Legal Ethics

  • December 13, 2024

    Holland & Knight Faces DQ Bid In Ga. Spine Center 401(k) Suit

    Holland & Knight LLP should be disqualified from representing doctors suing Polaris Spine and Neurosurgery PC in Georgia federal court because the law firm previously served as its corporate counsel, the Atlanta-area practice and one of its doctors argued Thursday.

  • December 13, 2024

    Ex-Judges, Atty Group Back Newman In Suspension Lawsuit

    U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has received more support at the D.C. Circuit in her case over the suspension her colleagues imposed on her for refusing to participate in an investigation into her fitness to serve as a Federal Circuit judge, this time from a group of former federal judges and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.

  • December 13, 2024

    Trump Rips DA's 'Dark Dream' To Legally Treat Him As Dead

    Donald Trump's attorneys Friday slammed a proposal by the Manhattan district attorney to preserve the president-elect's hush money conviction by treating him like a defendant who dies after a verdict, pushing the judge to dismiss the case altogether.

  • December 12, 2024

    BakerHostetler Can't Ditch RICO Claims In Bankruptcy Fight

    A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday trimmed fraud and legal malpractice claims alleging BakerHostetler aided a $100 million insurance fraud scheme, but he refused to throw out civil racketeering claims, finding that the allegations are "well-pleaded," and he must assume, for now, that they're true.

  • December 12, 2024

    Boutique LA Firm Sues Rival Trying To Claim Fees In $10B Win

    Ross LLP, which helped its clients win $3.7 billion of a $10 billion verdict in a long-running dispute among five brothers over their real estate empire, sued another firm in California court Thursday alleging that it is wrongly trying to grab a portion of Ross' fees in the blockbuster case.

  • December 12, 2024

    Anti-Abortion Activists Say Clinic Pushed Bogus Hack Claim

    The lawyer for an anti-abortion "pregnancy crisis center" on Thursday accused a Massachusetts abortion provider of knowingly filing a "far-fetched" complaint falsely accusing his clients of computer hacking, after the plaintiffs said they will be dropping those allegations but adding new claims in an amended complaint.

  • December 12, 2024

    Keller Postman Sues Jenner & Block In Escalating Tubi Fight

    Keller Postman LLC added a new front Wednesday to its heated legal fight with Jenner & Block LLP, filing a California state court lawsuit accusing the BigLaw firm of employing a host of unethical tactics to gain leverage in mass arbitration against the streaming service Tubi.

  • December 12, 2024

    Pharma Co. Says Federal Court Must Weigh Atty Fee Bid

    Harpoon Therapeutics Inc., which was acquired earlier this year by Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, has asked a California federal judge to weigh an attorney fee bid by Monteverde & Associates PC, which sued Harpoon over allegedly incomplete merger disclosures.

  • December 12, 2024

    Newman Gets Amicus Support At DC Circ. In Suspension Row

    Two amici threw their support behind U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman at the D.C. Circuit on Thursday, with one free-market think tank criticizing what it said was the secrecy surrounding the disciplinary proceedings against Judge Newman over her refusal to participate in an investigation into her fitness to serve as a Federal Circuit judge.

  • December 12, 2024

    Cooley Wins Bid To Arbitrate Fla. Malpractice Suit

    A Florida state judge has granted Cooley LLP's bid to send to arbitration claims by Genetics Networks LLC that the firm failed to file documents needed to secure a lien while preparing $1.2 million in loan papers, ruling that an arbitration agreement covers the issues raised in the company's malpractice suit.

  • December 12, 2024

    Lowenstein Sandler Looks To Keep Dispensary Fee Suit Alive

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP has asked a New Jersey state judge to reject a bid by a New Jersey cannabis dispensary and a local firm to dismiss its suit seeking nearly $800,000 in unpaid fees while also agreeing to dismiss claims against its receiver.

  • December 12, 2024

    NY Courts Defy Watchdog, Won't Release Judicial Ethics Data

    Counsel for the New York State Unified Court System told the state transparency watchdog Wednesday it has no obligation to release judges' and court officials' financial disclosure data under public records law.

  • December 12, 2024

    Saul Ewing Named In Wage Class Reps' Hidden-Asset Suit

    A Pittsburgh-based home health care company and its counsel from Saul Ewing LLP are improperly shuffling assets in order to avoid paying future judgments, according to a lawsuit by representatives of a proposed wage class seeking $12.2 million.

