Legal Ethics

  • December 11, 2024

    Law Firm Must Share Files, Face Malpractice Claim, Suit Says

    A mining company wants Pittsburgh-based Sherrard German & Kelly PC to hand over its files regarding the representation of a former client who was on the losing end of a multimillion-dollar judgment in 2022 and assigned its malpractice claim to the mining company.

  • December 10, 2024

    Paul Hastings Says Biz Waived Privilege On Malpractice Docs

    Paul Hastings LLP has called on a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to force GenapSys Inc., known as Redwood Liquidating Co. since its bankruptcy, to turn over documents that it had inadvertently produced in a legal malpractice suit alleging that the law firm improperly drafted board documents that led to the "demise and liquidation" of the genetic-sequencing company.

  • December 10, 2024

    Arb. Award 'Unjust' Enough To Toss? Ga. Justices Ponder

    Justices of Georgia's Supreme Court appeared to agree Tuesday that arbitration of a dispute between a medical provider and its contractor unjustly turned into a one-sided affair, but hesitated to endorse the argument that the issues raised warrant throwing out the arbitrator's $1.75 million award in the contractor's favor.

  • December 10, 2024

    Jay-Z Says PI Atty Buzbee Has History Of False Diddy Claims

    Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's lawyers told a New York federal judge on Tuesday that the law firm of Tony Buzbee, a high-profile personal injury attorney suing the music mogul for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs, tried to pressure a different woman into leveling false sexual assault claims against Diddy.

  • December 10, 2024

    McGrath Kavinoky Denied Arbitration With 'Bullied' Clients

    A California judge on Tuesday denied McGrath Kavinoky LLP's bid to arbitrate allegations it "bullied" clients into accepting a share of $374 million in settlements for women who say they were sexually abused by a UCLA Health gynecologist, finding the situation "presents a problem" for the firm.

  • December 10, 2024

    Tool Co. Fights Bid To DQ Law Firm In Whistleblower Case

    A tool company pushed back on a bid to disqualify a Smith Gilliam Williams & Miles PA attorney from representing it in a former employee's False Claims Act suit, saying documents made available to the firm when a different firm attorney represented the ex-employee in a domestic matter have no bearing on the case.

  • December 10, 2024

    NC Law Firm, Insurer Drop Phishing Coverage Row

    A law firm specializing in real estate transactions and its cyber insurer told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday they've agreed to settle their dispute over coverage for a phishing scam the firm said caused it to unwittingly wire roughly $647,000 to the hacker's bank account.

  • December 10, 2024

    BigLaw Firms Freed From Bankruptcy Judge Romance Suit

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Jackson Walker LLP have officially escaped an investor's racketeering lawsuit alleging a conspiracy involving a former Texas bankruptcy judge and his secret romance with a former Jackson Walker partner.

  • December 10, 2024

    SEC Says Xtreme Fighting CEO And GC Defrauded Investors

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Xtreme Fighting Championships and CEO Steven Smith of defrauding investors by selling millions of dollars of stock in the martial arts organization without disclosing the involvement of Smith or its criminally charged general counsel, according to a Florida federal lawsuit.

  • December 10, 2024

    NY DA Says Trump's 'President-Elect Immunity Does Not Exist'

    Prosecutors told the New York state judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money case that "president-elect immunity does not exist" and that the court could delay sentencing — or even "terminate" the case without dismissing it.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ex-Judge Accused Of 'Abusive Relationship' With Prosecutor

    A federal prosecutor in Alaska has accused former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred of coercing her into a sexually charged "abusive relationship" in the midst of a criminal trial that took place earlier this year, according to unsealed documents that shed new light on misconduct allegations against the jurist.

