Legal Ethics

  • July 03, 2024

    Cyclist's Widow Settles With Atty Who Caused Fatal Crash

    A bicyclist's widow has reached a settlement with the attorney whose car fatally crashed into her husband, just a few weeks after a Colorado federal judge allowed her to revise her lawsuit to include punitive damages under state law.

  • July 02, 2024

    Ozy's Watson Says He's No Fraudster, Judge Accused Of Bias

    Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson on Tuesday sought to rebut claims of deceiving financial backers of the media and entertainment company, denying any involvement in a ploy to impersonate a YouTube executive in order to secure funding from Goldman Sachs, while defense counsel continued to accuse the trial judge of bias.

  • July 02, 2024

    Debevoise Can't Avoid Testifying In Ex-Cognizant Execs' Trial

    A New Jersey federal judge denied Tuesday a bid by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP to quash a subpoena seeking testimony from a firm partner for the coming bribery trial of two former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. executives.

  • July 02, 2024

    Ex-Senior Apple Atty To Pay SEC $1.1M For Insider Trading

    Apple's former director of corporate law must pay $1.1 million to securities regulators stemming from criminal insider trading charges to which he pled guilty in 2022, a New Jersey federal judge said Tuesday, finding that his "egregious" violations warrant the penalty since "his very job" was to ensure compliance with securities laws.

  • July 02, 2024

    Samsung Says IP Law Firm, Litigation Funder Misused Info

    Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. says an intellectual property law firm and a Chinese litigation funder used its confidential information without permission to help Staton Techiya LLC assert patent infringement allegations, telling a Texas federal judge that the conduct demonstrated why the court should add the other companies to Samsung's suit.

  • July 02, 2024

    Wash. Court OKs Anti-Masker's School Recall Sanctions

    Washington appellate judges said Tuesday an Evergreen State man waited too long to appeal $30,000 in sanctions and ruled the trial court was justified in pinning most of the blame on him — instead of his attorneys — for filing baseless recall petitions to dissuade school board members from complying with a state COVID-19 mask mandate. 

  • July 02, 2024

    YSL Judge Shares Transcript Of Secret Witness Meeting

    The transcript of a secret meeting involving Fulton County prosecutors, a key state's witness and the judge overseeing the Young Slime Life case was released Monday, shortly after it was announced that proceedings in the case would be paused until an outside judge reviews motions for the judge's recusal.

  • July 02, 2024

    Calif. Atty Facing Disbarment After Admitting To $4.8M Fraud

    The California State Bar announced Tuesday that a prominent Golden State family law attorney has agreed to be disbarred after she admitted to misappropriating "virtually the entirety" of a more than $4.8 million client trust account, then attempting to cover up the theft of funds by filing false documents.

  • July 02, 2024

    'Shark Tank' Sweatshirt Biz Lands Injunction, But No Atty Fees

    The startup behind "The Comfy" sweatshirt featured in an episode of "Shark Tank" that won an $18 million verdict against a rival sweatshirt brand has secured an injunction against the competitor, but it has failed to collect nearly $2 million in requested legal fees on account of "quarrelsome conduct on both sides," according to an Arizona federal judge.

  • July 02, 2024

    Beasley Allen Slams J&J's DQ Bid 'Check-Up' In Talc Tort

    The Beasley Allen Law Firm and Johnson & Johnson continue to spar over the firm and attorney Andy Birchfield's role in long-running federal and state mass torts over talcum powder injuries, with the firm calling out J&J on Tuesday for "prodding" the New Jersey courts to boot the lawyers from the litigation.

  • July 02, 2024

    Ex-Bankruptcy Judge Will Be Deposed Over Atty Romance

    The former Texas bankruptcy judge whose secret relationship with a Jackson Walker LLP attorney ignited a major judicial ethics scandal has agreed to sit for a seven-hour deposition to answer questions about the episode.

  • July 02, 2024

    Seton Hall Says Ex-Prez's Whistleblower Suit Must Be Axed

    A New Jersey trial court was urged to toss retaliation, sexual harassment and discrimination claims against Seton Hall University and its board of regents by its former president, with the school arguing the whistleblower suit is rife with "gamesmanship," ignoring both case law and the underlying facts.

  • July 02, 2024

    Dentons Says Ex-Client Can't Escape $4.7M Fee Suit In Texas

    International law firm Dentons Europe CS LLP urged a Texas federal court Tuesday to keep alive its suit accusing a Houston-area crisis response business of failing to pay more than $4.7 million in legal fees and said the correct venue was Texas, not England, as the business has argued.

  • July 02, 2024

    Bond-Rigging Suit Revived Over Judge's Wife's Stock Conflict

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived a proposed class action accusing big banks of rigging corporate bonds, ruling that the New York federal judge who previously dismissed the suit should have recused himself due to his wife's ownership of Bank of America stock.

