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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Friday that he's hired Timothy Ruffini to lead a new organized retail crime unit focused on prosecuting criminal networks behind thefts and violence against Peach State businesses.
This was another action-packed week for the legal industry as BigLaw made big hires and Donald Trump's legal woes continued. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
Edward O'Callaghan comes from a big Irish family and, for a time, thought about following in their footsteps to work as a police officer. But an internship early in law school set him on a different path, and culminated recently in a new role leading Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP's congressional investigations practice and co-leading its office in Washington, D.C.
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.
An appellate judge known for writing forceful opinions about "government overreach" is facing off against a legislator who has practiced in front of the state's highest court, hoping to secure the Republican nomination this month for an open seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. The eventual nominee will run against the director of the University of Michigan's Juvenile Justice Clinic, the lone Democratic candidate.
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.
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.
A Texas appeals court handed Collin County a victory Thursday in a long-running fight over how much special prosecutors should get paid for the criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, ordering the trial court to vacate its past orders awarding attorney fees to the prosecutors.
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.
Bail reform has had no statistical impact on crime rates across the country, according to a recent study released by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
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.
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.
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.
Ford Motor Co. pushed the North Carolina Court of Appeals to remove state Superior Court Judge Hoyt Tessener from a product liability suit, arguing the jurist made disparaging remarks about the company after prosecuting a similar suit against the carmaker years ago as a private attorney.
Utah Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant, who was recently selected as president of the Conference of Chief Justices, joined Law360 Pulse for a wide-ranging discussion that touched on the biggest challenges facing chief justices and how attorneys should conduct themselves with decency.
An embattled Harlem real estate attorney already facing one criminal case has been indicted on a separate felony larceny charge, with prosecutors claiming he stole $210,000 from a client in an apartment deal gone awry.
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.
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.
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.
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to review the disqualification of a candidate for an open judgeship on the state's intermediate court of appeals.
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.
A disbarred attorney pled guilty to a single count of tax evasion Wednesday in Pennsylvania federal court stemming from allegations he didn't pay taxes on more than $100 million in legal fees he earned from representing 4,300 plaintiffs in a mass tort case, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The Georgia Supreme Court has declined to take up the wrongful termination case of a former public defender employee with breast cancer, leaving in place an appellate court decision that overturned a 22-year-old ruling by saying the state did not waive its sovereign immunity when it enacted the Fair Employment Practices Act.
A Pennsylvania state judge overseeing the Zantac mass tort litigation against GlaxoSmithKline denied a motion to recuse himself Wednesday after expressing skepticism about the plaintiffs' contention that he could be unconsciously partial because his wife works for a firm defending the drugmaker in other jurisdictions.
South Carolina's Supreme Court has agreed to hear disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh's appeal claiming a clerk of court tampered with the jury that convicted him of murder, invoking a rule that bypasses intermediate appeals when "significant public interest or a legal principle of major importance" hangs in the balance.
While international agreements for space law have remained relatively unchanged since their creation decades ago, the rapid pace of change in U.S. laws and policies is creating opportunities for both new and veteran lawyers looking to break into this exciting realm, in either the private sector or government, says Michael Dodge at the University of North Dakota.
Series
Ask A Mentor: What Makes A Successful Summer Associate?Navigating a few densely packed weeks at a law firm can be daunting for summer associates, but those who are prepared to seize opportunities and not afraid to ask questions will be set up for success, says Julie Crisp at Latham.
Law firms can attract the right summer associate candidates and help students see what makes a program unique by using carefully crafted messaging and choosing the best ambassadors to deliver it, says Tamara McClatchey, director of career services at the University of Chicago Law School.
Opinion
Judges Deserve Congress' Commitment To Their SafetyFollowing the tragic attack on U.S. District Judge Esther Salas' family last summer and amid rising threats against the judiciary, legislation protecting federal judges' personal information and enhancing security measures at courthouses is urgently needed, says U.S. District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can Recalcitrant Attys Use Social Media?Social media can be intimidating for reluctant lawyers but it can also be richly rewarding, as long as attorneys remember that professional accounts will always reflect on their firms and colleagues, and follow some best practices to avoid embarrassment, says Sean Marotta at Hogan Lovells.
Neville Eisenberg and Mark Grayson at BCLP explain how they sped up contract execution for one client by replacing email with a centralized, digital tool for negotiations and review, and how the principles they adhered to can be helpful for other law firms looking to improve poorly managed contract management processes.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can Firms Coach Associates Remotely?Practicing law through virtual platforms will likely persist even after the pandemic, so law firms and senior lawyers should consider refurbishing their associate mentoring programs to facilitate personal connections, professionalism and effective training in a remote environment, says Carol Goodman at Herrick Feinstein.
As the U.S. observes Autism Acceptance Month, autistic attorney Haley Moss describes the societal barriers and stereotypes that keep neurodivergent lawyers from disclosing their disabilities, and how law firms can better accommodate and level the playing field for attorneys whose minds work outside of the prescribed norm.
Many legal technology vendors now sell artificial intelligence and machine learning tools at a premium price tag, but law firms must take the time to properly evaluate them as not all offerings generate process efficiencies or even use the technologies advertised, says Steven Magnuson at Ballard Spahr.
While chief legal officers are increasingly involved in creating corporate diversity, inclusion and anti-bigotry policies, all lawyers have a responsibility to be discrimination busters and bias interrupters regardless of the title they hold, says Veta T. Richardson at the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Every lawyer can begin incorporating aspects of software development in their day-to-day practice with little to no changes in their existing tools or workflow, and legal organizations that take steps to encourage this exploration of programming can transform into tech incubators, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
As junior associates increasingly report burnout, work-life conflict and loneliness during the pandemic, law firms should take tangible actions to reduce the stigma around seeking help, and to model desired well-being behaviors from the top down, say Stacey Whiteley at the New York State Bar Association and Robin Belleau at Kirkland.
Series
Ask A Mentor: Should My Law Firm Take On An Apprentice?Mentoring a law student who is preparing for the bar exam without attending law school is an arduous process that is not for everyone, but there are also several benefits for law firms hosting apprenticeship programs, says Jessica Jackson, the lawyer guiding Kim Kardashian West's legal education.
As clients increasingly want law firms to serve as innovation platforms, firms must understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach — the key is a nimble innovation function focused on listening and knowledge sharing, says Mark Brennan at Hogan Lovells.
In addition to establishing their brand from scratch, women who start their own law firms must overcome inherent bias against female lawyers and convince prospective clients to put aside big-firm preferences, says Joel Stern at the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms.