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Business of Law
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August 16, 2024
Colo. Judge Orders Attys To Leave Assumptions At The Door
A Colorado trial judge is one of the first in the country to require parties to use gender-neutral terms until a person has identified their pronouns. Drawing on his experiences putting on a straight "costume" as a young, gay attorney, he says the aim is to make the courtroom a welcoming space for all involved.
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August 15, 2024
Amicus Beef: Judiciary Kicks Off Heated Transparency Debate
The federal judiciary's main policy panel Thursday floated a major overhaul of mandatory financial disclosures in appellate amicus briefs, a move that's being fueled by perceptions of shadowy "judicial lobbying" and already coming under siege by big business.
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August 15, 2024
Tom Girardi Has Dementia, USC Neurologist Tells Calif. Jury
A University of Southern California neurology professor testified Thursday in Tom Girardi's California federal criminal trial that she diagnosed him with mild-to-moderate dementia months after his law firm collapsed, although the lawyer insisted at the time that his memory was fine and that he was still busily working at his firm.
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August 15, 2024
Colo. Atty Sues Bank, Opposing Counsel Over Hack Attack
A Colorado attorney and conservative radio personality is suing Wells Fargo and opposing counsel in a divorce proceeding over their alleged role in a hacking incident that apparently caused him to wire $375,000 for a client's divorce settlement to Hong Kong.
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August 15, 2024
Bloom Firm Settles False Claims Act Suit Over Virus PPP Loan
Civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom, her Calabasas, California-based firm and her husband have agreed to pay a combined $274,000 to settle a rival law firm's False Claims Act suit alleging they provided false information to obtain a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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August 15, 2024
BigLaw Gambling Probe Halts Notre Dame Men's Swimming
The University of Notre Dame has suspended its men's swimming program after a Ropes & Gray LLP investigation confirmed reports of widespread gambling in violation of National Collegiate Athletics Association rules, a matter the university's athletics director called "a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame's standards for student-athletes."
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August 15, 2024
Trump's $100M Tort Claim Against DOJ Faces Uphill Climb
Experts say Donald Trump's $100 million claim against the federal government for the search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and the prosecution of the allegedly illegal retention of classified documents there will be an uphill climb for the former president because of the limited application of the Federal Tort Claims Act.
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August 15, 2024
9th Circ. Judges Seem To Split On Wash. Abortion Coverage
A Ninth Circuit judge asked Thursday how a church could be harmed by a Washington law requiring employee health plans to cover abortions, since none of its workers had ever actually sought one, while another judge asked if tossing the case would slam the door on religious objections.
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August 15, 2024
'Rise Of The Insurance Beast': Cases Take Over Colo. Courts
Colorado's chief U.S. magistrate judge told a room full of attorneys Thursday that insurance cases have started to dominate the court's dockets, comprising almost half the district's civil jury trials last year.
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August 15, 2024
Lin Wood Must Pay Ex-Partners $3.75M, Ga. Jurors Say
A Georgia federal jury said Thursday that controversial ex-attorney Lin Wood must pay $3.75 million to his three former law partners and cover their attorney fees and costs, with the exact amount of those fees to be determined Friday morning.
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August 15, 2024
NJ Gov. To Replace Menendez With Former Chief Of Staff
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy officially announced on Friday that his former chief of staff, George Helmy, will serve out the term of convicted U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., whose resignation takes effect Aug. 20.
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August 15, 2024
No Dismissal Yet In Dispute Over Education Law Firm TM
A Philadelphia-based education law firm's suit seeking to cancel registration for its competitor's trademark "The Education Lawyers" must continue because open questions remain, a Pennsylvania federal judge said.
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August 15, 2024
Ex-Morelli Atty Says Sex Assault Claims Waived In Settlement
Morelli Law Firm PLLC and its founding partner Benedict Morelli settled sexual assault allegations from an associate at its predecessor firm, Morelli Ratner PC, before she filed suit against fellow named partner David Ratner, according to a motion Ratner filed in New York state court Tuesday seeking a copy of the settlement.
