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Legal Ethics
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March 13, 2025
Smartmatic Wants MyPillow CEO Held In Contempt
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell hasn't paid the sanctions he owes to Smartmatic for filing "frivolous claims" against the voting systems company, Smartmatic told a D.C. federal judge in an effort to hold him in civil contempt.
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March 13, 2025
Sandy Hook Families Oppose Revived Infowars Sale Bid
Families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have urged a Texas bankruptcy judge to block an Alex Jones-affiliated company's revived bid to buy his Infowars platform, saying it will cause delays in the more than three-year-old related bankruptcy cases.
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March 13, 2025
Law Firm Helped Fintech CEO Undercut $1.7B Deal, Suit Says
A fintech startup that went belly up after a $1.7 billion deal to take it public fell apart told a Texas federal court that Chapman and Cutler LLP helped the startup's CEO stab it in the back, saying in a Thursday complaint the firm breached its fiduciary duties.
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March 13, 2025
Md. Judges Told Not To Advise Bar Members On Trump EOs
Maryland state judges who participate in bar association events intended to review and provide legal analysis of presidential executive orders could be seen as practicing law or engaging in partisan political activity and should avoid such activities, the state Judicial Ethics Committee says.
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March 13, 2025
Chaitman Wants NJ Malpractice Suit Axed For Delays
Chaitman LLP has asked a New Jersey state judge to dismiss a long-pending legal malpractice action stemming from real estate litigation, arguing its former clients who brought the suit have repeatedly failed to produce expert witnesses for depositions, "severely prejudicing the defendants."
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March 13, 2025
After Court Loss, DA Willis To Turn Over Trump Probe Docs
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has told a Georgia state court that she will respond to the subpoenas from a state Senate committee investigating whether her personal relationship with a special prosecutor amounted to misconduct in her prosecution of President Donald Trump in an election interference case after previously losing her bid to quash the subpoenas.
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March 13, 2025
5th Circ. Sides With NLRB On Reconsidered Exxon Ruling
The National Labor Relations Board didn't overstep by wiping out and rethinking a decision involving an Exxon Mobil unit after learning a member had a stake in the company, the Fifth Circuit said, enforcing the board's ruling that the company sabotaged negotiations with a union.
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March 13, 2025
Solicitor General Pick, 2 More DOJ Noms Go To Full Senate
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted out of committee the nomination of President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, Dean John Sauer, to be solicitor general and two other nominees for major U.S. Department of Justice roles, all along party lines.
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March 13, 2025
Alex Jones' Sandy Hook Atty Suspended Over Info Release
Former Alex Jones attorney Norm Pattis will be suspended from practicing law for two weeks, a Connecticut judge has ruled, capping a three-year ethics saga that started when Pattis asked an associate to send Sandy Hook families' medical records to the Infowars host's Texas bankruptcy lawyer.
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March 12, 2025
7th Circ. Revives Suit By Law Professor Disciplined Over Exam
The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday revived a retaliation claim from a University of a law school professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago who was disciplined for including a redacted racist slur on an exam, saying the professor has plausibly alleged that his academic speech is protected by the First Amendment.
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March 12, 2025
Panel Decries Judge's Watergate Remarks, Axes $2M Verdict
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday vacated a $2 million verdict in a slip-and-fall suit against Walmart, saying the trial court's comments that allegedly missing video evidence was akin to Nixon's actions in the Watergate scandal signaled his preconceived notion that the company improperly destroyed evidence.
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March 12, 2025
Ex-Atty Gets 3 Years In Prison For Using Fake IDs To Get Jobs
A former attorney has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to using false identification in order to obtain jobs at multiple law firms in Florida, California and elsewhere following his disbarment in Ohio, according to federal prosecutors.
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March 12, 2025
COVID Test Device Maker Settles Fed. Circ. Feuds With Rival
A company that makes saliva collection devices used for COVID-19 tests says it will drop out of Federal Circuit appeals fights with Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics stemming from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board canceling 183 of Longhorn's patent claims as a punishment for "egregious abuse of the PTAB process."
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March 12, 2025
Willkie Beats Malpractice Suit Over ERISA Ch. 11 Advice
An Ohio federal judge affirmed Tuesday a bankruptcy court's decision tossing legal malpractice claims filed by a coal company executive's estate against Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, rejecting the estate's arguments it sufficiently alleged Willkie was grossly negligent in failing to warn the estate about a potential $6.5 billion ERISA liability.
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March 12, 2025
Kroger Waited Too Long To Seek Sanctions, Judge Says
An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday denied Kroger's bid to sanction prolific consumer advocate lawyer Spencer Sheehan for filing a meritless suit over the effectiveness of its lidocaine patches, saying the amount of time it took to file the motion "is not reasonable by any stretch of the imagination."
