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Legal Ethics
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July 05, 2024
Judge Should Have Been Disqualified From Case, Panel Said
A Washington appeals court panel said a trial judge should have been disqualified over bias concerns raised by metro Seattle's bus agency in a worker discrimination case, according to an opinion that said the judge's order allowing an amended complaint was not a discretionary ruling in the case that would have forbid disqualification.
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July 05, 2024
Fla. Law Firm Settles Student Debtors' Suit After Mistrial
Weeks after a mistrial upended proceedings in a contentious case in which seven student debtors accused a Boca Raton, Florida, law firm of fraudulently claiming it could eliminate their private loan debt for a fee, the debtors have voluntarily and permanently dropped the claims following a settlement negotiation.
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July 05, 2024
Trump Urges Halt To Mar-A-Lago Case, Citing Immunity Ruling
Former President Donald Trump urged a Florida federal judge Friday to pause the criminal case that accuses him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said he might be immune to charges related to official acts.
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July 05, 2024
DQ'd Atty Denied Bid To Have Netflix Atty Held In Contempt
A California federal judge rejected a bid by a former Whitestone Law attorney to hold an attorney representing Netflix in a patent infringement case in contempt over harassment allegations, determining that the unwanted contact does not violate the order disqualifying his ex-firm.
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July 05, 2024
Rutgers Faces Contempt Bid Over Discipline In Bias Suit
A Rutgers Law School student is asking a New Jersey state court to sanction the university for moving ahead with disciplinary measures against him for defamation, bullying, intimidation and harassment, arguing it violates a protective order he received in his discrimination lawsuit.
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July 05, 2024
Mich. Atty Ethics Board Moves Trump Allies' Cases Forward
The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board has refused to dismiss misconduct claims against six attorneys for challenging the results of the 2020 election in the Great Lakes State and ordered their disciplinary proceedings to move forward.
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July 05, 2024
Ga. Elections Office Wants Out Of Appeals Seat Challenge
An elections office in Fulton County, Georgia's elections department asked a judge this week to be let out of a lawsuit alleging that the winner of a recent state appeals court election lied about his residency and is ineligible for the office, arguing that the suit "fails to make even a single allegation of misconduct, fraud or irregularity."
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July 05, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Settles Defamation Suit Against Influencer
Former Greenberg Traurig LLP partner Allan A. Kassenoff has settled his $150 million defamation lawsuit against the social media influencer Kassenoff claims ruined his life by lying about his nightmarish divorce.
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July 05, 2024
Denver Firm Accused Of Botching Business Dispute
The Denver law firm of Fairfield and Woods PC and one of its attorneys has been accused in Colorado state court of malpractice that caused their client more than a million dollars in damages in connection with a business dispute involving the client's brother.
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July 05, 2024
Court To Weigh Scope Of Ex-Judge's Atty Romance Testimony
A Texas bankruptcy judge said he must determine the scope of a deposition over a former judge's concealed romantic relationship with an ex-Jackson Walker LLP attorney, reversing course on a stipulation and ruling he has "exclusive authority" to "authorize and set limits regarding the nature of the testimony."
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July 05, 2024
Ex-Law Firm Exec Accused Of Theft Wants 'Malicious' Claim
A former executive at McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP has asked a New Jersey state court to let her pursue a malicious prosecution counterclaim against the firm over its theft allegations against her, alleging that she didn't engage in any financial fraud.
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July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
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July 05, 2024
Ex-Schnader Harrison Atty Fights Bid To Ax Class Action
A motion by Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP seeking to toss a putative class action used "linguistic alchemy" to argue for the case's dismissal, according to a filing opposing the motion.
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July 05, 2024
Atty Sheehan, Client Must Pay Fees in 'Frivolous' Big Lots Suit
A Florida federal judge has ordered prolific consumer advocate lawyer Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC to pay attorney fees in a proposed class action against Big Lots Inc. over deceptive coffee labels, citing bad faith conduct in pursuing a "frivolous" lawsuit similar to one that was dismissed in New York.
