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Legal Ethics
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August 05, 2024
Trustee Seeks Quick Clawback From Guo Ch. 11 Attys
The Chapter 11 trustee for the bankruptcy of Chinese exile Miles Guo has asked a Connecticut bankruptcy judge to issue an early judgment in an adversary proceeding that seeks to recover nearly $243,000 in legal fees paid by Guo to attorneys with Zeisler & Zeisler PC, the firm that represents Guo and his daughter.
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August 05, 2024
Deficient Defense Warrants New Trial, Mich. Panel Says
A split Michigan appellate panel has given a second chance at trial to a man accused of evading and resisting arrest, with judges finding his defense counsel was deficient in his first trial — failing to object to prosecutors' presentation of an unredacted warrant and assertion he is "a criminal."
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August 05, 2024
Girardi's Defense May Stand On His Deteriorating Mind
Although a federal judge ruled disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi mentally competent to stand trial this month for wire fraud, the 85-year-old's defense team may use his dementia diagnosis to attack prosecutors' allegations he knowingly and intentionally stole millions of dollars from his clients, experts said.
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August 05, 2024
NJ Firm Wants Fees Award To 2nd Firm Tossed In Crash Case
Nagel Rice LLP is hoping to toss an arbitration award of $56,250 in attorney fees to its clients' former lawyers at Blume Forte Fried Zerres & Molinari for their work related to a fatal school bus crash, saying the arbitrator didn't comply with New Jersey law in making his decision.
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August 05, 2024
Dems Unearth Another Thomas Trip Paid For By Harlan Crow
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took a previously undisclosed trip between Hawaii and New Zealand on a billionaire Republican donor's private jet in 2010, lawmakers revealed in a letter Monday that offered the donor a "final opportunity" to explain how that trip and others don't constitute a tax fraud scheme.
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August 05, 2024
Jackson Walker, Ex-Judge Could Face Sanctions Over Chat
A Texas bankruptcy court is demanding answers and threatening sanctions over an "off-the-record" interview between former bankruptcy judge David R. Jones and attorneys for Jackson Walker LLP, in the midst of a federal investigation into Jones' secret romantic relationship with a onetime Jackson Walker attorney.
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August 05, 2024
Ex-GC Says Steakhouse Chain Can't Ax Or Arbitrate Bias Suit
A former general counsel at steakhouse chain Palm Management is asking a New York federal judge not to toss her lawsuit or force her into arbitration, calling the arbitration clause in her employment agreement "unenforceable due to unconscionability based on the content of the clause."
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August 05, 2024
Meet The Attorneys In Tom Girardi's Criminal Fraud Trial
When Tom Girardi's criminal fraud trial gets underway this week, the notorious disbarred attorney will be facing a team of seasoned federal prosecutors who've convicted several former Los Angeles City Council members, a sitting U.S. congressman, insider traders, Ponzi schemers and con artists who bilked millions from their victims.
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August 05, 2024
The 'No Nonsense' Calif. Judge Overseeing Girardi's Trial
The California federal judge who will preside over the closely watched criminal trial of disgraced attorney Tom Girardi is a veteran jurist who runs a tight ship, but is also known for being extraordinarily thorough and thoughtful.
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August 05, 2024
What To Watch Out For During Girardi's Trial
With evidence of allegedly stolen millions and attempted escapes to the Bahamas taking center stage, disgraced attorney Tom Girardi's criminal trial is set to begin Tuesday at the murky intersection of client theft and TV celebrity, where attorneys will grapple with novel legal issues like the use of evidence from a bankruptcy trustee.
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August 04, 2024
DOD Yanks Plea Deals With 9/11 'Mastermind,' 2 Accomplices
U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has killed plea agreements reached last week that would have spared the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. and two other defendants the death penalty.
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August 02, 2024
Split 2nd Circ. Orders Partial Redo In Docs', Attys' Injury Scam
A divided Second Circuit panel on Friday upheld the convictions of three men who recruited patients for a more than $31 million trip-and-fall fraud scam that personal injury lawyers and doctors orchestrated, but remanded the case for further findings on the number of bogus accidents involved in the scheme.
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August 02, 2024
Wolverine, Travelers Drop Coverage Claims Over PFAS Suits
Footwear company Wolverine and various Travelers units have agreed to end their coverage battle over underlying lawsuits accusing the company of injuring individuals through its leather tannery operations and exposing individuals to so-called forever chemicals, the parties told a Michigan federal court.
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August 02, 2024
Bid To Get Ex-Judge Jones' Phone Records Blocked, For Now
A Texas judge has temporarily barred JCPenney's bankruptcy administrator from accessing former Judge David R. Jones' cellphone records amid the scandal involving his concealed romantic relationship with an ex-Jackson Walker LLP partner and firm fees he approved in various cases, including JCPenney's bankruptcy.
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August 02, 2024
Fla. Atty Cops To Attempted DC Bombing, Explosion In Texas
A Florida criminal defense attorney pled guilty on Friday to federal charges stemming from an attempted bombing outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 2023 and the bombing of a satirical sculpture of communist leaders in San Antonio, Texas, in 2022.