  • July 02, 2024

    Pa. Clerk Named After Departures Spur 'Judicial Emergency'

    Dauphin County, Pennsylvania's president judge has selected an interim clerk of courts to take over the office's duties following last week's sudden resignation of the elected clerk and the Supreme Court's declaration of a judicial emergency.

  • July 02, 2024

    Fla. Bar Drops Kennedys Ethics Case Over Unlawful Practice

    The Florida Bar has dropped an ethics complaint against Kennedys CMK and three of its attorneys over allegations the firm improperly presented the lawyers as permitted to practice law in the Sunshine State.

  • July 02, 2024

    Mich. Justices Pass Up 'Most Famous' Atty's Malpractice Case

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place an appellate ruling that said comments by self-proclaimed "America's most famous trial lawyer" during a press conference can be used in a malpractice suit brought against him by a former client.

  • July 02, 2024

    Ga. Justices Say Atty Ethics Rules Only Apply To Legal Work

    A Georgia lawyer did not violate attorney ethics rules when she allegedly mishandled trust funds since she was managing those funds only as a fiduciary and not as a lawyer, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

  • July 02, 2024

    Dykstra Denied Early Win In Embezzlement Suit Against Atty

    Former MLB All-Star Lenny Dykstra swung for an early win but missed in his lawsuit accusing his former attorney and the attorney's firm, Galanter Associates, of embezzling funds from him, when a California judge denied his summary judgment motion Tuesday. 

  • July 02, 2024

    After Fischer, Judge Releases Atty Convicted In Jan. 6 Riot

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the release of a Georgia attorney imprisoned for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying his pending appeal would likely result in his freedom after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed an obstruction of Congress law used to convict him and others involved in the assault.

  • July 02, 2024

    DLA Piper Tells Judge Fired Associate Got Proper Discovery

    Counsel for DLA Piper LLP told a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday the firm has provided responsive information to a former associate who claims she was unlawfully fired while pregnant, adding it is confident her termination was lawful.

  • July 02, 2024

    Therapy Co. Sues Littler For Alleged Bad Advice

    A Chicago-based therapy company has sued Littler Mendelson PC in Cook County Circuit Court, accusing the firm of failing to advise against a labor contract that was not permitted, which ended up costing the company nearly $225,000.

  • July 02, 2024

    Giuliani Disbarred In New York Over Election Falsehoods

    A New York appellate court Tuesday barred Rudolph Giuliani from practicing law in New York, citing ample evidence that the former New York City mayor made repeated false statements about the 2020 presidential election.

  • July 02, 2024

    Trump's NY Sentencing Pushed To Sept. After Immunity Ruling

    A New York judge on Tuesday delayed Donald Trump's criminal sentencing from July 11 until Sept. 18 to give prosecutors and the former president's attorneys time to argue over whether the U.S. Supreme Court's immunity decision vacates his conviction.

  • July 01, 2024

    Trump Seeks To Vacate NY Verdict, Citing Immunity Decision

    Former President Donald Trump's attorneys asked the New York state judge overseeing his hush money case to delay sentencing and consider setting aside the jury's guilty verdict in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Animal Rights Are About Saving Nature, And Our Own Future

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    The climate crisis makes it clear that animal law — conceived of as an ecocentric approach to protecting the most vulnerable nonhumans who depend on the natural environment — is essential to restoring the Earth and safeguarding the future of humanity, says Carter Dillard at the Fair Start Movement.

  • The Ethics Of Accepting Advanced Legal Fees In Crypto

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    State and local bar associations have been weighing in on whether attorneys may accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment in advance of providing legal services, but the answer is frequently a fact-specific inquiry that demands close reading of the rules of professional conduct, say Matthew Feinberg and Jeffrey Cunningham at Goldberg Segalla.

  • How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

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    Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • 5 Gifts That May Run Afoul Of Government Ethics Rules

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    As the holiday season ramps up, it’s essential to keep in mind that government officials and employees are all subject to specific gift rules, and related violations can lead to consequences far worse than coal in one’s stocking, say Mark Renaud and Rob Walker at Wiley.

  • 3 Defense Takeaways From The Bankman-Fried Trial

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    FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction offers several key lessons for future white collar defendants, from the changing nature of cross-examination to the continued risks of taking the stand, say Jonathan Porter and Gregg Sofer at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • The Basics Of Law Firm Cyber Liability Insurance Applications

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    Cyber liability insurance has become a common consideration for law firms as cyber threats have escalated, but these insurance forms can be quite complicated given the nature of the industry and associated risks, so simply filling out the form won't necessarily result in an ideal policy for your firm, says Kevin Haight at WAMS.

  • Series

    Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

  • Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

  • Opinion

    Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave

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    To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.

  • Series

    Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance

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    Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories

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    The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.

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