Legal Ethics

  • March 21, 2025

    Conn. Firm Appeals Client's Win In Suit Over Email Scam

    The Connecticut law firm Mancini Provenzano & Futtner LLC says it will appeal a negligence verdict won by a client after a fraudster infiltrated one of its attorney's emails and tricked the client into wiring $90,586 to an incorrect account.

  • March 21, 2025

    Pa. Attorney's Discovery Dispute Leads To Sanction Threat

    A plaintiffs attorney's discovery demands and insistence that a defendant follow his firm's "mandatory" electronic discovery procedures have led a Pennsylvania federal judge to threaten sanctions over the lawyer's alleged failure to try to resolve disputes in good faith, according to court filings in a pregnancy-discrimination case.

  • March 21, 2025

    High Court Says Misleading Statements To FDIC Not Criminal

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a Seventh Circuit ruling that upheld the conviction of a former Chicago alderman for making false statements about loans from a defunct bank, clarifying that the federal law in question criminalizes false statements but not those that are merely misleading.

  • March 20, 2025

    Trump Rescinds Paul Weiss Order After Firm Strikes Deal

    President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will rescind an executive order suspending security clearances held by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP employees after the law firm agreed to not adopt DEI hiring practices and to provide $40 million worth of pro bono services to support administration initiatives.

  • March 20, 2025

    Fox News Host Wins Atty Fees Over Failed Defamation Row

    A New York federal judge on Thursday ordered a former business associate of Hunter Biden and an attorney to pay more than $331,000 in attorney fees to a Fox News analyst they targeted in a failed defamation lawsuit, saying the analyst's counsel didn't engage in "duplicative" and "opportunistic" billing practices.

  • March 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Judge Takes Aim At Calif. Gun Ruling On YouTube

    A Ninth Circuit judge on Thursday took to YouTube to issue a dissent over the court's decision to ban in California all high-capacity magazines for weapons, a move that several of his fellow judges lamented as "wildly improper" and said they needed to address "lest the genre proliferate."

  • March 20, 2025

    LA Hit With Sanctions Request In Encampment Sweep Lawsuit

    Homeless residents accused the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office of hiding documents they requested in their suit challenging the constitutionality of encampment sweeps, asking a California federal court for case-ending sanctions for the second time in two weeks.

  • March 20, 2025

    Payday Lender Gets Appeal On Lawyer's Blackmail Conflict

    The Second Circuit has decided to let a former payday lending executive, now incarcerated on charges that he ran a fraudulent $2 billion lending scheme, move ahead with a new appeal after hearing that his trial counsel faced blackmail from another client.

  • March 20, 2025

    Philadelphia Inquirer Gets OK For Data Breach Class Deal

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has given the final okay to a $525,000 settlement that resolves litigation against the Philadelphia Inquirer alleging the paper failed to protect the personal information of over 25,000 people compromised by a cyberattack.

  • March 20, 2025

    Faegre Drinker Faces Sanctions Bid In Trump IP Song Suit

    Isaac Hayes' estate urged a Georgia federal judge Thursday to sanction a conservative political group and its Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath counsel in a copyright lawsuit over President Donald Trump's playing of Hayes' "Hold On, I'm Comin'" hit song at rallies, arguing they filed a "frivolous" dismissal bid.

  • March 20, 2025

    Attys Suing FIFA Appear To Have Used AI In Fighting DQ Bid

    A Puerto Rico federal judge is threatening sanctions for attorneys accusing soccer's international governing body, its Puerto Rican affiliate and a regional soccer association of trying to block local rivals, after the attorneys appeared to use artificial intelligence to help write briefs containing citations to nonexistent cases.

  • March 20, 2025

    Ga. Judge Defends 'Daddy Issues' Detention In Divorce Case

    An Atlanta trial judge facing allegations that she intervened on behalf of her uncle in a legal proceeding and had a woman locked in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing called Wednesday for the ethics charges against her to be dismissed, arguing her due process rights were violated by a watchdog commission.

