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Legal Ethics
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May 28, 2024
Trump Atty Calls Cohen 'MVP Of Liars' As NY Trial Closes
Donald Trump's counsel repeatedly assailed the credibility of star witness Michael Cohen Tuesday in a final pitch to the New York jury that will decide whether to convict the former president of falsifying business records, calling Cohen "an MVP of liars" and "the human embodiment of reasonable doubt."
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May 28, 2024
SEC Ordered To Pay $1.8M Over Crypto Case Sanctions
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is on the hook for more than $1.8 million in attorney and receiver fees arising from its allegedly ill-gotten temporary restraining order against crypto project Debt Box, though a Utah federal judge allowed the agency the opportunity to refile the enforcement case despite protests from the defendants.
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May 28, 2024
Colo. Justices To Mull Atty Advice Defense In Securities Cases
The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the advice a defendant's business attorney gave him is relevant to his state of mind in a securities fraud case, according to an order Tuesday granting the state's petition for appeal.
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May 28, 2024
Mich. Judge Tosses Ex-Prosecutor's Suit Over Firing
A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a fired assistant prosecutor alleging he lost his job at the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office for speaking out about harassment and retaliation, after the county asked for sanctions because the plaintiff wasn't complying with discovery requirements and missed a deposition.
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May 28, 2024
Absent Atty Irks Judge In Girardi-Linked Bar Corruption Case
A California judge on Tuesday chastised a lawyer representing former clients of Tom Girardi accusing the state bar of "rampant corruption," telling the attorney over the phone that he is "nonplussed" as to why he attempted to skip the hearing on the bar's motion to toss the case.
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May 28, 2024
High Court Passes On Collection Firm's CFPB Funding Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that it won't take up a now-shuttered debt collection law firm's fight against an investigative demand by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, turning down a case that covered the same constitutional ground as one that the justices recently decided in the agency's favor.
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May 28, 2024
Int'l Judge Pushes Back Against Russia Amicus Allegations
Prominent arbitrator and international Judge Charles Brower is pushing back against claims from the Kremlin that conflicts of interest should bar his amicus brief to the D.C. Circuit in support of Yukos Oil Co. shareholders' $50 billion arbitration enforcement.
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May 28, 2024
Colo. Justices Say Actual Bias Not Needed To Recuse Judges
Colorado justices on Tuesday said that litigants don't need to prove actual bias to disqualify a judge but still need to get pretty close to that standard, finding a judge who was shot at in her car did not need to step down from a road rage case.
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May 28, 2024
Ex-Florida Atty Accused Of Failing To Deliver Condo Proceeds
A disbarred attorney was sued in Florida state court by a client who alleged fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in a Miami Beach condominium foreclosure action, saying he misappropriated more than $68,000 in proceeds.
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May 28, 2024
Ex-Ill. Prosecutor Arrested, Charged For Woodchipper Threat
A former assistant state's attorney in suburban Chicago's DuPage County has been arrested and charged with threatening the children of two Illinois state representatives in an online post in which he allegedly suggested he would put them into a woodchipper.
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May 28, 2024
Wisconsin Atty Gets 5½ Years For $2.3M Fraud, Tax Evasion
An attorney licensed in Wisconsin has been sentenced to 5½ years in federal prison and ordered to pay around $2.3 million in restitution for her involvement in multiple fraud schemes, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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May 28, 2024
American To Cut Attys Who Blamed Child Filmed In Bathroom
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP attorneys are on the brink of being removed as counsel for American Airlines in a Texas state lawsuit over an ex-flight attendant's secret bathroom recording of a 9-year-old girl.
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May 28, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 17 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial
Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day 17.
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May 28, 2024
Calif. Judge Cops To Ethics Charges, Agrees To Step Down
A California judge censured and barred for multiple ethics violations, including drug use, inappropriate personal relationships with attorneys and making inappropriate comments, including antisemitic remarks, about litigants and attorneys, has resigned as of Monday.
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May 28, 2024
Ga. Law Firm Beats Sanctions Over Fatal Crash Mistrial
The Georgia Court of Appeals has thrown out sanctions against an Atlanta civil litigation law firm requiring the firm to pay more than $584,000 in attorney fees and costs for not uncovering a purported conflict that caused a mistrial in a fatal crash lawsuit, finding the trial court's decision was excessive and not supported by evidence.
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May 28, 2024
Trump's Florida Prosecutors Scolded For Gag Order Filing
The Florida federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's classified documents case on Tuesday temporarily rejected the government's request for a limited gag order and admonished prosecutors for what she said was a lack of "substance and professional courtesy" in their conferral with defense attorneys before filing the motion.
