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Legal Ethics
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August 22, 2024
Panel Backs Sex Misconduct Findings About Ex-Alaska Judge
A judicial conference review panel affirmed Thursday the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council's finding that former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred of the District of Alaska had an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with a law clerk and created a hostile work environment.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive PwC's $2.5M Sanction Against LA
The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously restored a $2.5 million sanction sought by PwC against the city of Los Angeles for pervasive discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing fight, finding that the trial court had the authority to impose monetary sanctions under the state's Code of Civil Procedure.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices OK Argentine Atty's Uber Fraud Fight
California justices gave an Argentinian lawyer a green light Thursday to pursue allegations that Uber fraudulently hid crucial information as he represented Uber before its Buenos Aires launch, clarifying that his tort fraudulent-concealment claim is not necessarily barred by the so-called economic loss doctrine if his employment contract never contemplated the alleged fraud.
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August 22, 2024
Texas Appeals Knocks $1M Hernia Mesh Fee Ask Down To $135K
A Texas appeals court on Wednesday upheld an arbitration award of $135,000 in attorney's fees in a decadeslong hernia mesh litigation dispute while denying the firm's request for $1 million.
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August 22, 2024
5th Circ. Says No Tolling For COVID, Trims Atty's Conviction
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday knocked a false statement charge off Houston attorney Richard Plezia's conviction for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar ambulance-chasing kickback scheme but upheld the rest of his conviction, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by helping another lawyer evade federal income taxes.
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August 22, 2024
Denver Firm Says Ex-Client's Settlement Bars Malpractice Suit
The Denver law firm of Fairfield and Woods PC is firing back at a malpractice suit in which it's accused of causing a former client more than a million dollars in damages, saying the client had already settled with the firm and agreed not to sue.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Atty Can't Beat Sanctions In Geragos Malpractice Suit
A California state appeals court on Wednesday affirmed $23,000 in sanctions for discovery violations on the part of a lawyer representing clients in a malpractice case against Hollywood litigator Mark Geragos.
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August 22, 2024
Nadine Menendez's Bribery Trial Delayed Until 2025
The bribery trial of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's wife is delayed until at least January because she is being treated for cancer, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday.
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August 22, 2024
NY AG Tells Appeals Court To Uphold $465M Trump Judgment
Donald Trump has barely challenged the extensive proof of financial statement lies undergirding a $465 million civil fraud judgment against him and his co-defendants, New York's attorney general said in an appeals brief looking to preserve the bench verdict.
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August 22, 2024
Fla. Immigration Attorney Also Disbarred In NY
A Miami immigration attorney who was disbarred in Florida earlier this year received another blow Thursday when the New York Supreme Court decided that he could no longer practice in its state either.
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August 22, 2024
Morgan & Morgan Wants Malpractice Claims In Arbitration
Morgan & Morgan PA's Jacksonville, Florida, office is pushing back against a former client's claim that the arbitration agreement between them was "unconscionable," saying he failed to produce any evidence proving as much.
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August 22, 2024
Tom Girardi Takes The Stand In His Criminal Fraud Trial
Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi took the stand Thursday in his California federal fraud trial and denied stealing from any of his clients, while also showing a strong grasp of past events and people but claiming to have no memory of the trial's witnesses and key moments, or to even know his own lawyer's name.
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August 22, 2024
Insurer, Atty Drop Case Linked To Bogus Check Scheme
An insurance firm has agreed to drop its claim seeking a declaration from a Washington federal court that it is not on the hook to cover a Seattle-area solo practitioner over an alleged counterfeit check scheme, after the bank and attorney settled their underlying dispute.
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August 21, 2024
Girardi Faked Dementia Symptoms, Neurologist Testifies
A neurologist with Vanderbilt University testified Wednesday in Tom Girardi's criminal fraud trial in California federal court that the disbarred attorney was likely exaggerating his cognitive problems in late 2020 just as his law firm imploded into bankruptcy and his legal problems mounted because he believed it would be "beneficial."
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August 21, 2024
Judge Skeptical Ex-Murder Suspect Can Sue Embattled DA
A Colorado federal judge appeared to have doubts Wednesday about the prospects of a malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by a man initially charged with the murder of his wife, asking how the lawsuit can defeat immunity for police and prosecutors.