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July 05, 2024
NJ Judge Accused Of Harassment, Explicit Online Comments
A New Jersey municipal court judge is facing a formal ethics complaint alleging that he got drunk and sexually harassed female court employees at a party and made inappropriate comments online about adult entertainment figures, which the complaint says "demeans the judicial office and undermines public confidence in the judiciary."
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July 05, 2024
Georgia DAs Say Discipline Panel Already Harming Them
A legal challenge to Georgia's new prosecutor disciplinary panel should move forward now that the panel has been cleared to begin investigating prosecutors, a bipartisan group of district attorneys told a Georgia state court.
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July 05, 2024
Attorney In 'Tears' Admitted To Malpractice, Pa. Suit Claims
A former attorney at Rubin Glickman Steinberg & Gifford was in "tears" when he allegedly admitted to legal malpractice by waiting too long on a Pennsylvania woman's medical malpractice case, the former client claimed in a lawsuit filed against the lawyer and the law firm in state court.
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July 03, 2024
McKinsey Can Exit Rival's Bankruptcy Conflicts RICO Suit
A Manhattan federal judge Wednesday tossed a lawsuit brought by the founder of turnaround consultant AlixPartners accusing rival McKinsey & Co. of intentionally failing to disclose disqualifying conflicts of interest in big bankruptcy cases, saying the founder doesn't have standing to sue under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
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July 03, 2024
Cooley DQ'd From IP Case Over Atty's Past Patent Work
Cooley LLP was disqualified on Wednesday from representing a pharmaceutical customer-support software company against patent infringement claims in Delaware, with the district court citing a Cooley partner's prior work representing the plaintiff and Cooley's refusal to screen its attorney.
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July 03, 2024
Contentious Ala. Gender Care Case Partly Paused
Favoring "judicial efficiency," an Alabama federal court has partially granted the Biden administration's opposed motion to stay a case challenging the state's ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a similar Tennessee ban, though some briefing, including for summary judgment, was permitted to proceed.
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July 03, 2024
High Court Rulings Thwart Judge Romance Suit, Firm Says
Jackson Walker LLP urged a Texas federal court Wednesday to consider its argument that two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on standing prevent a former shareholder in an engineering company from pursuing a racketeering lawsuit over a bankruptcy judge's concealed romantic relationship with an ex-firm attorney.
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July 03, 2024
Feds Can't Get Atty Communications With NJ Fraudster Yet
A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid from prosecutors to get access to communications between convicted, and later pardoned, fraudster Eliyahu Weinstein and an Israeli attorney who admitted to participating in an alleged Ponzi scheme, ruling it is too early for the court to determine if the information is privileged.
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July 03, 2024
Akerman Beats DQ Bid In Sneaker Product IP Battle
Akerman LLP can't be disqualified from defending a manufacturing company against claims that it stole from a social media influencer it partnered with to sell sneaker care products, a California federal judge has ruled.
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July 03, 2024
4 Mass. Rulings You Might Have Missed In June
Massachusetts state courts last month dealt with thorny contract disputes, mistakenly disclosed emails between a defendant and an attorney, and a company's overtime policy change that may not have been spelled out to workers.
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July 03, 2024
Baldwin Says 1993 Movie Set Death Irrelevant To 'Rust' Case
With his trial scheduled to begin next week, Alec Baldwin's legal team and New Mexico state prosecutors are wrangling over whether jurors in the "Rust" shooting case should hear that the actor knew the dangers of using real guns on film sets, in part due to the well-known on-set shooting death of actor Brandon Lee in 1993.
Expert Analysis
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Perspectives
A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial
Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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Noncompetes Hold Atty Privilege Pitfalls For Health Industry
Providers negotiating with medical professionals bound by enforceable restrictive covenants must tread carefully due to not only risk of breaching physicians' covenants but also risk of wrongful conduct that pierces attorney-client privilege, says Scott O'Connell at Holland & Knight.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory
Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.
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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.