Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Legal Ethics
-
January 09, 2025
CFPB Bars Ex-Agency Attys From Revived Innovation Policies
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said it will not consider applications for its rebooted no-action letter and compliance sandbox policies when those applications are submitted by financial service companies represented by former bureau attorneys as outside counsel.
-
January 09, 2025
Vape Laptop Hacking Suit Belongs In Court, Co. Says
A vape-maker has urged a California federal court to deny a bid by the founder of vape distributor Next Level to arbitrate the manufacturer's claims that he broke into a laptop to access its confidential information, saying he's not a signatory to an underlying arbitration agreement.
-
January 09, 2025
Law Firm Cleared, Murdaugh Pal Liable In Insurance Trial
A federal jury in South Carolina has found that a lawyer tied to Alex Murdaugh owes insurer Nautilus over $1 million for a role in an insurance fraud that was perpetrated when Murdaugh's housekeeper died, while a law firm was cleared of liability.
-
January 09, 2025
Tribe's Atty Looks To Ax Remaining Claims In $14.6M Suit
An attorney who has represented the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma as general counsel has asked a federal judge in a $14.6 million racketeering and breach of contract dispute against a computer management company to toss the case or pause it pending a circuit court appeal.
-
January 09, 2025
Pharma Co. Says Ex-CEO's Bias Allegations Come Up Short
Canadian biopharmaceutical company FSD Pharma Inc. is urging the Third Circuit to affirm the enforcement of a $2 million arbitral award against its ex-CEO, arguing Wednesday that the former executive's allegations of bias against the arbitrator have already been rejected.
-
January 09, 2025
Suspended Atty Seeks To Avoid Prison Over Payroll Tax Fraud
A suspended Ohio attorney who managed his wife's dental practice and admitted causing a $750,000 tax loss by failing to pay over employment taxes asked a federal court Thursday to spare him a prison sentence, saying he is not the "greedy liar" depicted by federal prosecutors.
-
January 09, 2025
Supreme Court Declines To Halt Trump's NY Sentencing
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied Donald Trump's request to halt New York criminal proceedings in his hush money case, clearing the way for a state judge to sentence the president-elect on Friday, days before he takes the oath of office.
-
January 09, 2025
Ex-Knick Wants MSG Sanctioned Over Lost Emails
Former New York Knicks player Charles Oakley informed a Manhattan federal judge he intends to seek sanctions over a set of lost emails involving a group of Madison Square Garden employees that he alleges assaulted him when he was ejected as a spectator from a 2017 game.
-
January 09, 2025
Arkansas Justices At Odds Over Chief's Bid To Revive Firings
Members of the Arkansas Supreme Court are at an impasse over the chief justice's attempt to fire 10 state court employees after her fellow justices blocked the move, with her issuing an order to vacate their ruling and them saying her order is a mere dissent with no effect.
-
January 09, 2025
Alito-Trump Phone Call Sparks Unanswered Calls For Recusal
Democratic lawmakers' calls for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse from considering Donald Trump's bid to stay sentencing in his New York hush money case due to a phone call the pair had shortly before the emergency application was filed went unaddressed Thursday.
-
January 09, 2025
NJ Firm Accused Of Malpractice Hid Facts, Insurer Says
An insurer has told a New Jersey federal court that a law firm it insured had no coverage for malpractice allegations because it knew its attorney was accused of bilking a man's heirs out of estate assets years before the firm was sued for wrongdoing, but never told the insurer.
-
January 09, 2025
Atty Survives Ex-Young Conaway Coworker's Assault Claim
A Pennsylvania federal judge said Thursday that a former Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP attorney's assault claim against a onetime colleague at the firm is unviable because substantial proof exists to show that the actions in question were done to defend another person.
-
January 09, 2025
Judge Nixes Bid To Depose SEC Counsel In $73M Fraud Case
A New Jersey federal magistrate judge has denied a credit reporting agency's bid to depose four U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys and to compel the production of their witness interview notes in a civil enforcement action over an alleged $73 million fraud, ruling the information sought is protected by the work-product doctrine.