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March 12, 2025
Judge Blocks Order Limiting Perkins Coie Government Access
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday halted enforcement of the Trump administration's executive order against law firm Perkins Coie LLP that cited issues including its representation of Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential run, calling the order "viewpoint discrimination, plain and simple."
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March 12, 2025
As Perkins Coie Fights Order, How Will Other Firms Respond?
Perkins Coie LLP, represented by Williams & Connolly LLP, is challenging President Donald Trump's executive order revoking its security clearance and launching investigations into its diversity efforts. But other firms have remained silent, raising questions about the order's potential effects on how firms handle public policy litigation, publicly support their right to defend all clients and pursue hiring initiatives.
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March 12, 2025
Widow Blames Lawyer's Death On Heat From Atty, Biz Partner
A lawyer who co-founded a successful college athletics database took his own life after both his former business partner and his personal attorney falsely accused him of stealing from the company and sought to take control of his assets as repayment, his family said in a state court complaint that seeks to sort through the "financial wreckage."
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March 12, 2025
US Trustee Seeks Sanctions Against NY Lawyer
The federal bankruptcy watchdog asked a New York judge Wednesday to sanction a lawyer who allegedly concealed her conflicts of interest while representing a debtor and a buyer in two separate Chapter 11 cases.
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March 12, 2025
Drew Eckl Can't Keep Breakaway Firm In Arbitration Over Fees
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday found that Burke Moore Law Group LLP — founded by former Drew Eckl & Farnham LLP partners and others — cannot be subject to arbitration over fees between Drew Eckl and those ex-firm partners since Burke Moore did not sign the agreement at issue.
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March 12, 2025
Buzbee, Ex-Client Say Roc Nation Can't Exit Conspiracy Suits
Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's company Roc Nation "spearheaded" efforts to launch malpractice suits against the Buzbee Law Firm in retaliation for a lawsuit the firm filed accusing the rap star of rape, so it cannot exit a Texas federal suit over that effort by claiming a lack of jurisdiction, the firm said.
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March 12, 2025
Tony Buzbee Accused Of Duping Another Seaman
Texas personal injury attorney Tony Buzbee and his firm have been hit with another lawsuit from a seaman who alleges that the firm misappropriated payments he received after a 2020 ship injury.
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March 12, 2025
2nd Circ. Upholds Sanctions In Chinese Billionaire's Ch. 11
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday torpedoed an appeal from the daughter of bankrupt Chinese exile Miles Guo — also known as Ho Won Kwok — and her attorney seeking to overturn a nearly $83,400 discovery sanction, saying the contempt ruling was merited.
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March 12, 2025
McCarter & English Wins $3.77M From Ex-Client In Billing Spat
McCarter & English LLP is entitled to nearly $3.77 million from Jarrow Formulas Inc., a nutritional supplement company that refused to pay its legal bills after losing a trade secrets trial and a subsequent malpractice claim against the firm, a Connecticut federal judge has ruled.
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March 12, 2025
Atty Wants Early Win In NJ Malpractice Suit Over Land Dispute
New Jersey sisters who sued Fox Rothschild and a firm attorney over the handling of their late stepfather's estate lack standing to bring their claims, the lawyer argued in a motion for summary judgment, also telling the trial court that the plaintiffs were decades late in filing.
Expert Analysis
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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What Law Firms Should Know Amid Rise In DQ Motions
As disqualification motions proliferate, law firms need to be aware of the types of conflicts that most often lead to disqualification, the types of attorneys who may be affected and how to reduce their exposure to these motions, says Matthew Henderson at Hinshaw.
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Data Protection Steps To Consider After Biden Privacy Order
A recent White House executive order casts a spotlight on the criticality of securing sensitive content communications, presenting challenges and necessitating a recalibration of practices, especially for lawyers, says Camilo Artiga-Purcell at Kiteworks.
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Surveying Legislative Trends As States Rush To Regulate AI
With Congress unlikely to pass comprehensive artificial intelligence legislation any time soon, just four months into 2024, nearly every state has introduced legislation aimed at the development and use of AI on subjects from algorithmic discrimination risk to generative AI disclosures, say David Kappos and Sasha Rosenthal-Larrea at Cravath.
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How Duty Of Candor Figures In USPTO AI Ethics Guidance
The duty of candor and good faith is an important part of the artificial intelligence ethics guidance issued last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and serious consequences can visit patent and trademark applicants who violate that duty, not just their attorneys and agents, says Michael Cicero at Taylor English.
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Series
Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law
A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.