Small Law


  • Feds Say Fla. Atty Can't Shake COVID Relief Fraud Conviction

    In a case involving a Florida lawyer serving a 75-month sentence for a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme, federal prosecutors are arguing that the trial judge was correct to allow a witness to testify that the defendant had talked about having another co-conspirator killed.

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    Fla. Law Firms Accused Of Mishandling Brain Injury Case

    Three Florida law firms are facing a malpractice suit by the victim of a car accident who claims his attorney blew his chance at a $2.5 million recovery by failing to respond to at least nine discovery requests and repeatedly missing court deadlines.

  • NC Panel Affirms Axing Sex Abuse Suit As Sanction For Delay

    A North Carolina appeals panel found in a precedential ruling that a trial court was right to toss a man's sex abuse suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh as an appropriate sanction for his counsel having "deliberately and unreasonably delayed service of process." 

  • Boston Firm Says Atty Diverted Leads To Keches Law Group

    Personal injury firm Keches Law Group has been hit with a Massachusetts state court complaint alleging it secretly worked with an associate at a smaller firm to obtain leads on potential cases.

  • Texas' MMA Sues Firm That Took Over Its Hurricane Cases

    The bankrupt Houston plaintiffs' firm MMA Law has sued Daly & Black PC, the law firm that took over its clients, in Texas bankruptcy court seeking to claw back a cut of attorneys' fees from thousands of lawsuits it launched on behalf of hurricane victims in Louisiana.

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    The Legal Work Awaiting Attys During Trump's Second Term

    Former President Donald Trump's return to the White House following his election victory on Tuesday is sure to bring a series of policy changes that will keep lawyers busy, particularly attorneys working in international trade, immigration, tax and antitrust.

  • Lawyer's Suit Against Ex-Partner Can Proceed, NJ Panel Says

    A New Jersey state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a lawyer who is suing a former law partner may continue pursuing the case in open court, because a contract signed years earlier between the lawyers doesn't require a private arbitration.

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    Texas High Court Delays Rule Changes For Non-Atty Services

    The Texas Supreme Court has delayed the effective date of rules for allowing non-attorneys to perform some legal services, saying it will take the extra time to "give due consideration to the comments received."

  • Suit Over Legal Ads Was Abuse Of Process, Firm Says

    The Hartford law firm Hayber McKenna & Dinsmore said in a Connecticut state court complaint that opposing counsel in a class action lawsuit abused the legal process by accusing the firm of unfair trade practices when it advertised a search for more members of the class.

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    It's Too Early To Say Gen AI Will Kill The Billable Hour

    Recent surveys are — again — saying the billable hour is about to go the way of the dodo. This time the predictions forecasting the billable hour's impending doom are because of the rise of generative artificial intelligence in law firms.

  • Feds Say Girardi's Behavior At Trial Shows He Is Competent

    Prosecutors told a California federal judge on Tuesday that Tom Girardi should not receive a new trial following his conviction for misappropriating $15 million in client settlement funds, saying the disbarred attorney's arguments that he was not competent to stand trial are completely undercut by his behavior during the trial.

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    Firm Alleges Damage From Holland & Knight's File Breach

    Hitting back at arguments that it had suffered no harm as a result of an ex-Holland & Knight LLP attorney's alleged unauthorized accessing of a client's confidential files, a Philadelphia personal injury firm countered Monday that it had been saddled with litigation costs and increased cybersecurity insurance premiums.

  • NJ Atty Must Face Malpractice Suit Over Real Estate Deal

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Monday said a Clifton-based attorney must face part of a legal malpractice action over his handling of a real estate transaction.

  • Georgia Atty Disbarred After Theft Conviction

    A Waco, Georgia, attorney was disbarred Tuesday after he was convicted of "theft by conversion" for taking advantage of an elderly client.

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    Davis Graham Scores IP Duo From Denver Boutique

    Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP announced Monday that a pair of experienced intellectual property partners, including a former attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, have joined the Denver-based firm from a local boutique, which Davis Graham said widens the scope of IP services it can provide clients.

  • ABA Tweaks Planned Changes To Law School Diversity Rules

    The American Bar Association is revising the language of its diversity standards for law schools after its August decision to remove references to race, ethnicity and other identities in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision striking down affirmative action in higher education was met with pushback from legal professionals.

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    Attys At These Firms Donated The Most To Harris, Trump

    Attorneys and staff at the country's largest law firms have donated more than 15 times as much money to Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign as they have to former President Donald Trump's, federal election records show.

  • Suspended Fla. Atty Seeks Leniency Over Missing Precedent

    A suspended Florida attorney has urged the Florida Supreme Court to reduce the punishment it doled out last month, including a one-year suspension of his law license, arguing that the state Supreme Court's decision "cites no precedent," so it should use its discretion to hand out lesser sanctions.