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May 28, 2024
Beasley Allen, J&J Trade Barbs Over DQ Bid In Talc Litigation
Johnson & Johnson and the Beasley Allen Law Firm have accused each other by turns of "gamesmanship" and "unscrupulous conduct" in New Jersey courts in a fight over whether the firm should be disqualified from talcum powder litigation for allegedly collaborating in secret with a former J&J outside counsel.
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May 28, 2024
Legal Lenders Can't Avoid Hurricane Ads Suit, Plaintiff Argues
Funding companies that lent $20 million to a Texas law firm accused of using it to deceptively solicit hurricane victims can't escape liability by claiming they didn't know how attorneys were using the money or "simply because they don't have offices in the state," according to a Louisiana woman at the forefront of a putative class action.
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May 28, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Avenatti Appeal Of Nike Conviction
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from Michael Avenatti challenging his conviction for trying to extort millions from Nike, with the high court's rejection ending the disbarred attorney's chances at overturning one of his three criminal convictions.
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May 28, 2024
Lin Wood Wants Fraud Claims Kept Out Of Defamation Trial
Controversial attorney Lin Wood has asked a Georgia federal judge to bar his former law partners, who allege he falsely accused them of attempted extortion, from introducing evidence at an upcoming August trial related to two separate and still pending suits filed against him in Fulton County.
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May 28, 2024
Serial Numbers Tie Gold Bars To Menendez, Jury Hears
The executive assistant of a New Jersey real estate developer on trial alongside U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez linked her boss to some of the gold bars found in the congressman's New Jersey home, confirming Tuesday that the serial numbers of her employer's stash of bars matched the ones stamped on the flashy evidence.
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May 24, 2024
5 Themes That Could Determine Trump's NY Criminal Trial
With closing arguments set for Tuesday morning in Donald Trump's New York hush money case and deliberations on the horizon, here's a look at the themes that have dominated the historic, monthlong trial so far.
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May 24, 2024
Fla. Bar Seeks Longer Penalty Over Atty's Campaign Speech
In a notice filed with the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday, the Florida Bar said it would seek a 91-day suspension for Georgia-based attorney Christopher W. Crowley, rather than a recommended 60-day suspension after a referee said Crowley disparaged Amira Fox several times when both were running for 20th Judicial Circuit state attorney.
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May 24, 2024
No-Show Plaintiff, 'Jackass' Atty Booted Too Fast, Court Says
A Michigan appellate court sympathized with a trial court dealing with a no-show plaintiff and his lawyer who acted like a "jackass" — according to one appellate judge — but ruled Thursday that the trial court needed to do a better job documenting why it tossed the case instead of issuing a lesser sanction.
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May 24, 2024
Carhartt Heiress Atty Can't Get Mistrial Over Own Witness
A Michigan attorney can't get a mistrial in a criminal case accusing him of embezzling millions from his wealthy Carhartt heiress client after his own witness discussed the heiress' $37 million potential loss during cross-examination, with a state judge saying Friday he was mystified why the witness was even called but that the defense had insisted on it.
Expert Analysis
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Twitter Sanction Highlights Privacy Law's Complexity
The D.C. Circuit's recent decision to uphold a sanction against X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, for failing to produce account records in response to a subpoena highlights the importance of understanding the Stored Communications Act, particularly when deciding to produce or not produce data, says Cary Aronovitz at Holland & Knight.
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Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees
The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review
Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Series
Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
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Opinion
Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues
Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI
When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.
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How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth
Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.
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Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics
X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era
As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.
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Nev. Insurance Law May Mean Turmoil In Liability Market
Nevada's new law prohibiting insurers from issuing or renewing defense-within-limits liability policies in the state could cause professional liability insurers to withdraw certain products or prohibitively increase premiums — and while an emergency regulation allows for exceptions, the situation remains fluid, says Joshua Leach at Atheria Law.
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Lessons From High-Profile Witness Tampering Allegations
As demonstrated by recent developments in the cases against former President Donald Trump and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, allegations of witness tampering can carry serious consequences — but attorneys can employ certain strategies to mitigate the risk that accusations arise, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Covington Ruling Strengthens SEC's Enforcement Powers
A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent order that Covington & Burling provide the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with the identities of its clients in response to a subpoena reinforces the agency’s broad authority to investigate cybersecurity violations, and suggests law firms must take steps to strengthen data privacy, say Elisha Kobre and Ryan Dean at Bradley Arant.
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'Blind Side' Family Case Is A Cautionary Tale For Attorneys
Former NFL player Michael Oher's recent allegations against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy that they never legally adopted him and tricked him into conservatorship — which paint a very different picture than the 2009 film "The Blind Side" — demonstrate the importance of attorney due diligence and safeguards against abuse of process, says Roland Weekley at Smith Gambrell.
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The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.