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August 02, 2024
Cognizant Bribery Trial Delayed Again — Until 2025
Trial in a five-year-old case alleging two former Cognizant executives authorized a bribe to a government official in India has been delayed again, this time by six months, so prosecutors can complete necessary depositions in that country, according to a federal court order handed down Friday.
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August 02, 2024
Mich. Judge DQ'd Over 'Disdain' Of Ineffective-Counsel Claims
A Michigan state judge showed bias in favoring a criminal defendant's trial counsel who had previously clerked for the court, a state appeals court found Thursday, disqualifying the judge from presiding over the defendant's ineffective-assistance of counsel hearing.
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August 02, 2024
St. Louis Attys Can't Get Acquittal In $4M Tax Avoidance Case
Two Missouri-based attorneys, a father and daughter duo found guilty of participating in a $4 million tax avoidance scheme, will not be granted a new trial or an acquittal, despite their assertions that a number of errors tainted their trial, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Friday.
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August 02, 2024
Defamation, Assault Suit Among Ex-Atty Colleagues Trimmed
A Pennsylvania federal judge this week tossed part of a former Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP attorney's defamation suit against two former colleagues, saying the statements the colleagues made about his actions were found credible by a Delaware court when it confirmed a protection for abuse order.
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August 02, 2024
Manhattan DA Slams Trump's 'Regurgitated' Recusal Bid
The Manhattan district attorney pilloried Donald Trump's renewed request for the judge overseeing his hush money case to recuse himself, branding it a "regurgitated" attempt to rehash issues the court already decided without any new facts — besides Kamala Harris' presidential bid.
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August 02, 2024
Ex-Lewis Brisbois Partner's Pay Bias Suit Sent To Arbitration
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP can arbitrate its former partner's gender discrimination suit claiming she was retaliated against for raising concerns about the firm's "unethical billing practices," a California state court judge ruled Friday, staying the entire case pending arbitration.
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August 02, 2024
Prosecutors To Remain On Young Thug Trial, Judge Rules
Two of the prosecutors in the long-running gang trial of rapper Young Thug will be allowed to stay on the case over defense attorneys' objections that they should be disqualified for their role in a secret meeting with the trial's former judge, the case's new presider ruled Thursday.
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August 01, 2024
Lewis Brisbois Slams RICO Claims Alleging 'Sham' Suits
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss Chinese investors' accusations that its attorneys filed lawsuits to cover their failure to read "draconian" contract terms that led the investors to lose their $92.5 million stake in a $2.5 billion Los Angeles mixed-used development.
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August 01, 2024
Georgia Judge Can't Order Woman To Pay For Jury Costs
A Georgia appeals court on Thursday said a trial court erred when it ordered a woman who voluntarily dismissed a personal injury suit during jury selection to pay more than $2,000 for jury and bailiff costs, saying there is no statute authorizing such an order.
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August 01, 2024
Duane Morris Atty Says White Men Get Unfair Leg Up On Pay
A Black attorney sued Duane Morris LLP in California federal court, alleging the firm systemically underpaid female and nonwhite attorneys while also engaging in an employee misclassification scheme that allowed it to offload firm expenses onto nonequity partners.
Expert Analysis
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4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year
As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
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What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like
As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News
Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
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Why Fed. Circ. Affirmed Attorney Fee Award In PersonalWeb
A recent Federal Circuit decision to leave a $5.2 million fee award in place in the PersonalWeb patent case underscores district courts' discretion to sanction unreasonable arguments and litigation tactics under the U.S. Code's attorney fee provision, say attorneys at Shearman.
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Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends
Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
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The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023
A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
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Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities
Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
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In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023
Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
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Opinion
Animal Rights Are About Saving Nature, And Our Own Future
The climate crisis makes it clear that animal law — conceived of as an ecocentric approach to protecting the most vulnerable nonhumans who depend on the natural environment — is essential to restoring the Earth and safeguarding the future of humanity, says Carter Dillard at the Fair Start Movement.
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The Ethics Of Accepting Advanced Legal Fees In Crypto
State and local bar associations have been weighing in on whether attorneys may accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment in advance of providing legal services, but the answer is frequently a fact-specific inquiry that demands close reading of the rules of professional conduct, say Matthew Feinberg and Jeffrey Cunningham at Goldberg Segalla.
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How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season
Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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5 Gifts That May Run Afoul Of Government Ethics Rules
As the holiday season ramps up, it’s essential to keep in mind that government officials and employees are all subject to specific gift rules, and related violations can lead to consequences far worse than coal in one’s stocking, say Mark Renaud and Rob Walker at Wiley.
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3 Defense Takeaways From The Bankman-Fried Trial
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction offers several key lessons for future white collar defendants, from the changing nature of cross-examination to the continued risks of taking the stand, say Jonathan Porter and Gregg Sofer at Husch Blackwell.
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Series
Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.