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August 21, 2024
10th Circ. Says Ex-Prosecutor Still Hasn't Proven Immunity
A Tenth Circuit panel on Wednesday said a former Denver deputy district attorney had not yet proven that she was entitled to qualified immunity in a malicious-prosecution case dating back more than a decade, the second time the appeals court has reversed a procedural win for the prosecutor.
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August 21, 2024
Texas Law Firm Cleared Of Overcharging Criminal Client
A Texas appellate court cleared Austin law firm Minton Bassett Flores & Carsey PC of breaching its fiduciary duties and delaying a trial date to rake in more legal fees from a criminal defendant, upholding the trial court's decision to dismiss the case in a Wednesday opinion.
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August 21, 2024
9th Circ. Lets Atty Fight Against $8M Malicious Prosecution
A Nevada attorney may take to the federal court to challenge an Arizona state court's civil judgment finding him liable for malicious prosecution, the Ninth Circuit determined Wednesday, finding the federal district court was wrong to toss his claims on the grounds they were barred by jurisdictional precedent established in the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
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August 21, 2024
USPTO Beats Atty's FOIA Suit Over Ethics Probe
A California trademark lawyer who says he has been facing a disciplinary matter at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over whether his associates let their assistants sign for them on trademark applications could not use a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get more information from the agency about the origins of that accusation.
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August 21, 2024
Judge Accused Of Locking Up Girl Who Dozed In Courtroom
A teenage girl filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Michigan federal court against a state judge who she says had her handcuffed and detained after she fell asleep during a class presentation in his courtroom and berated her in a mock version of the reality show "Scared Straight" that played out on the court's YouTube platform.
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August 21, 2024
How AI Could Shake Up Federal Evidence Rules
Judges, lawyers and academics say it's only a matter of time before the breakneck development of artificial intelligence collides with a cautious, slow-moving judicial system and gives rise to a thorny array of evidentiary issues. They're just not sure what to do about it.
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August 21, 2024
Dems At DNC Push For High Court Reform
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday made the case at an event adjacent to the Democratic National Convention that U.S. Supreme Court reform is an issue that everyday Americans should care about and championed the progress made thus far.
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August 21, 2024
Oath Keepers Atty Pleads Guilty In Jan. 6 Case
A former attorney for the far-right Oath Keepers group pled guilty Wednesday to charges connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, copping to entering restricted Capitol grounds and advising Oath Keepers affiliates to delete incriminating digital evidence following the riot.
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August 21, 2024
Kline & Specter, Ex-Firm Atty Partially Resolve Legal Battle
The legal battle between Kline & Specter and an attorney who formerly worked at the firm, Thomas Bosworth, has eased somewhat with the settlement of three lawsuits involving the parties.
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August 21, 2024
Travelers Settles With Pa. Firm Over Stealing $1M From Client
A Pennsylvania federal judge dismissed an insurance coverage dispute Wednesday, in light of a settlement between Travelers Insurance and a closed Pennsylvania law firm whose principal attorney was disbarred after he pled guilty to stealing almost $1 million from clients.
Expert Analysis
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Crypto Gatekeepers May Be The Next Front Of Enforcement
Lawyers and other professionals who advise cryptocurrency companies should beware regulators' increasing focus on gatekeeper accountability, and should take several measures to fulfill their ethical and legal obligations, including implementing a robust vetting mechanism when representing crypto clients, say Temidayo Aganga-Williams and Xinchen Li at Selendy Gay.
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Series
Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.
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Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing
Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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5 Defense Lessons From Prosecutors' Recent Evidence Flubs
The recent dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charges, and the filing of an ethics complaint against a former D.C. prosecutor, both provide takeaways for white collar defense counsel who suspect that prosecutors may be withholding or misrepresenting evidence, say Anden Chow at MoloLamken and Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Unpacking Executive Privilege, Contempt In Recent Cases
The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is the latest example in a growing trend of executive privilege disputes, and serves as a warning to private citizens and corporate leaders who are in communication with the president, says Kristina Moore at Womble Bond.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.