Legal Ethics

  • March 03, 2025

    Bove Faces Ethics Complaint Over Adams Case

    Emil Bove, the Trump administration's controversial second-in-command at the U.S. Department of Justice, has been hit with an ethics complaint for a widely criticized directive ordering prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

  • March 03, 2025

    NJ Law Firm Must Pay Fees To Rival Firm For 'Frivolous' Suit

    Nagel Rice LLP must pay over $40,000 in attorney fees to Blume Forte Fried Zerres & Molinari stemming from a dispute over work related to a fatal school bus crash, a New Jersey judge has ruled.

  • March 03, 2025

    Defendant Admits To 'Shell Factory' Pump-And-Dump Scheme

    The final defendant rounded up in the "Shell Factory Fraud" prosecution of a group that created fake shell companies as part of a pump-and-dump scheme pled guilty Monday in Miami to one count of securities fraud.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ex-Judges Urge Probe Of 'Quid Pro Quo' Claim In Adams Case

    A group of more than a dozen retired federal judges has asked to weigh in on the potential dropping of corruption claims against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, filing a proposed amicus brief warning the "integrity of the judicial process" risks being "imperiled" by the improper dismissal of claims.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ex-Paxton Aides Say More Evidence Needed Before Judgment

    Four of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's former deputies have asked an Austin court to allow them to present more evidence in their 2020 employment retaliation suit, writing that his office was "trying to backtrack" its assertion that it wouldn't contest the case.

  • March 03, 2025

    3rd Circ. Preview: Litigation Funder, J&J Seek Relief In March

    The Third Circuit's case lineup this month will task panels with determining if an American litigation funder can keep its dispute with a German law firm in federal court, and whether Johnson & Johnson can decertify class claims accusing the company of artificially inflating its stock price by failing to disclose the alleged cancer risks of its talc products.

  • February 28, 2025

    Group Blasts Judge's Call For Women In Contraception MDL

    A judicial organization dedicated to fighting "leftist lawfare" filed a complaint Thursday against the Florida federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over the hormonal contraceptive drug Depo-Provera, claiming that her comments about women needing to be represented in the MDL leadership show an impermissible bias.

  • February 28, 2025

    Presidents v. Courts: Lincoln, Trump & Judicial Power Limits

    Amid fears of President Donald Trump disobeying judges with impunity, debate has focused on famous instances of officials defying the U.S. Supreme Court. But some of the clearest insights into America's handling of White House disregard for courts exist in relatively obscure cases from the Civil War era, when unprecedented presidential actions provoked extraordinary responses from the judiciary — and underscored the limits of its powers.

  • February 28, 2025

    New Jersey AG Office Tells Court It Wasn't Whistleblowers' Boss

    The New Jersey Attorney General's Office told a state judge Friday that it should be removed from a lawsuit accusing the Warren County prosecutor's office of retaliating against two detectives for their part in uncovering an alleged fraud scheme, because the attorney general was never their employer.

  • February 28, 2025

    Roc Nation Aims To Get Out Of Buzbee Conspiracy Suit

    Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's company Roc Nation has asked a Texas federal court to let it exit a lawsuit that claims Roc Nation conspired to "finance" malpractice suits against attorney Tony Buzbee in retaliation for an abortive lawsuit Buzbee filed accusing the rap star of rape.

  • February 28, 2025

    Mich. Atty Says Ex-Firm Foiling Cases Over Retaliation Suit

    A lawyer urged a Michigan federal judge to pause matters in several state court cases as she alleged her former law firm, Olsman MacKenzie Peacock PC, is using the proceedings to retaliate against her for filing a sexual harassment and hostile workplace suit against it and another firm run by a well-known mediator.

  • February 28, 2025

    Dems Claim DOJ Atty's 'Quid Pro Quo' Violated Ethics Rules

    Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee senior members lodged ethics complaints against acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, accusing the recently appointed Bove of violating ethics rules by allegedly pushing prosecutors to drop criminal bribery charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a "quid pro quo" deal with President Donald Trump.