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August 15, 2024
No Harm In SEC Releasing More Info On Breach, Judge Told
A conservative civil liberties group questioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims that releasing additional materials related to its handling of an internal firewall breach would harm the public interest Thursday, telling a D.C. federal judge in court that so much was already out, more sunlight couldn't hurt.
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August 15, 2024
Prof Rips DOJ, VW's 9th Circ. Bid To Shield Jones Day Docs
A Loyola Marymount University professor has urged the Ninth Circuit to shut down the U.S. Department of Justice and Volkswagen AG's relentless "obfuscation" in a long-running dispute over access to confidential Volkswagen documents that were part of a Jones Day investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal.
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August 15, 2024
NY Asks Top Court To Nix Ruling Against Ethics Commission
The Office of the New York State Attorney General has submitted a brief urging the state's highest court to reverse a finding against an ethics commission that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo convinced a state court was unconstitutional.
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August 15, 2024
Feds, NJ Judiciary Reach Deal Over Language Access Bias
The New Jersey judiciary has reached a settlement to resolve a federal investigation into alleged discrimination against non-English speakers in Monmouth County court, agreeing to increase training and translation services systemwide, according to an announcement Thursday.
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August 15, 2024
Conn. 'Fishing' Atty Submits Resignation From State Bar
A Connecticut attorney who responded to an overdraft notice and disciplinary inquiry with an email saying the issue wasn't a priority as he was busy fishing has submitted his resignation from the state bar.
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August 15, 2024
Trump Seeks To Delay NY Sentencing Until After Election
Donald Trump asked to delay sentencing in his New York hush money case until after the 2024 presidential election, arguing he needs time to potentially appeal if he loses an attempt to erase the felony conviction on the basis of presidential immunity.
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August 14, 2024
Lin Wood Defends Social Posts In Long Day Of Testimony
Controversial ex-attorney Lin Wood was pushed on his claim that social media posts he made about three of his former law partners following the 2020 dissolution of his firm were an attempt at self-defense when he took the stand Wednesday in Georgia federal court.
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August 14, 2024
Girardi Kept 'Opening A Wound,' Tearful Ex-Client Tells Jury
A woman whose son was seriously injured in a car accident shed tears Wednesday while testifying in Tom Girardi's criminal trial, recalling her increasingly desperate attempts to get a final $1 million owed to her from a lawsuit settlement as the embattled attorney gave her varying excuses for why she wasn't getting the funds.
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August 14, 2024
Holland & Knight Out, Polsinelli In For Tesla After Atty Moves
As Holland & Knight LLP steps out of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's lawsuit alleging Tesla allowed rampant racism to overtake a California factory, a California federal judge allowed Polsinelli PC to step in as the electric carmaker's counsel after three attorneys switched to the incoming firm.
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August 14, 2024
Denver Law Grad Sanctioned In Suit Over Externship Failure
A University of Denver law school graduate with disabilities who was fired by the Denver District Attorney's Office during a school externship cannot sue the school for discrimination, a Colorado federal judge has ruled, sanctioning the former student for misogynistic attacks against opposing counsel and other behavior.
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August 14, 2024
Del. Justices Affirm $266M Atty Fee Award In Dell Class Suit
Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday backed a Chancery Court decision awarding an almost record-breaking $266.7 million fee for stockholder attorneys who settled a class action against Dell Technologies Inc. for $1 billion, saying the Chancery "did not exceed its discretion in setting the fee percentage."
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August 14, 2024
Texas Atty Must Pay Volkswagen $200K In Fees For Patent Suit
A Texas federal judge has ordered litigation firm VDPP LLC and its counsel, Texas attorney William Ramey III of Ramey LLP, to pay Volkswagen $207,543 in fees stemming from a now-dismissed patent case after determining a fee multiplier that applies to "exceptional" cases was appropriate due to the suit's "obvious lack of merit."
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
NY Should Pass Litigation Funding Bill To Protect Plaintiffs
New York state should embrace the regulatory framework proposed in the Consumer Litigation Funding Act, which would suppress the unregulated predatory lenders that currently prey on vulnerable litigants but preserve a funding option that helps personal injury plaintiffs stand up to deep-pocketed corporate defendants, says Alan Ripka at Alan Ripka & Associates.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.