaint, suffered 'severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, humiliation, loss of sleep, and other physical and emotional injuries' because of Williamson. She has sought counseling since their relationship ended two years ago, Taylor said. 'This is a major undertaking,' Taylor said. 'She knew what he was going to say about her.' — Christian Clark contributed reporting to this story.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Contract Law Update - The Latest Case Law In Practice (Online Course: July 25, 2025)
Reduce Your Contract Risk Profile and Tighten Up Your Contract Clauses Dublin, May 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Contract Law Update - The Latest Case Law In Practice Training Course" has been added to offering. This highly interactive course covers all the latest developments in contract law. It develops practical points from the cases from the last 18 months, and explains their relevance through practical drafting examples and discussions. This intensive programme will ensure delegates are aware of all the main issues relevant to contracts, their formation, operation and termination. Whether supplying or buying goods, services or intellectual property, all those involved with contracts will gain the necessary latest knowledge of the law needed in this field. Benefits of Attending Learn about the latest case law relating to contracts Examine the impact the latest case law has on your contracts Understand how to use this information in practice Get to grips with contract interpretation and implied terms Reduce your contract risk profile and tighten up your contract clauses Certification CPD: 6 hours for your records Certificate of completion Who Should Attend? In-house lawyers Private practice lawyers Contract managers and professionals Paralegals and trainee solicitors Business development managers Procurement managers Purchasing managers Others whose work regularly brings them into contact with contracts Key Topics Covered Introduction Formation of a contract Offers or ITTs Parties Burying onerous terms and incorporation Deeds gone wrong Interpretation and implied terms How to interpret a contract Which terms can be implied and in what circumstances? Good faith and discretion The status of good faith in English Law When can a decision be attached for being capricious? Guarantees and indemnities Primary guarantees 'on demand' Secondary obligations to perform or to pay 6 types of indemnities Obligations and endeavours Innominate, warranty or a condition - how do you tell? New tests for reasonable endeavours Breach of contract and damages The difference between repudiatory and material breach How to handle non-performance Liquidated damages or penalties? Other remedies Failure of basis and abandonment Misrepresentation Unjust enrichment and duress Limitation of liability Drafting exclusion clauses that work Latest guidance on reasonableness Boilerplates Force majeure - Covid and Ukraine The entire agreement clause Dispute resolution and variations Smart contracts Contracting in natural language or code? SpeakerHelen Swaffield Barrister in Commercial and Public Law Helen Swaffield is a practising Barrister with over 25 years' experience in Commercial and Public Law including commercial contracts and regulation, EU Law, international outsourcing and procurement, competition, franchising, supply and distribution and IPR. Helen appears in the High Court, Commercial Court and Technology and Construction Court as well as commercial arbitrations and adjudications. Helen has a French Law accreditation and has a diploma in EU Law from the University of Strasbourg. Having worked at both the EU Commission and the EU Court, she speaks French and reads Spanish. Helen has drafted commercial, public and health sector contracts and has developed precedents and templates for industry use. She is regularly consulted to mitigate business risks and resolve claims and other disputes before litigation. Helen is the editor of and contributor to the Commercial Litigation Journal and the Procurement and Outsourcing more information about this training visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
‘Nuclear Verdicts' Sink Small Businesses
An alliance between personal injury lawyers and unscrupulous doctors has wreaked havoc on Texas small businesses by pinning them with massive lawsuits. The state Legislature is finally fighting back. So-called nuclear verdicts of $10 million or more in cases involving one or a few plaintiffs reached a 15-year high in 2023. Some of these verdicts were for fender-benders, and many were inflated by questionable medical bills produced by doctors and lawyers. A 2018 fender-bender in Upshur County, Texas, ballooned to a $101 million verdict. The plaintiff's personal injury lawyer had directed him to a chiropractor, pain specialist, and back surgeon who all happened to be frequent trial witnesses in the lawyer's cases.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
This Harvard Law degree program could get decimated by foreign student ban
May 29 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's bid to block international students from enrolling at Harvard University could potentially deal a death blow to the law school's influential masters of law program, if courts allow the ban to move ahead. That program, established in 1923 and commonly referred to as the LL.M., brings about 180 lawyers to Harvard Law School annually for a year to learn about the U.S. legal system, study specific areas of the law, or pursue careers in the legal academy. The vast majority — 97% this year — come from outside the U.S., and its graduates have gone on to serve in foreign governments, courts and other key positions around the world. Those LL.M. students would be shut out entirely under Trump's international student ban. Tuition for the LL.M. program at Harvard is set at $80,760 next year, according to the school's website. With about 52% of LL.M. students receiving some need-based grants, the program likely generates about $11 million in tuition revenue. The ban on foreign students would also impact Harvard Law's Juris Doctor and Doctor of Juridical Science programs. Each J.D. class of 560 typically includes 45 to 50 international students — about 9% — for a total of about 150 students spread across three classes. The S.J.D., which is for aspiring legal academics and typically has about 60 people enrolled, also draws heavily from overseas. Harvard data shows that international students made up 17% of all students across its three law degree programs this year, accounting for 349 of 2,009 total students. Those international law students likely paid more than $20 million collectively in tuition after accounting for financial aid grants, a Reuters analysis of publicly available data found. Spokespeople for both Harvard University and its law school declined to comment on the potential impact of the international student ban on Harvard Law, but the university in a statement last week called it an 'unlawful" and "retaliatory action" that threatens its academic research mission. The top administrator of the law school's international legal studies program did not respond to a request for comment on what a ban would mean for the LL.M. program. