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Legal Ethics
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June 25, 2024
Trump Atty Argues Feds Lied To Get Mar-A-Lago Warrant
An attorney representing Donald Trump in his criminal case over retaining classified documents after leaving the White House urged a Florida federal judge Tuesday to toss evidence seized during the raid on Mar-a-Lago, arguing the government put false information on the warrant application to search the former president's estate.
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June 25, 2024
Law Firm Boss Admitted Breaking Ethics Rule, Regulator Says
Connecticut attorney discipline authorities told a state court Monday that the managing partner of a Hartford-based personal injury and employment law firm cannot walk back an admission to a rule violation, reaffirming earlier calls to suspend Emanuele R. Cicchiello for threatening a criminal probe and downloading a departing junior attorney's personal emails.
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June 25, 2024
Plaintiffs Firms Appealing $2.1B Fee Order In Opioid Case
Motley Rice LLC, Weisman Kennedy & Berris Co. LPA, Stranch Jennings & Garvey PLLC, Crueger Dickinson LLP, Goldstein & Russell PC, Kelley & Ferraro LLP, Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP and Meyers & Flowers LLC are appealing $2.13 billion in attorney fees stemming from opioid settlements awarded earlier this month.
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June 25, 2024
Gov't Asks Ala. Fed. Court To Stay Gender Care Case
The Biden administration has asked an Alabama federal court to stay a suit challenging a state law criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender youth, which has drawn attention because of judge-shopping allegations leveled against plaintiff's counsel, as the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a separate but potentially precedential suit.
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June 25, 2024
Ex-Trump Atty Seeks Discovery Stay In Dominion Voting Suit
A former One America News reporter and Trump attorney is urging a D.C. federal judge to grant her a discovery pause in civil defamation litigation brought by Dominion Voting Systems, arguing that responding to requests now could put her defense at risk in a criminal case in Arizona.
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June 25, 2024
Ga. Supreme Court Removes Arrested Judge From Bench
The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday removed Douglas County Probate Court Judge Christina Peterson from office for violations of the state's code of judicial conduct, including jailing a woman seeking to amend her marriage record, after Peterson was arrested outside an Atlanta nightclub last week on unrelated charges.
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June 25, 2024
House GOP Looks To Hold Biden Ghostwriter In Contempt
The House Judiciary Committee will consider a resolution on Thursday on whether to hold President Biden's ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer in contempt for refusing to turn over materials related to special counsel Robert Hur's investigation of the president's handling of classified documents.
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June 25, 2024
DC Court Of Appeals Suspends Hunter Biden's Law License
The D.C. Court of Appeals on Tuesday suspended Hunter Biden's license to practice law in the district because of his recent conviction on federal gun charges.
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June 25, 2024
Justice Berger Asks Full NC High Court To Decide Recusal Bid
North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. asked the full court on Monday to decide whether he should recuse himself from two constitutional challenges concerning the governor's appointment powers given his father's role in the litigation as a state lawmaker.
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June 25, 2024
Conn. Atty Agrees To 10-Day Suspension For Unexplained Fee
A Connecticut attorney accused of charging an unreasonable fee and failing to communicate with a former client following an underlying vehicle buyback negotiation has agreed to a 10-day suspension and three hours of legal ethics-focused continuing education courses.
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June 25, 2024
NY Judge Partially Lifts Trump Gag Order Ahead Of Sentence
The Manhattan judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's hush-money case on Tuesday vacated key parts of a gag order intended to shield jurors and witnesses from his verbal attacks, although an order protecting the jurors' identities remains in place.
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June 24, 2024
Willis' Plan To Prejudice Defendants Requires DQ, Trump Says
Former President Donald Trump told the Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday that a trial court judge inaccurately applied the legal standard for forensic misconduct when he ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could continue her prosecution of him and his co-defendants in the Georgia presidential election interference case.
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June 24, 2024
9th Circ. Upholds Fine For Fake News In $18B Chevron Case
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed a $268,000 fine against a Seattle attorney for filing a fake newspaper article as a court exhibit in an attempt to bolster his clients' efforts to enforce a nearly $18 billion arbitral award against Chevron.
