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Legal Ethics
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February 12, 2025
Willkie DQ'd Out Of Franchise Group Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday denied retail chain operator Franchise Group Inc.'s request to retain Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in its Chapter 11, saying issues stemming from a transaction it worked on before the bankruptcy are too central to the company's reorganization plans.
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February 12, 2025
Foley Hoag Must Face Bulk Of Worker's Bias, Wage Suit
A New York federal judge largely denied Foley Hoag LLP's bid to partially escape a Moldovan former employee's lawsuit, saying Wednesday he put forward enough information to back up his claims that the firm discriminated against him because of his Russian heritage and disability.
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February 12, 2025
Client Says Seattle Firm's Bad Advice Cost Him Millions
A former client has targeted Karr Tuttle Campbell in a legal malpractice complaint alleging the Seattle law firm gave him bad advice on the policy limits of related insurance coverage in an underlying case against another law firm, costing the client millions of dollars in a settlement.
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February 12, 2025
Fried Frank Faces Sanctions Bid Over RICO Suit
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP and its client, Tristar Products Inc., are facing a sanctions bid for bringing a RICO lawsuit against Telebrands Corp., with the defendant saying the complaint makes the company and its attorney seem like "alleged criminal masterminds."
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February 12, 2025
Houston Firm Pushes For $30K Sanctions In Back Wages Case
A Houston law firm has urged an appellate court to sanction its former associate for his conduct during a back wages trial, saying that the trial court declined to decide the firm's motion despite having power over the case four months after the verdict.
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February 12, 2025
Connell Foley Can't Refute DQ Bid, NJ Investment Firm Says
A Black-owned investment firm suing New Jersey for discrimination in federal court said the court must disqualify Connell Foley LLP from representing the state because of a conflict of interest, even though the supposedly conflicted attorney has denied any ethical breach.
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February 12, 2025
Texas Bar Suggests Limit On Atty Nondisparagement Clauses
A proposed ethics opinion from the State Bar of Texas says lawyers licensed in the state cannot be bound by nondisparagement clauses that touch on the practice of law but that provisions dealing with their personal speech would be fair game.
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February 12, 2025
Ex-Client Slams Buzbee's Sanctions Bid In Fraud Suit
A former client suing prominent Houston attorney Tony Buzbee for fraud has hit back against Buzbee's attempt to sanction him, claiming he's well within his rights to mention other instances in which Buzbee allegedly stole from clients.
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February 12, 2025
Morgan Lewis, Patent Specialist End Age, Race Bias Suit
A discrimination complaint filed by a former patent prosecution specialist against her former employer, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, has been dismissed from Washington, D.C., federal court after both sides reached a settlement agreement.
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February 12, 2025
California Judge Chided For Entering Other Jurists' Chambers
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has been publicly admonished for entering other jurists' chambers after hours and without permission to access confidential files and computers, in what the state's Commission on Judicial Performance called a "serious breach of the expected trust shared among judicial colleagues."
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February 12, 2025
Ex-Ill. Speaker Madigan Guilty Of Bribery In Mixed Verdict
A federal jury on Wednesday partially convicted the man who was once the most powerful politician in Illinois on federal corruption charges, finding former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan guilty of bribery conspiracy and wire fraud but deadlocking on the government's overarching racketeering charge.
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February 11, 2025
GAO Says Protester Wrongly Used Redacted Army Corps Info
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected a protest over a €36.7 ($38 million) million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction contract and criticized the protester for filing claims based on improperly redacted Corps information, saying the redaction mistake didn't waive related protections.
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February 11, 2025
Orion Telescope Partly Revives $4M Fraudulent Transfer Suit
A California appellate court on Monday partially revived Orion Telescope's suit accusing rival Celestron Acquisition of orchestrating a fraudulent $4.2 million transfer to help another company avoid paying a judgment owed to Orion, ruling that Orion indeed adequately alleged conspiracy or aiding and abetting a fraudulent transfer.
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February 11, 2025
GOP Reps. Reintroduce Litigation Funding Disclosures Bill
Three House Republicans have reintroduced legislation that would require the disclosure of parties collecting payments in civil lawsuits, saying that transparency on so-called "third-party litigation funding" was crucial, especially in patent litigation.
