Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Legal Ethics
-
March 24, 2025
Law Firm Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling $835K
The bookkeeper and office manager of a Hartford, Connecticut, law firm embezzled more than half a million dollars from the firm over 12 years and took more than a quarter-million in separate rental income earned by the law firm's owner, federal prosecutors announced on Monday.
-
March 24, 2025
Justices Won't Hear Insurance Dispute Over Claim Timeliness
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a California woman's bid to certify questions to Massachusetts' top court about when exactly an insurer must show it was prejudiced by an insured's late claim notice, letting stand a First Circuit decision that also refused to certify such questions.
-
March 24, 2025
Google Wins Sanctions For Ramey Firm's 'Baseless' IP Suit
A New York federal magistrate judge granted Google's request Monday for sanctions against Ramey LLP for filing an allegedly "baseless" suit on behalf of EscapeX IP accusing YouTube of infringing its social media chat-function patent, finding that counsel failed to conduct a presuit investigation and needlessly drew out litigation.
-
March 24, 2025
DC Circ. Appears Divided In Venezuelan Deportation Appeal
A D.C. Circuit panel seemed split on Monday as the appellate judges contended with the Trump administration's bid to dissolve a trial court order blocking the deportations of some Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
-
March 24, 2025
Visa Ducks Antitrust Suit Rife With 'Elementary Mistakes'
A California federal judge took a credit card transaction middleman to task Monday for "muddled" antitrust claims supported by "elementary mistakes" and tossing its proposed class action against Visa Inc.
-
March 24, 2025
No New Trial For Alleged Embezzler Who Waffled On Testifying
The Second Circuit on Monday rejected a bid for a new trial from a former Long Island nonprofit executive who was convicted of embezzlement, rejecting her argument that she'd been denied a right to testify and saying the record showed that she'd chosen not to.
-
March 24, 2025
Ill. County Must Face Public Defender's 1st Amendment Claim
An Illinois federal judge on Friday trimmed a public defender's constitutional claims against her county employer after she was disciplined for displaying a photograph in an office area of her holding a gun in front of an Israeli flag following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, dismissing her First Amendment prior restraint claim but otherwise allowing her suit to proceed.
-
March 24, 2025
Ill. Law Firm Accused Of Suing Wrong Co., Lying About Error
A doctor who sought to pursue an employment discrimination claim against former employer Humana Inc. claims in an Illinois state court lawsuit that the law firm he hired to handle his case filed claims against Cigna instead, forged his signature and didn't fix its attorneys' errors before the statute of limitations ran out.
-
March 24, 2025
Colo. Justices Say ABA Standards Don't Trump State's Rules
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday affirmed disciplinary sanctions against a lawyer who unloaded expletives at school staff in the presence of his minor client, finding in an opinion that the American Bar Association's standards for lawyer sanctions are "an important guiding authority" but don't override Colorado's own rules.
-
March 24, 2025
Fla. Judge OKs $19.3M In Spinal Products Noncompete Suit
A Florida federal judge approved a $19.3 million judgment against the owner of a distributor and his affiliated companies, finding that he owes damages for breaching an exclusive sales agreement with a spinal products manufacturer in a case with a "tortured history" that lasted for more than six years.
-
March 24, 2025
Lawyers Slam Trump Memo On 'Vexatious' Attys
BigLaw attorneys, immigration lawyers and legal advocacy organizations have been quick to blast President Donald Trump for what some of them call an "inexcusable and despicable" memo that is meant to intimidate attorneys out of challenging the administration.
-
March 24, 2025
Ex-Girardi Lawyer Faces Ethics Charges For $53M Settlement
The State Bar of California has filed disciplinary charges against a former Girardi Keese attorney alleging he settled a family's claims for $53 million without permission and hid the firm's misappropriation of millions of dollars from the resulting settlement funds, among other ethical violations.
-
March 24, 2025
Reed Smith Accused Of Interference In $102M Award Fight
The purported new owners of Eletson Holdings Inc., a reorganized international shipping group, have urged the Second Circuit to nix Reed Smith's appeal challenging the law firm's removal as counsel for the company's prebankruptcy shareholders in an enforcement action, saying the former owners declined the opportunity to intervene and that their counsel cannot intervene on their behalf.
