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Legal Ethics
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September 25, 2024
Ex-Murder Suspect's Suit Against Embattled DA Gets Tossed
A Colorado federal judge on Tuesday threw out a $15 million malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by a man initially charged in a high-profile case with the murder of his wife, finding prosecutors had ample reason to arrest the man.
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September 25, 2024
Boies Joins Authors' Meta IP Suit After Judge Blasts Lead Atty
Veteran litigator David Boies and a top member of his firm have joined the team heading a proposed class action against Meta Platforms Inc. for allegedly using copyrighted material to train its artificial intelligence product "Llama" — days after a California federal judge told the lead plaintiff's attorney, "You are not doing your job."
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September 25, 2024
Workplace Protections Bill For Judiciary Reintroduced
Lawmakers from both parties and chambers announced on Wednesday they've reintroduced a bill to increase workplace protections for federal judiciary employees.
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September 25, 2024
Jones Day Must Face Ex-Firm Attys' Parental Leave Suit
Jones Day will have to defend its parental leave policy at trial, after a D.C. federal judge declined on Wednesday to shut down a long-running suit filed by two married ex-associates that claims the firm discriminates by offering female attorneys more leave than male attorneys.
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September 25, 2024
Lin Wood's Former Partners Rip 'Outright Lies' Over Assets
A Georgia federal judge sided with former law partners of retired attorney L. Lin Wood, urging Wood to testify next week after being accused of concealing a $4 million asset and claiming in "outright lies" that he couldn't post a more than $4.7 million bond as he appeals a $3.75 million defamation verdict against him.
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September 25, 2024
Blank Rome Faces DQ Bid Over Alleged Tampering
An attorney suing three lawyers from Blank Rome LLP wants the firm's other attorneys disqualified from representing their colleagues, accusing them of improperly contacting a plaintiff's expert witness to intimidate him into no longer participating in the case.
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September 25, 2024
Penalized Apple Atty Says He Was 'Demoralized' By Co. Culture
Apple Inc.'s former senior director of corporate law, who pled guilty to insider trading in 2022 and was later penalized $1.1 million in a civil case, had mental health disorders and was "demoralized" by the company's culture and executives' misconduct, he said in temporarily unsealed records in New Jersey federal court.
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September 25, 2024
Vape Co. Sues Buchalter Alleging Malpractice After IP Action
A Los Angeles-based cannabis company called Smoke Tokes LLC has filed a legal malpractice suit accusing Buchalter PC and two of its attorneys of causing a federal trademark action to drag on unnecessarily even after Smoke Tokes took all necessary steps to satisfy a judgment and injunction.
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September 25, 2024
Besieged NJ Prosecutor Says Gov. Can't Replace Him Yet
The former Warren County, New Jersey, prosecutor who retired under a cloud in April but withdrew his retirement days later said on Tuesday that Gov. Phil Murphy's move last week to nominate a permanent replacement won't work, because he hasn't actually resigned.
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September 25, 2024
Shipman & Goodwin Atty Needed As Witness, DQ Bid Claims
A Connecticut company wants a Shipman & Goodwin LLP partner disqualified from representing a rival in a bond dispute surrounding a garbage sorting facility permit, saying the attorney was personally involved in some of the conduct in question.
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September 25, 2024
Philly-Area Atty Convicted In Bankruptcy Fraud Case
A suspended attorney in the Philadelphia suburbs is one of two men who were recently convicted by a federal jury of participating in fraudulent schemes that involved stealing a house from a deceased couple's family.
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September 25, 2024
NJ High Court To Review Judicial Privacy Law In Media Case
The New Jersey Supreme Court will consider whether a municipality overstepped by using the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law to stop a journalist from publishing an article about the city's police director's address, according to a recently filed order.
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September 25, 2024
Mich. Justices Take Up Prosecutor's Outside Counsel Hires
The Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear arguments in a dispute over the Macomb County prosecuting attorney's power to retain outside law firms for general legal advice.
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September 25, 2024
Ohio Judge Removed For Jailing People Over Court Costs
The Ohio Supreme Court removed a state municipal judge from the bench and suspended him from practicing law for 18 months after he jailed two people for failing to pay court costs and coerced 14 others into paying fines and costs by threatening to lock them up without due process.
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September 24, 2024
Dentons Accused Of Hacking Laptop, Aiding Vape Co. Usurper
Dentons helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, including breaking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, Avid alleged in a sprawling lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court.
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September 24, 2024
Adult Actresses' Blacklist Suit Against Meta Nixed Before Trial
A California federal judge has dismissed a case claiming Meta conspired with OnlyFans and blacklisted adult entertainers who used competitors' risque platforms weeks before its October trial date, saying he had "no choice" and did so despite the social media giant's "questionable recordkeeping."
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September 24, 2024
Amazon Scolded Over Improper Privilege In Alexa Privacy Suit
Amazon.com Inc. must re-produce documents it clawed back during discovery from unregistered Alexa users who allege they were illegally recorded, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday, scolding the e-commerce giant for "improperly" trying to conceal its business and strategic documents behind attorney-client privilege.