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February 11, 2025
NY Judge Sides With Attorney In Golf Malpractice Row
A New York federal magistrate judge has recommended summary judgment in favor of an attorney in a legal malpractice lawsuit in which he is accused of causing the plaintiffs to lose an Arizona golf course property because he failed to file the proper bankruptcy paperwork.
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February 11, 2025
Rodney King's Former Atty Gets Prison For $7M Tax Evasion
A Los Angeles criminal defense and civil rights attorney who once represented Rodney King was sentenced by a California federal court Tuesday to 1½ years in prison for evading $7.2 million worth of taxes on income from his law practice.
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February 11, 2025
Ill. Atty Beats Wire Fraud Retrial After Privilege Violation
An Illinois jury has acquitted a former Freeborn & Peters partner of charges that he helped a client shift assets to avoid creditors ahead of its anticipated bankruptcy filing, after a privilege violation prompted the trial judge to exclude certain evidence from the case.
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February 11, 2025
Eaton Fire Victim Wants Sanctions Against SoCal Edison
A victim of the recent devastating Eaton Fire in Altadena has told a California state judge that Southern California Edison and its attorneys should face sanctions for allegedly concealing efforts to reenergize electrical transmission lines while the blaze was still burning last month.
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February 11, 2025
Ye Sanctioned, Ordered To Sit For Depo In Fired Guard's Suit
A California judge ordered Ye on Tuesday to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit from a former security guard at the embattled rapper's Donda Academy and sanctioned him $500 for skipping a deposition, while also scolding Ye's counsel about the attorney's apparently difficult "history" before his court.
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February 11, 2025
NJ Prosecutor Can Pursue Claim He Was Misled Over Resignation
A New Jersey state judge has reinstated a claim in a lawsuit from the former Warren County prosecutor that he was deceived into resigning from his position by Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
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February 11, 2025
Starbucks Fights Fla. Defamation Suit Over Atty's Statements
Coffee giant Starbucks Corp. wants out of a lawsuit brought by a patent-licensing company executive's defamation lawsuit, arguing its attorney was not speaking for the company when she made allegedly defamatory statements in an October news article.
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February 11, 2025
Ex-Major Lindsey Employee Must Face Firm's $4.8M Claim
A New York bankruptcy court ruled Monday that a former Major Lindsey & Africa LLC employee embroiled in over a decade of litigation with the recruiting firm cannot discharge a $4.8 million claim it filed against her.
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February 11, 2025
Ex-Client May Not Appeal Morgan & Morgan Arbitration Order
A former Morgan & Morgan PA client may not pursue legal malpractice claims against the firm in Georgia federal court, a judge ruled Tuesday, upholding an earlier order sending the matter to arbitration.
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February 11, 2025
Texas Bar Eyes Ban On In-House Referrals From Non-Attys
A proposed ethics opinion from the State Bar of Texas would prohibit nonlawyer-owned for-profit companies from giving customers the option of using the business' in-house attorneys for the "actual cost" of legal services when the work is unrelated to the mission of the company.
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February 11, 2025
NJ Senator Seeks Answers On Departure Of Watchdog's Chief
The New Jersey state senator who first called for the resignation of the State Commission of Investigation's chief executive following questions about her residency and a second full-time job wants to know how much the agency's commissioners knew before hiring her.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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The Fed. Circ. In February: A Reminder On Procedure Rule 28
Because the Federal Circuit does not often issue a sua sponte precedential order emphasizing an important rule of practice, it is useful to look at how the court applied the restrictions of appellate procedure Rule 28 in Promptu v. Comcast last month, and in cases that preceded it, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.
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Opinion
DOJ Press Office Is Not Fulfilling Its Stated Mission
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs’ apparent practice of issuing press releases when someone is indicted or convicted, but not when a defendant prevails, undermines its stated mission to disseminate “current, complete and accurate” information, and has negative real-world ramifications, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Needs Regulating To Meet Ethics Standards
Third-party litigation funding can provide litigants with access to the legal system, but, as recent cases show, the funding agreements carry the potential for exploitation and may conflict with core aspects of the attorney-client relationship, making the need for a balanced regulation self-evident, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.