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the foreign student ban at Harvard after accusing the university of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party." The move escalated the Trump administration's campaign against the Ivy League university, following several rounds of federal funding cuts. Harvard sued and a federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from revoking the university's ability to enroll foreign students. The Trump administration on Thursday backed away from plans to immediately revoke Harvard University's ability to enroll international students and said it would instead give it 30 days to contest those plans through a lengthier administrative process. The judge hearing the case said on Thursday that she planned to issue a broad preliminary injunction preserving the status quo while the newly announced administrative process plays out. Most of the top-ranked law schools in the U.S. offer LL.M. programs, which are typically revenue generators, in part because LL.M. students often take classes already offered through the J.D. program, which is the degree most common among U.S. lawyers. Harvard's LL.M. has a notable track record of turning out influential lawyers who serve across the globe. A 2024 Harvard Crimson article, opens new tab noted that more than 25 of the program's alumni were sitting on the highest courts in 18 countries. It's unclear how much of Harvard University's $6.5 billion in annual revenue is allocated to its law school — the university's 2024 financial report does not break out individual program budgets — but $1.4 billion of that came from tuition and other student costs. The report shows that tuition accounts for 43% of the law school's operating revenue, and that the university's endowment was $53.2 billion in 2024. A law school in Harvard's situation would likely seek to "triage in the short-term" to cover the loss of tuition revenue, through a combination of cutting expenses and seeking support from its parent university, said Chris Chapman, president of AccessLex Institute, which advocates for affordable legal education. Read more: Trump administration blocks Harvard from enrolling foreign students, threatens broader crackdown Judge temporarily blocks Trump admin from revoking Harvard enrollment of foreign students
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
15 Amazing Generative AI Tools For Lawyers And Legal Tasks
Discover the top AI tools transforming the legal world for professionals and consumers alike, from ... More contract automation to court claims. For seasoned lawyers, as well as laypeople, simply trying to make sense of a tricky contract, new tools powered by generative AI promise to transform the way we engage with the law. Legal professionals often devote large chunks of their time to drafting contracts, researching previous cases, preparing documents for submission to court, or reviewing case law. Even for non-lawyers, many everyday tasks can require diving into legal concepts and principles—wading through corporate T&Cs, tenancy agreements, consumer rights advice or business compliance. Fortunately, lawyers—professional and armchair varieties—are finding that there's a wealth of genAI tools out there that can make their lives easier. So here's my rundown of some of the leading apps, tools, and services that help with legal tasks. Some can help law firms and professionals automate dull and repetitive jobs, while others aim to make the legal systems and courts more accessible to laypeople. Harvey AI is among the market-leading legal AI platforms. Like many of the tools here, it's built on LLM technology (in this case, OpenAI's GPT models that also power ChatGPT). However, it's been fine-tuned to be particularly efficient when it comes to legal tasks such as research, contract analysis and compliance. As well as the vast amounts of training data at its disposal, it is further fine-tuned on domain-specific legal knowledge to ensure firms get assistance that's tailored to their own way of working. Harvey now also offers agentic genAI capabilities, allowing it to work autonomously on carrying out longer, multi-step tasks. LexisNexis has existed for more than 50 years as a database of legal information, including court decisions, judgments and case law. Today, it's been given a generative AI upgrade in the form of Lexis+, which is designed to act as an AI legal assistant. Users—generally legal professionals—can engage through a conversational search interface in order to create tailored legal documents, and correspondence, as well as identify relevant case law, statutes and legal commentary. It also provides instant summaries of complex legal texts and integrates with Lexis's Shepard Citation Service, ensuring citations are correct and up-to-date. This is a web-based platform offering generative AI tools for a wide variety of legal tasks often faced by consumers and laypeople, including fighting parking charges, reclaiming debts and disputing bank fees. It isn't purely AI-based—there is a strong community element to the service, too, and plenty of articles giving useful advice on a number of consumer rights, data protection and privacy issues. Billed as the "consumer AI champion," it can be used to generate dispute letters, file claims and navigate complex court processes no matter how inexperienced a user is in legal matters. Operated by Thompson Reuters, CoCounsel is an AI legal assistant that crunches through repetitive digital workloads like reviewing documents, researching case law, and identifying critical questions. It has developed a reputation as trustworthy among law firms due to a focus on robust data protection and privacy safeguards. CoCounsel has also added what it calls agentic functionality to its platform. Although it isn't yet clear what their AI agents will do, it's speculated that the legal industry will be heavily impacted by the adoption of these next-generation AI tools that promise even greater levels of automation. GenAI-powered lawtech platform was built to streamline the creation of legal documents and the negotiation involved in contracts and agreements. Specifically tailored for startups and small businesses without full in-house legal teams, it offers AI-customized legal templates from employment contracts to NDAs, covering any standard documentation that smaller organizations might require. As it's designed to be used by non-professionals as well as professionals, it features powerful functionality around reducing complexity and providing easy-to-digest explanations of contract clauses. That's far from all of the tools out there designed for lawyers and armchair lawyers. If none of the above do exactly what you need, take a look at one of these: Blue J AI-powered research assistant designed to help accountants and other professional services understand tax laws. ContractPod AI Users of enterprise legal AI platform ContractPod can access Leah, a virtual legal assistant capable of in-depth analysis. Garfield AI Use AI to simplify the process of recovering personal debts through the UK court system. Iubenda Automate the creation of privacy policies, cookie policies, T&Cs, and other pages so that website operators stay on the right side of the law. Ivo Enterprise platform offering automated contract review to streamline corporate workflows. Latch AI-assisted professional tools for automating contract negotiations. LawConnect Free AI-powered answers to legal questions. LegalEase Designed to 'level the playing field' by simplifying law for non-lawyers. PatentPal Generative AI tools designed for intellectual property lawyers, offering assistance with writing patent applications. Sana Sana Labs offers AI agents trained to work in legal business environments.