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September 24, 2024
Athlete Investment Co. Gets Claims Nipped In $1M Fraud Suit
A New York federal judge has trimmed a suit alleging that an athlete investment company that aimed to "tokenize" and sell shares of professional athletes was involved in a $1 million fraud and lied about its business plan, saying the plaintiff is conflicted from bringing certain derivative claims.
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September 24, 2024
Cathode Ray Class Attys Fight Over Fees At 9th Circ.
Plaintiffs firm Cooper & Kirkham urged the Ninth Circuit Tuesday to reverse a ruling slashing its $3.452 million fee award in since-settled cathode ray tube price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing the firm was being unfairly punished for representing a subclass, while lead class counsel slammed the firm's tactics as "extreme mischief."
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September 24, 2024
DC Judge Rebuffs Trump's Bid To Delay Immunity Briefing
The District of Columbia federal judge overseeing the election interference case against former President Donald Trump on Tuesday shot down his "new and sundry" efforts to push back briefing on the issue of presidential immunity, allowing the government to file a lengthy brief on the issue and remarking that this "is simply how litigation works."
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September 24, 2024
Judge Defends Atty Fees In Failed Law Firm Case
A California bankruptcy judge on Tuesday pushed back against criticisms of big fees for professionals in the case of defunct debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group and said he would approve interim professional fees and expenses of $8.1 million.
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September 24, 2024
Neurosurgeon Deems Judge Newman's Brain 'Entirely Normal'
A third doctor has found that suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, 97, is not cognitively impaired and that there's no reason to keep her off the bench, according to a report released by her attorneys Tuesday.
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September 24, 2024
Ex-Ohio City Prosecutor Took Car Repairs As Bribes, Feds Say
A former city prosecutor in Ohio is facing federal bribery charges after he allegedly accepted car repairs in return for reducing drug possession and DUI charges against a local mechanic, according to a newly unsealed criminal indictment.
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September 24, 2024
'Salacious' Keches Spat With Ex-Partner Aired In Court
A former partner of Keches Law has asked a Massachusetts state court for permission to review the personal injury firm's financial records after he was told his shares in the firm are worthless, accusing another attorney of financial misdeeds.
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September 24, 2024
Justices' Immunity Ruling Could Foil Trump Charges, Sens. Told
The U.S. Supreme Court's prohibition on judges considering a former president's motive when deciding if an act is official and therefore protected from criminal prosecution may present one of the biggest roadblocks in the criminal cases filed against Donald Trump, a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney told lawmakers Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.
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Opinion
Guardrails Needed Against Politically Motivated Atty Discipline
As illustrated by revelations about disbarred attorney Tom Girardi’s influence, there is a need to revamp attorney discipline to protect the public, but any reforms to misconduct rules must also consider how bar-directed disciplinary hearings are increasingly used as a political weapon, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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Groundbreaking Nev. Law May Alter Insurance Landscape
The Nevada Legislature recently passed a law prohibiting insurers from issuing liability policies with eroding limits provisions that has the potential to create massive shifts in the marketplace — and specifically in areas like professional liability, cyber, and directors and officers insurance, says Will Bennett at Saxe Doernberger.
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Perspectives
Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
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Durham Hearing Shows Common Cross-Examination Errors
Trial attorneys can glean several key cross-examination lessons from the mistakes made by several members of the U.S. House of Representatives during a recent hearing on special counsel John Durham’s FBI probe, say Luke Andrews and Asha Laskar at Poole Huffman.
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Opinion
When Corporate Self-Disclosure Threatens Individuals' Rights
The prosecution of former Cognizant executives in New Jersey federal court demonstrates how the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate enforcement policy can contravene the constitutional rights of individual defendants who are employed by cooperating companies, says Gideon Mark at the University of Maryland.
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Pitfalls Of Attorney AI Use In Brief Prep Has Judges On Alert
Some lawyers are attempting to leverage generative artificial intelligence as a brief drafting tool, which may serve to greatly reduce the burden of motion practice, but several recent cases show that generative AI is not perfect and blind reliance on this tool can be very risky, say Matthew Nigriny and John Gary Maynard at Hunton.
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Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too
While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.
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Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions
As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.
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Insurance Coverage For ChatGPT Legal Fiasco: A Hypothetical
William Passannante at Anderson Kill draws on the recent case of an attorney sanctioned by the Southern District of New York for submitting a ChatGPT-authored brief to discuss what the insurance coverage for the attorney's hypothetical claim might look like.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled
In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.
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Handling Hostile Depositions: Keep Calm And Make A Record
When depositions turn contentious, attorneys should, among other strategies, maintain a professional demeanor and note any objectionable conduct on the record, thereby increasing chances of a favorable outcome for the client while preserving the integrity of the legal process, say attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson.
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5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World
As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.
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A Midyear Look At How AI Is Affecting Lawyers
The past six months have been a notable period for advancements in artificial intelligence and generative AI, and as we head into the second half of the year, we must review the implications that AI has for the legal industry, including how lawyers will be advising clients on use of AI technology, says Natasha Allen at Foley & Lardner.