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Legal Ethics
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July 16, 2024
Fed. Circ. OKs Judge Connolly's Fine Against IP Biz Owner
A precedential ruling from the Federal Circuit on Tuesday found that Delaware's top judge has the right to fine a Texas paralegal who is the sole owner of patent litigation outfit Backertop Licensing LLC $200 a day for refusing to show up in court as part of the judge's investigation into whether Backertop and others hid their connection to big-name intellectual property consulting firm IP Edge.
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July 16, 2024
Judge's Emails To Prosecutor Unethical But Didn't Taint Trial
A judge should have recused herself after emailing the elected prosecutor during trial to complain that an officer "didn't do a very good investigation," but the ethical lapse didn't warrant a new trial, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
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July 16, 2024
$4.5M Davis Wright Deal In Ore. Fraud Suit Gets Final OK
An Oregon federal judge has fully adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to sign off on a $4.5 million deal resolving investor claims against law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP for its work representing entities involved in an alleged real estate securities fraud scheme, while two banks were dismissed from the case.
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July 16, 2024
Ex-County Exec Wants Firm Kicked Off NJ Discrimination Suit
A former New Jersey county health director who claims his termination was retaliatory wants the firm representing the county disqualified, arguing Testa Heck Testa & White PA is conflicted due to interactions he had with two of the firm's attorneys before and during his termination meeting.
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July 16, 2024
Columbia U. Aims To Keep $600M Patent Win Over Norton
Columbia University has urged the Federal Circuit to preserve its $600 million willful patent infringement judgment against NortonLifeLock Inc., telling the court that Norton's "kitchen-sink" appeal "raises a slew of issues, hoping something will stick" and challenging Quinn Emanuel's appeal of a civil contempt ruling as "baseless and, ultimately, academic."
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July 16, 2024
California Atty Accused In $282M Theft Put On Inactive Status
A California lawyer who's accused of stealing as much as $282 million from debt relief clients has been placed on involuntary inactive status, and bar discipline authorities say he deserves to lose his license permanently.
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July 16, 2024
Cohen Asks Justices To Hear Claim Trump Put Him In Prison
Donald Trump's former attorney-turned-critic Michael Cohen has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take another look at his suit claiming the former president had him imprisoned in retaliation for his plans to portray Trump negatively in his book.
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July 16, 2024
Conn. Nonprofit Skirts Sanctions Over Skipped Depositions
A month after three officers of a Connecticut nonprofit failed to sit for postverdict depositions in a $13.8 million wrongful death case because their attorney was on vacation in Europe, the organization dodged sanctions Tuesday in state court when a judge ordered them to submit to the questioning within 30 days.
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July 16, 2024
Greenspoon Marder Escapes COVID Test Fraud Suit For Now
Safe Health Systems Inc. can't proceed with its lawsuit against Greenspoon Marder LLP over the allegedly fraudulent sale of COVID-19 test kits, as a New York federal judge determined without objection from the digital healthcare company that it lacked diversity jurisdiction among the parties.
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July 16, 2024
Chinese Exile Guo Guilty On Most Counts In $1B Fraud Case
A Manhattan federal jury on Tuesday convicted prominent Chinese Communist Party critic Miles Guo on most charges alleging he operated a vast fraud that solicited more than $1 billion worth of sham investments from his supporters.
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July 16, 2024
Houston Atty Allegedly Misled Client About Past Malpractice
A man is suing the lawyer who was representing him in an employment case because the attorney didn't disclose his "extensive" history of legal malpractice, telling a Texas state court that the attorney broke his fiduciary duties by not revealing his past misdeeds.
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July 16, 2024
Former Ozy Media CEO Convicted Of Defrauding Investors
A New York federal jury on Tuesday convicted former Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson of fraud and identity theft in a case alleging the charismatic startup founder lied to banks and investors to secure tens of millions of dollars in funding for the multimedia company.
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July 16, 2024
The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
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July 16, 2024
These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
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July 15, 2024
Bannon Wants Full DC Circ. To Revisit Contempt Conviction
Ex-Trump White House aide Steve Bannon asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday for an en banc rehearing as he seeks to overturn his contempt of Congress conviction, saying a three-judge panel's determination that he "willfully" flouted a subpoena from the Jan. 6 House select committee ignored U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
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July 15, 2024
Gov't Facing Sanctions Over Docs Withheld In Contract Row
A Court of Federal Claims judge has ordered the federal government to explain why it shouldn't be sanctioned for wrongly asserting privilege and withholding documents in a dispute over the allegedly bad faith cancelation of a U.S. Air Force construction task order.
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July 15, 2024
'Hard To Imagine' Logic For Late Injury Evidence, Justice Says
A Dallas County jury will hear a dispute between an apartment complex and a resident who alleges she was injured after a 2015 carbon monoxide leak, despite the late disclosure of evidence, justification for which the Texas Supreme Court said was "hard to imagine."
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July 15, 2024
9th Circ. Centers On Atty's Duties In Winery TM Feud
Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Monday that a Houston lawyer could represent a prominent Napa Valley vintner while also claiming partial ownership rights to the name of its popular cabernet sauvignon, with one judge saying that conflict of interest rules for attorneys operating in California are "very strict."
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July 15, 2024
Judge Says Attys Must Hash Out Conflict In Twitter Row
A California federal judge has rebuked both sides of a suit alleging Twitter violated federal labor laws amid a mass layoff in late 2022, ordering lead attorneys to attend a meet and confer session in August to work through ongoing conflicts that have arisen since the claims were filed in April 2023.
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July 15, 2024
Gray Reed Helped Water Now CEO In Fraud, Investors Say
Investors in the now-defunct water purification company Water Now have added law firm Gray Reed & McGraw LLP and attorney George Diamond to their suit against the company, saying in an amended complaint Monday the firm helped the company's CEO run the business into the ground while enriching himself.
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July 15, 2024
How Baldwin Could Turn The Table On 'Rust' Prosecutors
The sudden dismissal of involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin over withheld evidence has left New Mexico state prosecutors not only with a tattered reputation but also potentially facing both bar discipline and civil litigation by the actor, experts told Law360.
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July 15, 2024
Personal Injury, Med Mal Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2024
A Pennsylvania case over hospitals' liability for not admitting a mental health patient who ended up killing his girlfriend and a Texas high court case over solicitations by personal injury attorneys are among the cases injury and malpractice attorneys will be following in the second half of 2024.
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July 15, 2024
Judge DQ'd From Young Thug's Trial Over Ex Parte Convo
The judge presiding over the Atlanta racketeering trial of rapper Young Thug has been booted from the case over charges that he held a closed-door meeting with prosecutors and a key witness, accusations that ended with the musician's attorney being placed into handcuffs last month.
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July 15, 2024
Girardi Seeks 2-Month Delay For Client Theft Trial, To October
Disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi's defense attorneys want to push back his closely watched wire fraud trial to October from its current August start date, claiming they've been "misled" by "sharp-elbowed" federal prosecutors who have unexpectedly sought to expand the scope of their case against Girardi in recent weeks.
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July 15, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Wants Probation For Campaign Finance Scam
A former BigLaw attorney asked a Massachusetts federal judge to sentence him to probation instead of prison for his campaign finance violation convictions linked to a failed 2018 congressional run, arguing that the conduct wasn't intended for personal enrichment but rather demonstrated his inexperience in campaigning and fundraising.
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.