-
January 09, 2025
Top Oversight Dem Seeks Report On Trump Classified Docs
The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday asked the U.S. Department of Justice for a look at the special counsel report on former President Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents, days after a federal court blocked its publication.
-
January 08, 2025
Consumers Get Class Cert. In Suit Over Law Firm's Robocalls
A West Virginia federal judge has granted class status to consumers who are accusing a plaintiffs' firm of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by blasting them with unsolicited calls seeking their participation in litigation against the federal government over contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
-
January 08, 2025
Atty Wants Sanctions Mention Axed In NFL Merch Case
An attorney representing himself in a lawsuit seeking a court order saying he is allowed to sell unlicensed NFL merchandise took exception with a federal judge's suggestion that the league's merchandising arm may want to move for sanctions.
-
January 08, 2025
Reed Smith Accused Of 'Causing Chaos' In $102M Award Fight
The new owners of reorganized international shipping group Eletson Holdings are continuing their battle with the company's former owners and their counsel at Reed Smith in litigation over a $102 million arbitral award, alleging the BigLaw firm's "obstructionist conduct" is "causing chaos."
-
January 08, 2025
Madigan Denies Extorting Developers For Law Firm Business
Ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan testified Wednesday that he never wanted a Chicago alderman to leverage his chairmanship of a powerful city council committee to steer business to Madigan's law firm, saying he merely asked for introductions to developers and felt "surprise and concern" when the alderman referenced a quid pro quo deal.
-
January 08, 2025
Feds Ask To Release Report On Trump's DC Case, But Not Fla.
Special counsel Jack Smith asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to deny Donald Trump's request to block the publication of a report on the now-abandoned federal election-meddling case against the president-elect in D.C. federal court, but said the Justice Department will hold off on releasing a report regarding the classified-documents case in Florida, where two co-defendants remain under indictment.
-
January 08, 2025
Jay-Z Wants Sanctions Against Buzbee In Diddy Rape Suit
Rapper Jay-Z asked Wednesday that Texas attorney Tony Buzbee be sanctioned for filing a lawsuit accusing him and embattled rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl, claiming inconsistencies in the girl's story show Buzbee "knowingly filed a false complaint."
-
January 08, 2025
Fla. Atty Can't Beat Contempt Ruling Over Failed Apology
A Florida state appeals panel on Wednesday agreed that an attorney was in indirect criminal contempt when he failed to post an apology on a consumer reporting website as part of a settlement in his former counsel's suit against him over disparaging and allegedly defamatory comments made on the site.
-
January 08, 2025
Colo. Criminal Atty Censured For Harassing Comments
A Colorado criminal lawyer has been censured for sexual comments he allegedly made to two female student lawyers working for a local prosecutor.
-
January 08, 2025
Judge Laments Atty's $32K Sanctions Saga In Tasty Bias Case
A Pennsylvania judge expressed disappointment Wednesday about the need for a $32,000 sanction against an attorney accused of flouting deadlines in his client's employment discrimination claims against Tasty Baking Co., noting that "it didn't have to be this way."
-
January 08, 2025
Ohio Judge's License Reinstated Days After Retirement News
A former Cleveland judge's license to practice was reinstated Wednesday following a one-year suspension on ethics charges stating he pushed plea deals on defendants, made racially insensitive comments to them and ordered excessive contempt sentences for relatively minor infractions, days after the judge announced his retirement.
-
January 08, 2025
Arbitrator In Virus Coverage Case Wasn't Biased, Panel Says
A New York state appeals panel affirmed a trial court's decision refusing to disqualify a Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP partner as an arbitrator in proceedings between a Zurich unit and the operator of Saks Fifth Avenue over coverage for COVID-19 losses.
Expert Analysis
-
Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.
-
Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where
During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.