  • March 20, 2025

    Former Ohio Atty Admits To Lying To FBI In Trafficking Probe

    A former Columbus, Ohio, criminal defense attorney pled guilty in federal court to making false statements to the FBI regarding a cooperating witness he represented in a drug and sex trafficking probe the bureau was pursuing, acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti announced Thursday.

  • March 20, 2025

    Fla. Judges Cleared To Open Flight School, Join Condo Panel

    In separate opinions, Florida's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee said it would be OK for a judge to open a flight training school, and for a judge to volunteer on the subcommittee for a condominium association's board of directors.

  • March 20, 2025

    Feds Seek 3-Year Sentence For Med Mal Atty's Extortion Ploy

    Federal prosecutors are seeking a three-year prison sentence for a prominent Baltimore attorney found guilty of a $25 million extortion attempt against the University of Maryland Medical Center over false claims that the hospital knowingly transplanted "diseased" and rejected organs into patients.

  • March 20, 2025

    Berger Singerman Rips Bid To Save Fla. Malpractice Suit

    Berger Singerman LLP and one of its attorneys have asked a Florida state court once again to toss a malpractice lawsuit related to hurricane damages brought by former client ARC Resorts LLC, saying the business is seeking to "dodge dismissal through obfuscation."

  • March 20, 2025

    NJ Firm Can't Force Arbitration Of Ex-Leader's Firing Suit

    New Jersey personal injury firm Ginarte Gonzalez & Winograd LLP cannot steer a former managing partner who claims the firm retaliated against him for protected activity into arbitration after it waived the right to arbitrate his claims before a judge, a state appellate court ruled Thursday.

  • March 20, 2025

    NH Justice Can't Use Immunity To Escape Criminal Charges

    New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, indicted last year on charges she interfered with the state attorney general's investigation of her husband, has lost her second bid to dismiss the case, with a state judge rejecting her judicial immunity argument.

  • March 20, 2025

    'Jailhouse Lawyer' Ran Unauthorized Practice, NY Jury Finds

    A Manhattan federal jury on Thursday convicted a longtime "jailhouse lawyer" who began charging inmates' families for legal services after serving prison time himself, finding he engaged in the unauthorized practice of law but clearing him on a conspiracy count.

  • March 19, 2025

    Judge Tells DOJ To Alert All Agencies Of Perkins Coie Ruling

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday directed the Trump administration to tell all federal agencies to rescind requests for disclosures about government and contractor relationships with Perkins Coie LLP, following an order last week blocking enforcement of the president's executive order against the Seattle-based law firm.

  • March 19, 2025

    Ohio Judge Blasts Fla. Atty In Opioid MDL For False Statements

    The Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation has sanctioned a Florida attorney who represents 15 municipal subdivision plaintiffs for repeatedly stating that members of their attorney leadership team regularly engaged in improper communications with the court.

  • March 19, 2025

    Fla. Judge Mulls Appointing 3rd Party Atty In Chiquita MDL

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday said he is considering appointing a third-party lawyer to advise clients in a multidistrict litigation case on whether they should settle or pursue claims of Chiquita funding a Colombian right-wing paramilitary group that committed war crimes against civilians in Colombia, following arguments from attorneys.

  • March 19, 2025

    Abortion Case May Be Just The Start For Empowered Paxton

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's announcement of the first criminal charges under the state's abortion ban comes amid a political shift in which lawmakers are increasingly willing to empower the state's top legal office, potentially setting up a court battle over how much clout the AG should wield.

  • March 19, 2025

    Calif. Panel Probes Disbarring Eastman Over 2020 Election

    An appeals panel appeared unlikely Wednesday to reverse a California State Bar judge's finding that John Eastman, a former attorney for President Donald Trump, engaged in misconduct when he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election, but questioned whether disbarment is the appropriate punishment.

  • March 19, 2025

    Jury Deliberates Fraud Charges Against 'Jailhouse Lawyer'

    A Manhattan federal jury on Wednesday weighed charges accusing a longtime "jailhouse lawyer" of unauthorized practice of law, conspiracy and fraud after he began charging inmates and their families for legal services upon leaving prison.

Expert Analysis

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence

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    As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

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