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Legal Ethics
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September 25, 2024
Blank Rome Faces DQ Bid Over Alleged Tampering
An attorney suing three lawyers from Blank Rome LLP wants the firm's other attorneys disqualified from representing their colleagues, accusing them of improperly contacting a plaintiff's expert witness to intimidate him into no longer participating in the case.
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September 25, 2024
Penalized Apple Atty Says He Was 'Demoralized' By Co. Culture
Apple Inc.'s former senior director of corporate law, who pled guilty to insider trading in 2022 and was later penalized $1.1 million in a civil case, had mental health disorders and was "demoralized" by the company's culture and executives' misconduct, he said in temporarily unsealed records in New Jersey federal court.
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September 25, 2024
Vape Co. Sues Buchalter Alleging Malpractice After IP Action
A Los Angeles-based cannabis company called Smoke Tokes LLC has filed a legal malpractice suit accusing Buchalter PC and two of its attorneys of causing a federal trademark action to drag on unnecessarily even after Smoke Tokes took all necessary steps to satisfy a judgment and injunction.
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September 25, 2024
Besieged NJ Prosecutor Says Gov. Can't Replace Him Yet
The former Warren County, New Jersey, prosecutor who retired under a cloud in April but withdrew his retirement days later said on Tuesday that Gov. Phil Murphy's move last week to nominate a permanent replacement won't work, because he hasn't actually resigned.
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September 25, 2024
Shipman & Goodwin Atty Needed As Witness, DQ Bid Claims
A Connecticut company wants a Shipman & Goodwin LLP partner disqualified from representing a rival in a bond dispute surrounding a garbage sorting facility permit, saying the attorney was personally involved in some of the conduct in question.
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September 25, 2024
Philly-Area Atty Convicted In Bankruptcy Fraud Case
A suspended attorney in the Philadelphia suburbs is one of two men who were recently convicted by a federal jury of participating in fraudulent schemes that involved stealing a house from a deceased couple's family.
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September 25, 2024
NJ High Court To Review Judicial Privacy Law In Media Case
The New Jersey Supreme Court will consider whether a municipality overstepped by using the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law to stop a journalist from publishing an article about the city's police director's address, according to a recently filed order.
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September 25, 2024
Mich. Justices Take Up Prosecutor's Outside Counsel Hires
The Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear arguments in a dispute over the Macomb County prosecuting attorney's power to retain outside law firms for general legal advice.
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September 25, 2024
Ohio Judge Removed For Jailing People Over Court Costs
The Ohio Supreme Court removed a state municipal judge from the bench and suspended him from practicing law for 18 months after he jailed two people for failing to pay court costs and coerced 14 others into paying fines and costs by threatening to lock them up without due process.
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September 24, 2024
Dentons Accused Of Hacking Laptop, Aiding Vape Co. Usurper
Dentons helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, including breaking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, Avid alleged in a sprawling lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court.
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September 24, 2024
Adult Actresses' Blacklist Suit Against Meta Nixed Before Trial
A California federal judge has dismissed a case claiming Meta conspired with OnlyFans and blacklisted adult entertainers who used competitors' risque platforms weeks before its October trial date, saying he had "no choice" and did so despite the social media giant's "questionable recordkeeping."
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September 24, 2024
Amazon Scolded Over Improper Privilege In Alexa Privacy Suit
Amazon.com Inc. must re-produce documents it clawed back during discovery from unregistered Alexa users who allege they were illegally recorded, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday, scolding the e-commerce giant for "improperly" trying to conceal its business and strategic documents behind attorney-client privilege.
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September 24, 2024
Athlete Investment Co. Gets Claims Nipped In $1M Fraud Suit
A New York federal judge has trimmed a suit alleging that an athlete investment company that aimed to "tokenize" and sell shares of professional athletes was involved in a $1 million fraud and lied about its business plan, saying the plaintiff is conflicted from bringing certain derivative claims.
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September 24, 2024
Cathode Ray Class Attys Fight Over Fees At 9th Circ.