  • February 28, 2025

    NYC Bar Slams Trump's Order On Covington Attys

    The New York City Bar Association has joined the chorus of legal groups decrying President Donald Trump's order suspending security clearances held by Covington & Burling LLP attorneys representing former special counsel Jack Smith, calling it an "improper use of government power."

  • February 28, 2025

    Audit Finds Calif. Bar Backlog Growing Amid Budget Crunch

    With more than one in three attorney discipline cases considered "backlogged" as of late 2023, the State Bar of California must do more to move cases forward while continuing belt-tightening to shore up finances after years of general fund deficits put it into a "strained financial position," the California State Auditor reports.

  • February 28, 2025

    Missouri Judge Won't Step Aside From Plastics Recycling Suit

    A Missouri federal judge denied petrochemical companies' request that he recuse himself from a proposed class action accusing them of misleading people about plastic's recyclability due to his wife's position as a Kansas City council member.

  • February 28, 2025

    Fla. Justices Say Atty Broke Rules With Nonviable Engle Suits

    The Florida Supreme Court has found an attorney guilty of violating court rules by filing baseless Engle progeny suits and failing to properly communicate with his clients, and told a referee to determine the appropriate sanction.

  • February 27, 2025

    VW Urges Fed. Circ. Not To Revive 3D Glasses Patent Suit

    Volkswagen urged the Federal Circuit on Wednesday to uphold a lower court's dismissal of patent-holding company VDPP LLC's patent suit against it, arguing that VDPP "failed to investigate facts, pressed unreasonable positions, disregarded court orders and rationales, 'lied,' and committed innumerable careless errors."

  • February 27, 2025

    Lewis Brisbois Foe Urges 5th Circ. To Let TM Feud Go To Jury

    The main defendant of a group that was found liable for willfully stealing Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP's name for its mediation business has told the Fifth Circuit that a Texas federal court committed more than a dozen abuses of discretion and that the trademark dispute should go before a jury.

  • February 27, 2025

    Judge Axes NYC Loan Row, Sanctions Firm For Depositions

    A New York federal judge has dismissed a commercial real estate lender's claims against two guarantors for a 2022 loan it made, ripping the lender and its ex-counsel, Fox Rothschild LLP, for deposition no-shows.

  • February 27, 2025

    Food Startup Owes $575K In TM Fight With Jaden Smith's Co.

    A disagreement over how food startup Eat Just capitalized on the word "Just" in branding will cost it over half a million dollars after a California federal court decided its conduct went against the company's agreement with the Just Water brand started by celebrity Jaden Smith and his actor dad, Will Smith.

  • February 27, 2025

    Texas Attorney Says He Can Contact Party While Pro Se

    An attorney barred from practicing law for five years has told the Texas Supreme Court that he was allowed to contact members of the Texas Bar's disciplinary wing instead of their counsel because he was pro se, asking the court to toss his punishment.

  • February 27, 2025

    Sierra Leone Accuses Jenner & Block Of Fraudulent Overbilling

    Facing an $8 million fee suit pending in D.C. federal court, the Republic of Sierra Leone on Thursday brought counterclaims accusing its former counsel from Jenner & Block LLP of fraudulently overbilling for work the firm did on its behalf between 2019 and 2022.

  • February 27, 2025

    Ex-Trump Atty Powell's Mich. Misconduct Hearing Set For May

    The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board on Thursday announced the date for a misconduct hearing for Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and other attorneys who were allegedly involved in a legal challenge to Michigan's 2020 presidential election results and supporting Donald Trump's election fraud theories.

  • February 27, 2025

    No Sanctions For Atty As TM's Incontestability Status Axed

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has declined to refer Great Concepts LLC or its former attorney for potential discipline for submitting a filing with false information for incontestability of its mark in 2010, saying too much time has passed.

  • February 27, 2025

    Judge Limits Atty Expert Witnesses In Legal Malpractice Trial

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday barred attorneys who aren't expert witnesses from giving testimony about what they would have done differently from Quinn Johnston Henderson & Pretorius Chtd. in an upcoming trial on claims the firm's botched defense caused their client "enormous loss."

Expert Analysis

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence

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    As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

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