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June 24, 2024
Baldwin Awaits Ruling On Bid To Toss 'Rust' Shooting Case
A New Mexico state judge is set to rule this week on Alec Baldwin's argument that his indictment on involuntary manslaughter charges over the "Rust" film shooting 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 24, 2024
Atty Says Arrested Ga. Judge Will Be 'Completely Exonerated'
In the aftermath of the arrest of an embattled Georgia probate judge outside an Atlanta nightclub last week, the defense attorney for Judge Christina Peterson said on Friday that she was "simply trying to be a good Samaritan" and that he expects his client will be "completely exonerated."
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June 24, 2024
Apple, Amazon Assail Hagens Berman's Class Rep 'Charade'
Apple and Amazon.com blasted Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP for trying to "have it both ways" in an antitrust suit over a pact between the companies restricting Amazon iPhone and iPad sales to approved vendors, arguing the firm cannot withdraw its original named plaintiff without forcing him to testify.
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June 24, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Reconsider Or Sanction In Kari Lake Vote Suit
The Ninth Circuit has rejected Arizona Republican Kari Lake's attempt to revive her 2022 suit over the state's voting machines, issuing a two-sentence order that also rejects a sanctions bid Maricopa County officials filed in response to the former gubernatorial candidate's attempt to restart her failed suit.
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June 24, 2024
Colo. Justices Send Back 'Rare' Atty Conflict Criminal Case
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday found that an appeals court panel used an outdated analysis when reversing the sexual assault conviction of a man because his defense attorney was being prosecuted at the same time by the same district attorney's office, remanding the case for another look.
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June 24, 2024
Ex-Chicago Alderman Gets Two Years For Boosting Law Firm
An Illinois federal judge on Monday sentenced former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years in prison and fined him $2 million for using his official position to steer tax business to his personal law firm, closing what prosecutors called "another sordid chapter" in the city's history of public corruption.
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June 24, 2024
NC Justice's Politician Dad Doesn't Merit DQ, Lawmakers Say
North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. should not recuse himself from a constitutional challenge concerning the governor's appointment powers merely because his father is president pro tem of the state Senate, top lawmakers argue.
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June 24, 2024
Jurisdictional Discovery Ordered In NJ COVID Test Fraud Suit
A New Jersey federal court has denied without prejudice a dismissal bid and ordered "tightly-targeted and prompt jurisdictional discovery" in a Garden State medical supply business' complaint accusing a Texas attorney and his solo practice of aiding in an alleged $2.45 million fraud scheme involving COVID-19 test kits that were never delivered.
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June 24, 2024
NJ Atty Suspended 3 Years For Unauthorized Practice Of Law
A New Jersey attorney has been suspended from practicing law for three years after she continued to represent clients and mishandle sensitive matters while she was suspended for similar conduct in 2019, according to a New Jersey Supreme Court order.
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June 24, 2024
Research Co. Seeks Sanctions On Proud Boys Atty In IP Suit
A Texas research firm pursuing copyright infringement claims against a group of defense attorneys who represented members of the Proud Boys wants one of the lawyers sanctioned for filing "a frivolous and groundless counterclaim" in the D.C. federal court litigation.
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June 24, 2024
Seyfarth Atty Dropped From Yeshiva U. Rape Cover-Up Suit
A female Yeshiva University student who claims she was raped by a player on the men's basketball team, then sued the school claiming it conspired on a cover-up with Seyfarth Shaw LLP, has voluntarily dismissed two Yeshiva officials and a Seyfarth attorney from the lawsuit.
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June 24, 2024
Chase, Florida Law Firm Settle $100K Wire Theft Suit
JPMorganChase Bank NA and Florida-based law firm Frank A. Rubino Esq. PA have agreed to settle a suit accusing the financial services giant of negligence by failing to prevent a $100,000 payment that a client mistakenly sent a fraudster.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Fox Ex-Producer Case Is A Lesson In Joint Representation
A former Fox News producer's allegations that the network's lawyers pressured her to give misleading testimony in Fox's defamation battle with Dominion Voting Systems should remind lawyers representing a nonparty witness that the rules of joint representation apply, says Jared Marx at HWG.
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Opinion
Stanford Law Protest Highlights Rise Of Incivility In Discourse
The recent Stanford Law School incident, where students disrupted a speech by U.S. Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, should be a reminder to teach law students how to be effective advocates without endangering physical and mental health, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada.