Legal Ethics

  • January 31, 2025

    Paralegal Says Race, Disability Led To Thompson Coe Sacking

    A former paralegal at Thompson Coe Cousins & Irons LLP sued her ex-employer in Texas state court, alleging she was wrongfully fired because of her race and disability while also accusing the firm of sabotaging her attempts at obtaining future employment at other law firms.

  • January 31, 2025

    Jury Instructions Tainted Ex-State's Atty's Trial, 4th Circ. Hears

    A Fourth Circuit decision from 1938 took center stage Friday as a seemingly divided appellate panel debated whether a jury that found former Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby guilty of mortgage fraud had been improperly instructed on where the crime occurred.

  • January 31, 2025

    NJ Firm Blasts Pier Investment Suit As 'Shameless Fiction'

    Hankin Sandman Palladino Weintrob & Bell has urged a New Jersey federal court to toss a Garden State couple's legal malpractice lawsuit over their investment in an Atlantic City Boardwalk amusement park, arguing that their claims are barred by the state's entire controversy doctrine and are "premised on knowing falsities and fail on the merits."

  • January 31, 2025

    LegalZoom Hit With Racial Bias Suit From Ex-Employee

    A former human resources employee at LegalZoom has hit the legal services company with a discrimination suit in Nevada federal court, alleging she was underpaid compared to her white colleagues doing the same work and retaliated against when she brought up her concerns.

  • January 30, 2025

    Pharmacy Says Its Ex-GC Destroyed Trade Secrets Evidence

    Texas-based Empower Pharmacy on Thursday pressed for sanctions against its former general counsel — who also happens to be a former assistant district attorney in San Antonio — claiming that the lawyer intentionally destroyed a hard drive that contained evidence relevant to Empower's trade secrets suit against a rival pharmacy.

  • January 30, 2025

    Jay-Z Blasts Buzbee For 'Reputation-Destroying Allegations'

    Rapper Jay-Z has doubled down on his bid for sanctions against Texas attorney Tony Buzbee for filing a lawsuit accusing him of raping a 13-year-old with Sean "Diddy" Combs more than 20 years ago, saying the attorney has "weaponized" baseless accusations via social media and TV interviews.

  • January 30, 2025

    Paramount Settles Fee Suit Over Pacquiao-Mayweather Fight

    Paramount Global has settled a nearly decade-old lawsuit over a finder's fee for the lucrative 2015 boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., according to a Thursday notice in California state court.

  • January 30, 2025

    2nd Circ. Sees No Skadden Conflict In Pharma Merger Work

    The Second Circuit on Thursday declined to revive an investor suit alleging a merger between Sumitomo Pharma America Inc. and Myovant Sciences Ltd. was undervalued because the lawyers from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP who helped negotiate the deal had undisclosed conflicts of interest.

  • January 30, 2025

    Colo. Panel Says Atty Errors May Sink Contempt Sanctions

    In a precedential ruling Thursday, a Colorado Court of Appeals panel determined that a party facing a contempt sanction may bring a motion to reconsider premised on challenging the effectiveness of their legal representation.

  • January 30, 2025

    Ga. Businesses 'Over The Moon' With Tort Reform Proposals

    Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp unveiled a long-awaited tort reform package Thursday that, if passed, would limit businesses' premises liability, limit plaintiffs' attorneys' rhetoric around damages and require increased disclosures for third-party litigation funding, among a slew of other proposals.

  • January 30, 2025

    Mich. Judge Says 'Dial It Down' As Insults Fly In DQ Hearing

    A Michigan state court hearing over a motion to compel and disqualify an attorney defending a care facility in a wrongful termination lawsuit devolved into a volley of insults Thursday as lawyers who say they have a history of difficulty with each other slung personal jabs. 

  • January 30, 2025

    Greenberg Traurig Beats Suit From 'Vexatious Litigant' Attorney

    A Florida state appeals court upheld the dismissal of an attorney's lawsuit against Greenberg Traurig PA over its handling of a complaint against him on behalf of the Florida Bar.

  • January 30, 2025

    Atty Should Lose License In Billing Scandal Case, Judge Says

    A San Fernando Valley attorney colluded with attorneys for the city of Los Angeles in a water utility class action for which he received a $1.65 million fee and later sought to hire hackers to spy on the judge presiding over the class suit, a State Bar of California judge has found.

  • January 30, 2025

    Beasley Firm Must Face Ex-Client's Suit Over Med Mal Claim

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Thursday reinstated a legal malpractice lawsuit accusing The Beasley Firm LLC of mishandling a medical malpractice lawsuit, saying the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the law firm.