  • December 10, 2024

    NJ Atty Hits Law Firm With Pregnancy Bias, Retaliation Suit

    A New Jersey lawyer has been hit with pregnancy discrimination and whistleblower claims by a former attorney at his firm who alleges that she was punished after announcing her pregnancy and for reporting what she believed to be fraudulent billing practices.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ex-Denver Juvenile Judge Censured For Drinking On The Job

    Colorado justices have censured a former state judge on Denver's juvenile court after he fired an employee who reported him for drinking while he was supposed to be working.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ga. Justices Reject Bid To Overturn Judicial Election Win

    The Georgia Supreme Court dismissed a bid to overturn the May election of Jeffrey Davis as a state appellate judge because Davis allegedly wasn't a Peach State resident, finding Tuesday the challengers didn't use "every available means" to resolve their allegations prior to the election.

  • December 10, 2024

    Diddy's Antagonist, Atty Buzbee, Accused Of Bilking Seaman

    Houston personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee — known lately for bringing sexual assault lawsuits against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs — didn't bring the "glitz and bravado" of his high profile law practice to his representation of an injured Louisiana seaman, according to a new federal lawsuit accusing Buzbee and his firm of fraud.

  • December 10, 2024

    Keller Postman Seeks To DQ Jenner & Block In Tubi Fight

    Keller Postman LLC wants Jenner & Block LLP sanctioned and disqualified for a "shocking pattern of unethical conduct" — which allegedly includes hiring a private investigator to interrogate the firm's clients — in a lawsuit accusing Keller Postman of filing thousands of "fraudulent" arbitration claims against streaming service Tubi Inc.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ex-NJ Workers' Comp Judge Loses Appeal Over Removal

    The New Jersey state appeals court on Tuesday affirmed the removal of a workers' compensation judge in part over comments she made calling fellow judges "snake" and "thief," finding Gov. Phil Murphy followed the applicable rules in taking her off the bench.

  • December 10, 2024

    PierFerd Dropped From Suit Over Atty's Alleged Double-Cross

    Pierson Ferdinand LLP has been cut loose from a recent lawsuit accusing a firm partner of helping to defraud a client he represented during stints at three other BigLaw firms including DLA Piper and Ballard Spahr LLP.

  • December 10, 2024

    Atty Avoids Suspension For Threatening To Sue Associate

    The managing partner of a Hartford, Connecticut, personal injury and employment law firm has escaped a proposed one-year suspension after he admitted that he threatened to sue a departing associate and his new firm, with a judge calling an ethics opinion unclear and concluding the partner already learned his lesson.

  • December 10, 2024

    Paralegal Defends Hawley Troxell Wage, Termination Claims

    A former paralegal for Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley LLP has asked an Idaho federal judge to reject a bid to dismiss wage and wrongful termination claims from her suit against the firm, arguing that it failed to take into account the entire scope of the wage claim.

  • December 10, 2024

    Atty Recommended For Sanctions After 'Bad Faith' Filings

    A Florida magistrate judge has recommended sanctioning an attorney representing a franchisee in a contract dispute with CBD American Shaman LLC, saying his duplicate filings — including four motions to reconsider a single order — amount to bad faith.

  • December 10, 2024

    Biden Threatens To Veto Bipartisan Effort To Add Judgeships

    The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto legislation that would increase the number of federal judgeships nationwide after the measure lost support among Democrats postelection.

  • December 09, 2024

    Pro Se Giuliani Says 4 Attys Turned Him Down, Blames Judge

    Rudy Giuliani on Monday secured extra time to fight Georgia poll workers' request that he be held in civil contempt, time Giuliani argued he needed because he's struggling to find an attorney to represent him in the case thanks to a D.C. federal judge being "biased about Trump-related matters."

  • December 09, 2024

    Judge Newman Says Fed. Circ. Threatened Her To Seal Filings

    U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman asked the D.C. Circuit Monday to unseal supplemental documents attached to her opening brief arguing that the suspension her colleagues have imposed on her for refusing to participate in an investigation into her fitness to serve as a Federal Circuit judge was unconstitutional.

  • December 09, 2024

    Akin Gump 'Totally Messed Up' With Texts, Vaxart Judge Says

    A California federal judge asked by Vaxart investors to impose sanctions over a hedge fund's deleted text messages in a case claiming Vaxart inflated its stock price with deceptive headlines about a COVID-19 vaccine said Monday that the fund's lawyers at Akin Gump "totally, totally messed up."

Expert Analysis

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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?

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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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