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    Ex-Rothman Gordon Shareholder Opens Pittsburgh Shop

    The former managing shareholder of the recently shuttered, 70-year-old Rothman Gordon PC has opened his own Pittsburgh-based firm focused on class action and commercial litigation.

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    Georgia Bar Forms 23-Person AI Special Committee

    The State Bar of Georgia has announced the formation of a special committee that will explore and make recommendations on how the state's professional conduct rules cover developments in legal technology, particularly tools involving artificial intelligence.

  • Atty Suing Ex-Partner Asks Judges For 'Fairly Nominal' Bond

    An attorney suing his ex-CEO over the breakup of their law firm has asked a Connecticut Superior Court judge to clear up two orders from different jurists by explaining how much bond he'll be required to post, saying a "fairly nominal" bond would ensure he keeps the case on track.

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    Legal Hiring Continued Upward Trajectory In October

    The U.S. legal sector logged its second month in a row of job number increases in October, following a four-month-long period of decline this spring and summer, according to preliminary figures released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • Danish Tax Agency To Settle With Atty In $2.1B Tax Fraud Suit

    Denmark's tax authority has agreed to settle with an attorney whom it has accused of helping clients claim fraudulent tax refunds in a sprawling $2.1 billion case, according to a letter by its attorney in New York federal court.

  • Conn. Judge Hacks Up Ex-Town Atty's Defamation Suit

    A Connecticut state court judge has dismissed all claims against the town of Newington and most claims against its tax assessor from a wide-ranging lawsuit brought by a group of former officials, including the former town attorney, who alleged that they were disparaged in a series of "false" ethics complaints and public comments.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Kicking off this week's legal lions list are nine large law firms celebrating a big win in New York after a federal judge threw out a $14 billion complaint against their retailer and drugmaker clients in multidistrict litigation accusing them of making and selling ineffective over-the-counter decongestants.

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Expert Analysis

  • DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help Author Photo

    Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past Author Photo

    At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

  • Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital Author Photo

    Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.

  • A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War' Author Photo

    With caseloads and spending increasing, in-house counsel might find themselves called to opine on the risks and benefits of litigation more often, and they should look at five Sun Tzu maxims from the ancient Chinese classic "The Art of War" to inform their approach to any suit, says Jeff Golimowski at Womble Bond.

  • Mentorship Is Key To Diversity In The Legal Industry Author Photo

    Not only can effective mentorship have a profound impact on women and people of color entering the legal field, but it also benefits mentors and the legal profession as a whole, creating a true win-win situation for all involved, says Natasha Cortes at Grossman Roth.

  • ChatGPT Is A Cool Trick, But AI Won't Replace Lawyers Author Photo

    Generative AI applications like ChatGPT are unlikely to ever replace attorneys for a variety of practical reasons — but given their practice-enhancing capabilities, lawyers who fail to leverage these tools may be rendered obsolete, says Eran Kahana at Maslon.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Valuable In IP And Continued Learning Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent elimination of a rule that partially counted pro bono work toward continuing legal education highlights the importance of volunteer work in intellectual property practice and its ties to CLE, and puts a valuable tool for hands-on attorney education in the hands of the states, say Lisa Holubar and Ariel Katz at Irwin.

  • Increasing Public Access To Legal Services: A Practical Plan Author Photo

    Recommendations recently issued by a special committee of the Florida Bar represent a realistic, pragmatic approach to increasing the accessibility and affordability of legal services, at a time when the disconnect between the legal profession and the public at large has widened considerably, says Gary Lesser, president of the Florida Bar.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Relay Shortcomings To Associates? Author Photo

    Michael Cohen at Duane Morris discusses the best ways to articulate how an associate is not meeting expectations, and why documentation of performance management is crucial for their growth and protecting the firm from discrimination suits.

  • 10 Principles For Effective Partner Reward Systems Author Photo

    Several forces are reshaping partners’ expectations about profit-sharing, and as compensation structures evolve in response, firms should keep certain fundamentals in mind to build a successful partner reward system, say Michael Roch at MHPR Advisors and Ray D'Cruz at Performance Leader.

  • Why Interdisciplinarity Is Key To Designing The Future Of Law Author Photo

    The legal profession faces challenges that urgently demand new solutions, and lawyers and firms can address this by leaning on other industries that have more experience practicing, teaching and incorporating innovation into their core business and service models, says Jennifer Leonard at the University of Pennsylvania.

  • 9 Writing Tips From The Justices' Opinions Last Term Author Photo

    Hidden in the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions from the last term are each justice’s talents for crafting choice turns of phrase, highlighting best practices for attorneys to jump-start their own writing, says Ross Guberman at BriefCatch.

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