  • January 30, 2025

    Muscogee Nation Sues Oklahoma DAs In Sovereignty Dispute

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has filed a pair of lawsuits against Oklahoma District Attorneys Carol Iski and Matthew Ballard, accusing them of illegally prosecuting Native Americans for conduct committed on tribal lands despite the Supreme Court's 2020 McGirt ruling, days after the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations moved to intervene in similar U.S. government complaints.

  • January 30, 2025

    SCOTUSblog Publisher Can't Shield Home From Forfeiture

    SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein won't be able to shield his Washington, D.C., residence from forfeiture by substituting various properties in South Carolina as he battles charges that he dodged taxes and used his law firm's money to pay off gambling debts.

  • January 30, 2025

    Storage Co. Says Rothman Gordon Left Behind Files, Big Bills

    The defunct Pittsburgh law firm Rothman Gordon PC has left thousands of file boxes in storage at a contractor's warehouse without paying, and is insisting that the contractor go through the stored records to return files to former clients, according to a lawsuit the storage company filed in Pennsylvania state court.

  • January 29, 2025

    Jones Day Told To Provide Ex-Attys Family Leave Memo

    Jones Day must hand over a memo from December 1993 to two ex-associates suing the firm over its allegedly discriminatory family leave policy, a D.C. federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the firm had placed it "at issue" in the case and waiving any privilege that might have shielded the document.

  • January 29, 2025

    Turkey Producers Say Burford Unit's Suit Is Purely Profit-Led

    Turkey producers fighting consolidated price-fixing claims in Illinois urged a federal judge Tuesday to kick a Burford Capital Investment unit's claims out of the case on summary judgment, arguing the action exists solely because of the litigation funder's drive to profit from a lawsuit.

  • January 29, 2025

    Mich. Judge Doubts Discovery Dispute Should DQ Firm

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday said a law firm's alleged "bad behavior" doesn't necessarily mean it can't represent a former CEO of a solar energy company, telling residents who sought to disqualify the firm because of a supposed conflict that their complaints may be better dealt with through discovery motions.

  • January 29, 2025

    Tom Goldstein Seeks To Shield DC Home In Tax Crimes Case

    Appellate lawyer and SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein asked a Maryland federal judge Wednesday if he could put up three South Carolina properties as collateral for his pretrial release in place of his Washington, D.C., home as he faces charges of tax evasion and mortgage fraud.

  • January 29, 2025

    SCOTUSBlog Publisher Faces Tough Odds In Tax Crimes Case

    SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein, an expert U.S. Supreme Court lawyer accused of paying gambling debts with funds from his law firm and dodging taxes, faces an uphill battle given the considerable amount of evidence the government has already included in an indictment against him, attorneys told Law360. 

  • January 29, 2025

    Amazon Says Docs FTC Wants For Prime Case Are Privileged

    Amazon fired back in a discovery dispute in the Federal Trade Commission's case accusing the e-commerce giant of Prime subscription deception, saying the regulator is not entitled to documents tied to a company meeting because the records reflect legal advice and work product.

  • January 29, 2025

    Appeals Panel Ponders If NC Bar Can Disbar NY-Licensed Atty

    A state appellate panel on Wednesday grappled with the North Carolina State Bar's jurisdiction when it comes to disciplining lawyers who aren't its members, questioning how the agency could disbar an immigration attorney who lives in the Tar Heel State but is licensed in New York.

  • January 29, 2025

    Firm Sued Over Ex-Eagles Player's $43.5M Knee Injury Verdict

    A medical clinic says it was saddled with paying $16 million of a $43.5 million verdict after its attorneys at O'Brien & Ryan LLP failed to properly negotiate a settlement with former Philadelphia Eagles player Chris Maragos in a lawsuit over the treatment of his career-ending injury.

Expert Analysis

  • Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Asserting 'Presence-Of-Counsel' Defense In Securities Trials

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    As illustrated by the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, defense attorneys in securities trials might consider arguing that counsel had some involvement in the conduct at issue — if the more formal advice-of-counsel defense is unavailable and circumstances allow for a privilege waiver, say Joseph Dever and Matthew Elkin at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Key Takeaways From DOJ's Recent FARA Advisory Opinions

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    The U.S. Department of Justice recently published several redacted advisory opinions on the Foreign Agents Registration Act, clarifying its current thinking on when a person or entity is required to register as a foreign agent under the statute, and when they may qualify for an exemption, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley Rein.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • 1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS

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    After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

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