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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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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.