  • December 12, 2024

    Jury Clears Blank Rome Attys In Malicious Suit Case

    Three Blank Rome attorneys and an aviation company have been cleared by a Pennsylvania federal jury of claims that they maliciously pursued litigation over alleged misuse of confidential information against a lawyer who formerly represented the company and switched to plaintiffs work.

  • December 12, 2024

    JUDGES Act Passes House But Biden Veto Looms

    The House voted 236-173 on Thursday to pass a bill to add more judgeships, which tees it up for a likely veto by the president, as many Democrats have soured on the measure after Donald Trump's victory at the polls.

  • December 11, 2024

    Calif. Judge Admonished After Throwing Papers At Atty

    California's Commission on Judicial Performance publicly admonished a state judge Tuesday, saying he violated standards of conduct by throwing papers at an attorney in court and by misleading the commission last year about his planned retirement date, purportedly to influence the outcome of a misconduct investigation at that time.

  • December 11, 2024

    Ill. Atty Convicted Of Tax Fraud, Scripting Witness Testimony

    An Illinois attorney has been convicted of tax fraud, witness tampering and contempt in a federal court retrial on charges that he filed false tax returns, alongside added charges that he tried to script an employee's testimony and violated court orders, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

  • December 11, 2024

    Embattled Texas Law Firm Heading To Mediation In Ch. 11

    Troubled Houston law firm MMA Law said it will engage in mediation with litigation funders Equal Access Justice Fund LP and creditors to try to sort out issues pertaining to the firm's bankruptcy plan and other matters, days after Equal Access escaped a class action involving MMA Law.

  • December 11, 2024

    Class Action Co. Will Reform Biz Practices, DC AG Says

    A third-party class action claims filer will change its business practices to boost transparency as part of a settlement with Washington, D.C., enforcers, the state attorney general's office announced Wednesday.

  • December 11, 2024

    Ga. Justices Disbar Atty For Abandoning Criminal Cases

    The Georgia Supreme Court has disbarred a Florida-based attorney in the Peach State after finding he caused economic harm to three clients in abandoning their criminal cases "and even caused one client to experience an extended period of incarceration."

  • December 11, 2024

    Pashman Stein Accused Of Threatening Firm In Fee Dispute

    A New Jersey attorney facing a lawsuit from Pashman Stein Walder Hayden PC over $90,000 in unpaid legal fees has alleged in state court that the firm unethically threatened to sue his sister-in-law's law firm as he sought to bring counterclaims.

  • December 11, 2024

    After Veto Threat, Courts Warn Need For More Judges Urgent

    Following President Joe Biden's veto threat of a bill to add more federal judgeships, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts warned Wednesday that there is an urgent need for more judges despite the White House's claim that there's no immediate need to create more seats.

  • December 11, 2024

    Del. Bar Urged To Push Back On Musk's Chancery Criticism

    Nearly 100 legal professionals, mainly plaintiffs bar attorneys and law professors, have called on the Delaware State Bar Association to defend the state's chancellor against attacks that tech and social media billionaire Elon Musk launched after a stinging defeat of his nearly $56 billion, multiyear Tesla Inc. package in January.

  • December 11, 2024

    Akerman Can't Escape Malpractice Suit Over Lease Dispute

    Akerman LLP has lost its jurisdictional challenge to a lawsuit alleging it owes a seafood restaurant chain over $1 million for giving bad advice during a lease dispute in Florida, with a Texas appeals court ruling the malpractice claims stem from work the firm solicited within the Lone Star State.

  • December 11, 2024

    Ozy Media Ex-CEO's Atty Seeks More Time Or OK To Quit

    An attorney for former Ozy Media Inc. CEO Carlos Watson asked a New York federal judge Wednesday for permission to withdraw from Watson's fraud and identity theft case unless he and other defense counsel can have more time to prepare for sentencing proceedings set to begin Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

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    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • The Ethics of Using Generative AI In Environmental Law

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    The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools is challenging environmental lawyers, consultants and government agencies to determine when and how these tools can be responsibly, ethically and productively integrated into their practices to streamline research, predictive analytics and regulatory compliance, say Ahlia Bethea and Pamela Esterman at Sive Paget.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.

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