Legal Ethics

  • March 03, 2025

    NJ Law Firm Must Pay Fees To Rival Firm For 'Frivolous' Suit

    Nagel Rice LLP must pay over $40,000 in attorney fees to Blume Forte Fried Zerres & Molinari stemming from a dispute over work related to a fatal school bus crash, a New Jersey judge has ruled.

  • March 03, 2025

    Defendant Admits To 'Shell Factory' Pump-And-Dump Scheme

    The final defendant rounded up in the "Shell Factory Fraud" prosecution of a group that created fake shell companies as part of a pump-and-dump scheme pled guilty Monday in Miami to one count of securities fraud.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ex-Judges Urge Probe Of 'Quid Pro Quo' Claim In Adams Case

    A group of more than a dozen retired federal judges has asked to weigh in on the potential dropping of corruption claims against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, filing a proposed amicus brief warning the "integrity of the judicial process" risks being "imperiled" by the improper dismissal of claims.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ex-Paxton Aides Say More Evidence Needed Before Judgment

    Four of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's former deputies have asked an Austin court to allow them to present more evidence in their 2020 employment retaliation suit, writing that his office was "trying to backtrack" its assertion that it wouldn't contest the case.

  • March 03, 2025

    3rd Circ. Preview: Litigation Funder, J&J Seek Relief In March

    The Third Circuit's case lineup this month will task panels with determining if an American litigation funder can keep its dispute with a German law firm in federal court, and whether Johnson & Johnson can decertify class claims accusing the company of artificially inflating its stock price by failing to disclose the alleged cancer risks of its talc products.

  • February 28, 2025

    Group Blasts Judge's Call For Women In Contraception MDL

    A judicial organization dedicated to fighting "leftist lawfare" filed a complaint Thursday against the Florida federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over the hormonal contraceptive drug Depo-Provera, claiming that her comments about women needing to be represented in the MDL leadership show an impermissible bias.

  • February 28, 2025

    Presidents v. Courts: Lincoln, Trump & Judicial Power Limits

    Amid fears of President Donald Trump disobeying judges with impunity, debate has focused on famous instances of officials defying the U.S. Supreme Court. But some of the clearest insights into America's handling of White House disregard for courts exist in relatively obscure cases from the Civil War era, when unprecedented presidential actions provoked extraordinary responses from the judiciary — and underscored the limits of its powers.

  • February 28, 2025

    New Jersey AG Office Tells Court It Wasn't Whistleblowers' Boss

    The New Jersey Attorney General's Office told a state judge Friday that it should be removed from a lawsuit accusing the Warren County prosecutor's office of retaliating against two detectives for their part in uncovering an alleged fraud scheme, because the attorney general was never their employer.

  • February 28, 2025

    Roc Nation Aims To Get Out Of Buzbee Conspiracy Suit

    Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's company Roc Nation has asked a Texas federal court to let it exit a lawsuit that claims Roc Nation conspired to "finance" malpractice suits against attorney Tony Buzbee in retaliation for an abortive lawsuit Buzbee filed accusing the rap star of rape.

  • February 28, 2025

    Mich. Atty Says Ex-Firm Foiling Cases Over Retaliation Suit

    A lawyer urged a Michigan federal judge to pause matters in several state court cases as she alleged her former law firm, Olsman MacKenzie Peacock PC, is using the proceedings to retaliate against her for filing a sexual harassment and hostile workplace suit against it and another firm run by a well-known mediator.

  • February 28, 2025

    Dems Claim DOJ Atty's 'Quid Pro Quo' Violated Ethics Rules

    Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee senior members lodged ethics complaints against acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, accusing the recently appointed Bove of violating ethics rules by allegedly pushing prosecutors to drop criminal bribery charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a "quid pro quo" deal with President Donald Trump.

  • February 28, 2025

    NYC Bar Slams Trump's Order On Covington Attys

    The New York City Bar Association has joined the chorus of legal groups decrying President Donald Trump's order suspending security clearances held by Covington & Burling LLP attorneys representing former special counsel Jack Smith, calling it an "improper use of government power."

  • February 28, 2025

    Audit Finds Calif. Bar Backlog Growing Amid Budget Crunch

    With more than one in three attorney discipline cases considered "backlogged" as of late 2023, the State Bar of California must do more to move cases forward while continuing belt-tightening to shore up finances after years of general fund deficits put it into a "strained financial position," the California State Auditor reports.