Plaintiffs firm Cooper & Kirkham urged the Ninth Circuit Tuesday to reverse a ruling slashing its $3.452 million fee award in since-settled cathode ray tube price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing the firm was being unfairly punished for representing a subclass, while lead class counsel slammed the firm's tactics as "extreme mischief."
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September 24, 2024
DC Judge Rebuffs Trump's Bid To Delay Immunity Briefing
The District of Columbia federal judge overseeing the election interference case against former President Donald Trump on Tuesday shot down his "new and sundry" efforts to push back briefing on the issue of presidential immunity, allowing the government to file a lengthy brief on the issue and remarking that this "is simply how litigation works."
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September 24, 2024
Judge Defends Atty Fees In Failed Law Firm Case
A California bankruptcy judge on Tuesday pushed back against criticisms of big fees for professionals in the case of defunct debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group and said he would approve interim professional fees and expenses of $8.1 million.
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September 24, 2024
Neurosurgeon Deems Judge Newman's Brain 'Entirely Normal'
A third doctor has found that suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, 97, is not cognitively impaired and that there's no reason to keep her off the bench, according to a report released by her attorneys Tuesday.
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September 24, 2024
Ex-Ohio City Prosecutor Took Car Repairs As Bribes, Feds Say
A former city prosecutor in Ohio is facing federal bribery charges after he allegedly accepted car repairs in return for reducing drug possession and DUI charges against a local mechanic, according to a newly unsealed criminal indictment.
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September 24, 2024
'Salacious' Keches Spat With Ex-Partner Aired In Court
A former partner of Keches Law has asked a Massachusetts state court for permission to review the personal injury firm's financial records after he was told his shares in the firm are worthless, accusing another attorney of financial misdeeds.
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September 24, 2024
Justices' Immunity Ruling Could Foil Trump Charges, Sens. Told
The U.S. Supreme Court's prohibition on judges considering a former president's motive when deciding if an act is official and therefore protected from criminal prosecution may present one of the biggest roadblocks in the criminal cases filed against Donald Trump, a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney told lawmakers Tuesday.
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September 24, 2024
'The Predators Are Back,' Mich. Tax Foreclosure Attys Warn
Lawyers for a proposed class accusing Michigan counties of unlawfully keeping proceeds of their tax-foreclosed home sales urged a federal judge Monday to bar a third-party claims firm and a "conspiring" Michigan attorney from trying to snatch away class members using tactics they called abusive and illegal.
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September 24, 2024
4th Circ. Poised To Uphold $1M Sanction For Court 'Attack'
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday appeared ready to uphold a roughly $1 million sanction against New York plaintiffs attorney Paul Napoli for his purportedly frivolous filings in a battle with another firm over asbestos litigation client referrals, with one judge accusing Napoli of making a "collateral attack" on a federal court's authority.
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September 24, 2024
A Lawyer Promised Clients Fast Action. Then He 'Disappeared'
Dozens of ex-clients of a Florida lawyer have accused him of orchestrating a racketeering scheme in which clients were duped into paying nonrefundable retainer fees for legal services that were never delivered, allegedly causing a couple to lose their home while others lost custody of their children.
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September 24, 2024
Firms Allowed To Exit IP Case After Gaining Philips' Consent
A North Carolina federal judge allowed Dentons and Morningstar Law Group to withdraw as Transtate Equipment Co. Inc.'s counsel in a copyright and unfair competition case, after a stipulation was struck with opposing attorneys representing a Dutch health technology conglomerate that initially scoffed at the request.
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September 24, 2024
More Enrollment Wanted For Judges' Home Security, IG Says
Amid the "complex" threat landscape for judges, the U.S. Marshals Service should do more to prompt federal judges to enroll in its home security program, a federal watchdog says in a report released Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
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.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
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.
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Opinion
A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue
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.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
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.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
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.
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Roundup
After Chevron
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 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
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.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons
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.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
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.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
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.