Practice Source

A prominent women’s justice charity will run a landmark government-funded legal advice service for rape complainants – and is urging solicitors with experience of the criminal justice system to apply to be part of the pioneering scheme. Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones announced this month that the Centre for Women’s Justice, supported by Rape Crisis England & Wales and Victim Support, will deliver the service, which begins next year.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — A new collaboration between Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School and the Illinois Supreme Court will expand access to legal representation for people facing housing-related issues while giving law students valuable hands-on experience. Through the recently approved Housing Justice Clinic initiative, students will learn to handle cases involving matters such as evictions and foreclosures.

he first woman to be sworn in as a London magistrate and a leading figure in the women’s trade union movement has been honoured with a blue plaque by English Heritage. The blue plaque for Gertrude Tuckwell was unveiled today Source: English Heritage Gertrude Tuckwell devoted her life to improving working conditions for women. She investigated the dangers faced by women workers including lead poisoning among pottery workers and ‘phossy jaw’ among match workers.

PALO ALTO, California — U.S. legal industry artificial intelligence startup Harvey looks to enter Japan in early 2027, a move expected to accelerate AI use by law firms and their corporate clients while pressuring lawyers to use billable time more efficiently. Harvey CEO Winston Weinberg shared the plans with Nikkei in a recent interview.

Smokeball, Inc. announced the next phase of its partnership with Thomson Reuters. Westlaw Deep Research, Thomson Reuters agentic legal research tool, will be integrated later this month directly within Smokeball’s Archie AI. The integration further connects the platforms supporting the business and practice of law, giving law firms access to authoritative legal research reports directly where their matters live.

UK Law Society Jnl Judges in the United States who are upholding the rule of law in the face of serial attacks by the Trump administration will be vindicated by history, a former US bar chief has claimed. Some on the bench are facing not just intimidation but threats of physical assault for ruling against Republican interests, the IBA’s Rule of Law symposium heard today.

Patrick Pantusco was released a month after he took his first classes at Rutgers Law School Patrick Pantusco began his college career behind bars and, earlier this year, started Rutgers Law School while he was still serving his sentence. When he stepped into his first class in May, Pantusco became the first student from the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) program to enter law school.

A book due out Oct. 20 by University of Dayton law professor Jennifer L. Brinkley chronicles the life of legal pioneer Dorothy Kenyon whose career was nearly undone when U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy named her first on his list of alleged communists. “Decades after Ruth Bader Ginsburg acknowledged her debt to Dorothy Kenyon, Brinkley brings Kenyon to life in this engaging and important book. It’s about time Kenyon’s story was told, and Brinkley tells it brilliantly,” said Lori A.

New Jersey petitioned SCOTUS to affirm state authority over sports prediction markets, supported by 39 states and the NFL amid a circuit split. Decision on hearing the case may come in December. Four tribes launched Kalshi-powered apps while Ohio issued 10 cease-and-desist orders. SCCG Take — SCOTUS review could lock in state compliance burdens or federal uniformity for operators. Tribes must balance economic self-determination against unified opposition.

The Colorado legal community is grappling with the death of former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart. Hart,  who died Oct. 1 at age 57, is being remembered for her legal scholarship, her commitment to mentoring women in the profession and her efforts to make the justice system more accessible to Coloradans who cannot afford a lawyer.