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Legal Ethics
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June 28, 2024
Girardi Wins Bid To Offer Mental Condition Testimony At Trial
Tom Girardi's defense team can call a doctor to testify at his upcoming trial as to a potential "mental condition" that they say might indirectly have bearing on his intent to defraud clients, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, rejecting prosecutors' argument that the testimony is irrelevant.
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June 28, 2024
Eagles' Don Henley Wants 'Hotel California' Lyrics Returned
Eagles frontman Don Henley is seeking to retake possession of handwritten lyric sheets that were seized by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in a now-dismissed criminal case over the sale of the allegedly stolen album notes, asking a New York federal judge Friday to declare that he is the legal owner.
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June 28, 2024
Texas Bank Wants Ramey Sanctioned For 'Incoherent' IP Suit
A Texas-based bank has asked a federal judge to sanction Ramey LLP in a patent infringement case the firm's client filed against it, saying the litigation is frivolous and should be tossed.
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June 28, 2024
Calif. Panel Won't Toss Trial Win By AT&T's Cricket
Cricket Communications Inc. won't have to worry about a 2018 jury trial win being kiboshed after a California appeals court ruled that when it overturned a pretrial ruling because a previous judge failed to disclose that he owned AT&T stock, it didn't mean the entire trial should be undone.
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June 28, 2024
Judge Rejects Collusion Claim In Contested Foreclosure Deal
A Michigan federal judge approved on Thursday a class settlement between 43 Michigan counties and people who lost their homes in tax foreclosure, putting to bed accusations of collusion between the settling lawyers.
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June 28, 2024
Girardi's Ch. 7 Evidence Fight May Raise Novel Issues
Tom Girardi told a California federal judge that FBI agents violated his constitutional rights by obtaining evidence from his law firm's bankruptcy trustee without a search warrant, an argument that, if successful, could hamstring prosecutors in his upcoming wire fraud trial and shake up law enforcement's dealings with trustees.
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June 28, 2024
Baldwin Loses Third Bid To Dismiss 'Rust' Shooting Case
A New Mexico state judge on Friday rejected Alec Baldwin's argument that his indictment on involuntary manslaughter charges in the "Rust" film shooting case should be thrown out because forensic tests damaged the actor's gun, a key piece of evidence in the case.
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June 28, 2024
Buchanan Ingersoll Can't Dump Harrisburg Incinerator Row
A Pennsylvania appellate court won't let Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC exit long-running litigation over a trash incinerator project that sent the state's capital city into financial distress, ruling Friday that there was still ambiguity about whether the law firm's advice had been correct.
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June 28, 2024
NY Law Firm Botched Gas Co. Sale, Ex-Client Says
Albany, New York-based Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP is facing a lawsuit in New York federal court alleging it failed to properly structure the sale of a gas company and caused its owner to incur an avoidable tax liability.
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June 28, 2024
Retired Calif. Judge Known For Ethics Work Dies At 87
Retired Los Angeles County Judge David M. Rothman, known for writing three editions of the California Judicial Conduct Handbook, died Tuesday in Berkeley, California, at age 87.
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June 28, 2024
Eric Trump Can Shield Most Docs In Ex-Aide's Retaliation Suit
Eric Trump can assert attorney-client privilege to avoid turning over most of a batch of emails sought by Trump 2016 campaign aide Arlene "AJ" Delgado in her pregnancy retaliation suit claiming she was banished from former President Donald Trump's orbit after a fellow staffer got her pregnant.
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June 28, 2024
GOP Rep. Says 'Inherent Contempt' Vote Coming After Recess
The Republican lawmaker spearheading a new inherent contempt effort for Attorney General Merrick Garland said it has the backing of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and would occur after the July 4 congressional recess.
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June 28, 2024
Pashman Stein Can't Escape Negligence Claims, NJ Atty Says
A New Jersey attorney who countersued Pashman Stein Walder Hayden PC after the firm accused him of ducking a nearly $100,000 legal bill is urging a state court to reject what he says are the firm's "frivolous" calls to toss his negligence counterclaims.
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June 28, 2024
Indicted Brown & Connery Atty Removed From Rutgers Board
Brown & Connery LLP partner William Tambussi, who was indicted last week for his alleged role in a wide-ranging extortion scheme led by powerful Garden State businessman George Norcross III, has been removed from his seat on the Rutgers University Board of Governors, officials confirmed Friday.
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June 28, 2024
Bannon Can't Dodge Prison In Contempt Appeal
Steve Bannon must go to prison Monday, according to a U.S. Supreme Court order Friday rejecting the former Trump White House chief strategist's bid to stave off his four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
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June 28, 2024
High Court Enters July With 3 Rulings To Go
In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue opinions into the beginning of July as the court tries to clear its merits docket of three remaining cases dealing with presidential immunity, whether governments can control social media platforms' content moderation policies and the appropriate deadline to challenge agency action.
