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Legal Ethics
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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.
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June 27, 2024
House Panel Votes To Hold Biden Ghostwriter In Contempt
The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-11 along party lines on Thursday, to advance the contempt effort for Mark Zwonitzer, President Joe Biden's ghostwriter, for not turning over documents and recordings related to his work on the president's memoirs that were mentioned in a special counsel's report on the president's handling of classified documents.
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June 27, 2024
Ex-Mayoral Candidate Loses Law License For 1 Year In Fla.
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday suspended former Miami Beach mayoral candidate Michael Grieco's law license for one year after determining he had accepted an illegal campaign contribution and made misleading public statements about his involvement in a political committee.
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June 27, 2024
Fla. Judge Denies Trump's Bid To Toss Mar-A-Lago Warrant
The Florida judge overseeing Donald Trump's federal criminal case involving allegations of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving the White House denied the former president's bid Thursday for a hearing on the validity of the Mar-a-Lago search, but said she'd consider an evidence suppression hearing.
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June 27, 2024
Feds Back Debevoise Bid To Avoid Cognizant Trial Testimony
The U.S. Department of Justice would like a New Jersey federal court to throw out a subpoena compelling trial testimony from a Debevoise & Plimpton LLP partner regarding an investigation into an alleged bribe the government believes two former Cognizant Technology Solutions executives supplied to an Indian company.
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June 26, 2024
Ga. High Court Told To Skip Inventor's 'Clerical Mistake' Fight
A unit of the analytics giant Clarivate is telling Georgia's highest court that a neurosurgeon's $102 million legal malpractice case over "a clerical mistake" in a patent filing from an aggrieved former FisherBroyles client is definitely "not a cert-worthy case."
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June 26, 2024
Disbarred Colo. Injury Atty Faces Another Malpractice Suit
A Colorado woman is suing a disbarred attorney for malpractice after he allegedly blew the deadline to file her personal injury suit against a grocery store, the third such case against the former lawyer, who faces a $1.2 million default judgment and warrant for his arrest in another malpractice suit.
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June 26, 2024
Energy Cos. Trash Toshiba Depo Tactics Over $500M Upgrade
Michigan's largest energy companies told a federal judge that a Toshiba attorney berated and tried to provoke their witness during a deposition in their case alleging Toshiba botched a $500 million plant upgrade, urging the judge to reject Toshiba's sanctions request for the witness's supposed intransigence.
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June 26, 2024
Calif. Atty Won't Contest Claim He Stole Up To $282M
A California lawyer has stopped defending himself against bar discipline charges that accuse him of stealing as much as $282 million from clients, and his posture has forced the cancelation of a trial that was scheduled for this week and makes his disbarment almost certain.
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June 26, 2024
Atty Agrees To Withdraw Mid-DQ Hearing In NC Biz Court
A real estate attorney on Wednesday beat opposing counsel to the punch on a motion for disqualification in a dispute over a soured business partnership, opting instead to voluntarily withdraw his representation of one party but remain as counsel for another after a state Business Court judge pointed out conflicts with him providing services to both.
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June 26, 2024
5 Indicted In 'Feeding Our Future' Jury Bribery Scheme
Five people have been indicted in Minnesota for trying to bribe a juror with a Hallmark gift bag containing $120,000 in cash in a failed attempt to influence the first trial of the sprawling "Feeding Our Future" $250 million pandemic fraud case, which recently ended with five convictions and two acquittals.
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June 26, 2024
Rep. Seeks Info On Sex Allegations Against Ex-GMU Law Prof
The chair of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce has requested information in a letter to the president of George Mason University and its law school's dean regarding the institution's response to sexual misconduct allegations against former professor Joshua Wright, who is also a former Federal Trade Commission commissioner.
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June 26, 2024
CSAA Seeks Exit From Conn. Atty's $1.4M Transfer Scam Case
The insurance company covering a Connecticut attorney accused of helping steal $1.4 million from a development company via a fraudulent bank transfer is seeking to drop its coverage on the grounds that the attorney's alleged actions were intentional and criminal, and therefore not insured.
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June 26, 2024
NYC Firm Settles Ex-Receptionist's Retaliatory Firing Suit
Donaldson & Chilliest LLP has struck a tentative settlement with a former receptionist over claims that the firm retaliated and fired her after she reported that an associate had tried to rape her.
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June 26, 2024
House GOP Mulls Little-Used Inherent Contempt For Garland
A group of House Republicans are giving Attorney General Merrick Garland until Friday morning to comply with their demands for the audio recordings of President Joe Biden and his ghostwriter speaking with special counsel Robert Hur during his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents before they move forward with a vote to hold him in inherent contempt of Congress.
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June 26, 2024
NC Bar Rips Immigration Atty's 'Absurd' Disbarment Appeal
The North Carolina State Bar urged a state appellate court not to entertain an immigration attorney's appeal of his disbarment, stating that his appeal featured arguments that came too late and otherwise relied on a fallacious and "incoherent" reading of disciplinary regulations with "absurd results."
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June 26, 2024
Pa. Justices Won't Hear Elliott Greenleaf Atty's $11M Fee Fight
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will not review decisions denying a former Elliott Greenleaf attorney a cut of an $11 million referral fee for a personal injury client, after lower courts found a letter from the client requesting that the lawyer be paid was not valid and otherwise presented too late.
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June 25, 2024
Conn. Justices Limit Malpractice Claims In Criminal Cases
Convicts who want to sue their attorneys for malpractice in their criminal cases must first have their convictions vacated on appeal or in habeas proceedings, with one exception, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a case brought against a New Haven lawyer and his law firm.
Expert Analysis
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What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.
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A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties
In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.
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Ethics Lessons From Outside Counsel Plotline In 'Succession'
A Season 3 storyline from “Succession,” featuring an outside counsel's ham-handed missteps, provides ethics lessons for white collar defense lawyers, especially in light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent corporate enforcement policy shifts, says Megan McDermott at the University of Wisconsin.
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Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies
Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Opinion
Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Use Caution In Cases Involving Illegal Images Of Minors
In cases where underage victims of sexual assault and abuse have been coerced into sharing nude or sexual images, attorneys representing abuse survivors must understand the strict protocols that regulate the handling of such illegal images, while taking care to protect essential evidence, says Michelle Simpson Tuegel at Simpson Tuegel.
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: Why Better Feedback Habits Are Needed
Not giving assignments or constructive criticism to junior associates can significantly affect their performance and hours, potentially leading them to leave the firm, but partners can prevent this by asking the right questions and creating a culture of feedback, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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Calif. Ruling Adds Employer Considerations On Email Policies
Following a California appellate court's recent decision disqualifying an attorney in Militello v. VFarm 1509, companies should take steps to explicitly inform employees of email monitoring, as it could affect the admissibility of email evidence if a dispute arises, say Shawn Ogle and David Sarfati at Atkinson Andelson.
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Rebuttal
Law Needs A Balance Between Humanism And Formalism
A recent Law360 guest article rightly questions the pretextual pseudo-originalism that permits ideology to masquerade as judicial philosophy, but the cure would kill the patient because directness, simplicity and humanness are achievable without renouncing form or sacrificing stare decisis, says Vanessa Kubota at the Arizona Court of Appeals.
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How The Circuit Split Over CFPB Funding May Play Out
The Second Circuit created a circuit split last month when it found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure doesn't violate the U.S. Constitution and clashed with the Fifth Circuit's holding that the CFPB itself is unconstitutional, but the U.S. Supreme Court may find a middle ground, say Andrew Braunstein and Casey Howard at Locke Lord.
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Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery
As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.
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Opinion
Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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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.