  • February 28, 2025

    Missouri Judge Won't Step Aside From Plastics Recycling Suit

    A Missouri federal judge denied petrochemical companies' request that he recuse himself from a proposed class action accusing them of misleading people about plastic's recyclability due to his wife's position as a Kansas City council member.

  • February 28, 2025

    Fla. Justices Say Atty Broke Rules With Nonviable Engle Suits

    The Florida Supreme Court has found an attorney guilty of violating court rules by filing baseless Engle progeny suits and failing to properly communicate with his clients, and told a referee to determine the appropriate sanction.

  • February 27, 2025

    VW Urges Fed. Circ. Not To Revive 3D Glasses Patent Suit

    Volkswagen urged the Federal Circuit on Wednesday to uphold a lower court's dismissal of patent-holding company VDPP LLC's patent suit against it, arguing that VDPP "failed to investigate facts, pressed unreasonable positions, disregarded court orders and rationales, 'lied,' and committed innumerable careless errors."

  • February 27, 2025

    Lewis Brisbois Foe Urges 5th Circ. To Let TM Feud Go To Jury

    The main defendant of a group that was found liable for willfully stealing Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP's name for its mediation business has told the Fifth Circuit that a Texas federal court committed more than a dozen abuses of discretion and that the trademark dispute should go before a jury.

  • February 27, 2025

    Judge Axes NYC Loan Row, Sanctions Firm For Depositions

    A New York federal judge has dismissed a commercial real estate lender's claims against two guarantors for a 2022 loan it made, ripping the lender and its ex-counsel, Fox Rothschild LLP, for deposition no-shows.

  • February 27, 2025

    Food Startup Owes $575K In TM Fight With Jaden Smith's Co.

    A disagreement over how food startup Eat Just capitalized on the word "Just" in branding will cost it over half a million dollars after a California federal court decided its conduct went against the company's agreement with the Just Water brand started by celebrity Jaden Smith and his actor dad, Will Smith.

  • February 27, 2025

    Texas Attorney Says He Can Contact Party While Pro Se

    An attorney barred from practicing law for five years has told the Texas Supreme Court that he was allowed to contact members of the Texas Bar's disciplinary wing instead of their counsel because he was pro se, asking the court to toss his punishment.

  • February 27, 2025

    Sierra Leone Accuses Jenner & Block Of Fraudulent Overbilling

    Facing an $8 million fee suit pending in D.C. federal court, the Republic of Sierra Leone on Thursday brought counterclaims accusing its former counsel from Jenner & Block LLP of fraudulently overbilling for work the firm did on its behalf between 2019 and 2022.

  • February 27, 2025

    Ex-Trump Atty Powell's Mich. Misconduct Hearing Set For May

    The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board on Thursday announced the date for a misconduct hearing for Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and other attorneys who were allegedly involved in a legal challenge to Michigan's 2020 presidential election results and supporting Donald Trump's election fraud theories.

  • February 27, 2025

    No Sanctions For Atty As TM's Incontestability Status Axed

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has declined to refer Great Concepts LLC or its former attorney for potential discipline for submitting a filing with false information for incontestability of its mark in 2010, saying too much time has passed.

  • February 27, 2025

    Judge Limits Atty Expert Witnesses In Legal Malpractice Trial

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday barred attorneys who aren't expert witnesses from giving testimony about what they would have done differently from Quinn Johnston Henderson & Pretorius Chtd. in an upcoming trial on claims the firm's botched defense caused their client "enormous loss."

  • February 27, 2025

    Conn. Supreme Court Snapshot: Water Rates, Judicial Attacks

    An Eversource unit's request to offset inflation and $42 million in new infrastructure projects through rate hikes will top the Connecticut Supreme Court's March docket, with the justices examining another in a list of challenges to state regulators' attempts to keep a lid on customer costs.

Expert Analysis

  • Trump Faces Uphill Battle If He Tries To Target Prosecutors

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    On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to go after the state and federal prosecutors who had investigated and prosecuted him, but few criminal statutes would be applicable — to say nothing of the evidence required to substantiate any charges against prosecutors, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

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    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

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