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June 27, 2024
Ozy Media's Gov't Misconduct Claims Won't Derail Fraud Case
A New York federal judge on Thursday rejected a bid by Ozy Media and the defunct company's founder to toss the criminal fraud case against them, saying they hadn't shown they were prejudiced by a U.S. attorney's office's social media post or that documents obtained by prosecutors were protected by attorney-client privilege.
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June 27, 2024
Roche Freedman, Ousted Ex-Partner Settle Ahead Of July Trial
The law firm formerly known as Roche Freedman LLP and ousted partner Jason Cyrulnik informed a New York federal judge Thursday they've cut a confidential deal to resolve their contentious legal battle over Cyrulnik's departure, ending the litigation weeks before the case was set to go to a jury trial.
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June 27, 2024
Criticism Of Fla. Judge's Order Is Free Speech, ACLU Says
The American Civil Liberties Union came to the defense of two Florida attorneys facing discipline before the state's high court over critical remarks about an Orlando judge's order in a discrimination case, arguing that suspending their licenses for 30 days would violate the First Amendment.
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June 27, 2024
Paxton Attys To Testify In Federal Probe, 5th Circ. Indicates
A federal grand jury impaneled to weigh Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's alleged abuses of office is set to continue hearing witness testimony next week, a recently published Fifth Circuit opinion indicates.
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June 27, 2024
North Carolina's Western District Issues AI Standing Order
Attorneys in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina will now have a tougher time experimenting with generative artificial intelligence, after the court's judges issued a standing order requiring lawyers to file a certification alongside every brief stating that AI was not used to help prepare the brief.
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June 27, 2024
Judge Slams 'Unacceptable' Misstated Case Law In PFAS Suit
A federal magistrate judge in North Carolina chastised class counsel for Tar Heel State residents suing The Chemours Co. and DuPont De Nemours over toxic "forever chemicals" purportedly discharged in their wastewater, after the attorneys "misstated the language of various cases" they cited in a briefing.
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June 27, 2024
Colo. GOP Atty Sent Client's $375K To Hacker, Suit Says
A Colorado attorney and conservative radio personality is facing breach of contract claims in state court after he allegedly wired a client's $375,000 divorce settlement to a purported investment account in Hong Kong despite what the plaintiff, a garden center worker making $14.77 per hour, called clear signs of fraud.
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June 27, 2024
AG Says Trump Recusal Bid Relies On 'Distortion Of Facts'
New York's attorney general says Donald Trump is relying on a "distortion of facts" in seeking to oust the judge who ordered the former president to pay $465 million in penalties in his civil fraud case.
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June 27, 2024
Title IX Firm Conspired To File Frivolous Grievance, Suit Says
A Michigan law firm that specializes in defending college students from Title IX claims alleged another firm conspired with a former joint client to file a grievance complaint to gain leverage in a separate lawsuit over the firms' soured business relationship.
Expert Analysis
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Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case
The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.
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Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI
In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms
Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.
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Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation
Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
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Insureds' Notice Pleading May Be Insufficient In Federal Court
A recent New Jersey federal court ruling in Bauman v. Hanover Insurance held that bare-bones notice pleading was insufficient and dismissed the policyholder's coverage complaint, a reminder that courts may require more than an expression of general disagreement with an insurance company's denial letter to proceed with the case, says Eugene Killian at The Killian Firm.
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Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide
Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.
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Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas
Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.
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Opinion
Ga. Needs To Resolve Cannabis Counsel Confusion
Georgia’s medical cannabis regulator finally adopted rules for low-THC oil last month, but a 2021 ethics ruling prohibits lawyers from advising participants in the state’s legal program and creates a confounding landscape that the state bar and courts must address, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruze at Bradley Arant.
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Patent Litigants Should Be Vigilant After Rare Retrial Order
A California federal court's recent unusual order for a new trial for attorney misconduct in Pavemetrics v. Tetra Tech should remind patent litigants to be careful about arguments that frame an infringement case in a way that does not fairly reflect the dispute at hand, say Ranganath Sudarshan and Yuval Mor at Covington.
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DOJ's Compensation Reforms Pit Cos. Against Their Execs
The U.S. Department of Justice’s new policy, incentivizing compliance-focused corporate compensation programs and prompt disclosures of misconduct, will complicate the relationship between companies and their executives, and create potential ethical conflicts for counsel, say Solomon Shinerock and Annika Conrad at Lewis Baach.
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Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?
What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.
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Opinion
Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts
The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.
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3 Reasons Why Congress Should Stay Out Of NY Trump Probe
Congress members should reconsider their investigation of the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment of former President Donald Trump for several key reasons — and if they persist, future congressional leadership should adopt a rule prohibiting this kind of local interference, say Kenyen Brown and Kevin Carroll at Hughes Hubbard.
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Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy
As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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Opinion
Federal Judge's Amici Invitation Is A Good Idea, With Caveats
An Arkansas federal judge’s recent order — inviting amicus briefs in every civil case before him — has merit, but its implementation may raise practical questions about the role of junior attorneys, economic considerations and other issues, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.