-
March 24, 2025
Sheppard Mullin, Others Accused Of Aiding Loan Fraud
An investor has hit Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, a former managing partner and multiple other individuals with a sprawling lawsuit in California state court, alleging they made a series of fraudulent transactions to dupe him out of his initial $650,000 loan, eventually costing him millions of dollars in lost profits and legal fees.
-
March 24, 2025
NJ University Launches Malpractice Suit Over Forfeited Land
Rider University has sued a now-defunct New Jersey firm claiming it mishandled a land deal in the early 1990s, leading Rider to believe it owned a $42 million property only to later have its ownership rights challenged and defeated in court.
-
March 24, 2025
Pa. Judge Largely OKs Schnader Harrison Overbilling Suit
A real estate company's lawsuit claiming that now-defunct law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP inflated its bills by more than $1 million will continue after a Philadelphia County judge overruled most of the firm's preliminary objections.
-
March 24, 2025
Conn. Firms Sue For $175K Fee After 8-Year Estate Litigation
Two Connecticut law firms have sued a grandmother's estate to recoup $175,000 in attorney fees, saying they've spent eight years litigating four separate challenges to the woman's will and haven't been paid in more than five years.
-
March 24, 2025
Paul Weiss Chair Defends Trump Deal Amid Outcry
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP Chairman Brad Karp explained to the law firm's personnel on Sunday his decision to strike a deal with the Trump administration to avoid retribution related to the firm's selection of clients and DEI practices, a decision that has prompted public outcry among legal industry pundits and firm alumni.
-
March 21, 2025
Trump Tells AG To Seek Sanctions On 'Vexatious' Attys
President Donald Trump on Friday night directed the U.S. attorney general to seek sanctions against attorneys and firms who lodge "frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious" lawsuits against the federal government, focusing on immigration and BigLaw attorneys he claims "coach clients to conceal their past or lie" when seeking asylum.
-
March 21, 2025
Attys Suing FIFA Say Humans, Not AI, Made Citation Errors
Attorneys accusing soccer's international governing body, its Puerto Rican affiliate and a regional soccer association of trying to block local rivals told a Puerto Rico federal judge Friday that it was simply human oversight — not the use of artificial intelligence — that led to citation inaccuracies in recent filings.
-
March 21, 2025
Paul Weiss Stuns Legal Industry With Trump DEI Deal
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP's decision to strike a deal with the Trump administration to defuse an executive order targeting the firm has drawn criticism across the legal industry and highlights the challenges preventing BigLaw firms from taking collective action against the White House.
-
March 21, 2025
Jenner & Block Fights Sierra Leone's Fraud Claims In $8M Suit
Jenner & Block LLP on Thursday urged a D.C. federal judge to nix Sierra Leone's counterclaim accusing the firm of fraud as it looks to collect some $8 million from the country in unpaid legal fees, saying the claim is improper in a breach of contract suit.
-
March 21, 2025
3rd Circ. Axes Ethics Claim Against Judge Critical Of Trump
A D.C. federal judge who criticized then-candidate Donald Trump in a CNN interview last spring has escaped judicial misconduct charges, with the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit finding that the judge had not violated judicial canons in his statements regarding Trump's social media posts amid a pending legal action.
-
March 21, 2025
Colo. Disbars 'Unregulatable' NY Atty For Abandoning Clients
An immigration attorney licensed in New York may no longer practice in Colorado federal courts due to her track record of abandoning clients, disciplinary authorities have ruled, with the order set to be enacted next month.
-
March 21, 2025
DOJ Seeks To DQ Judge From Perkins Coie's Exec Order Suit
The U.S. Department of Justice moved Friday to disqualify the D.C. federal judge presiding over Perkins Coie LLP's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm for its diversity-focused hiring efforts and its political representation.
Expert Analysis
-
Series
Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.
-
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation
Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
-
Series
Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
-
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025
As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.
-
Series
Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer
From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.
-
Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team
In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.
-
The Implications Of 2024's AI Rules And Regs For Patent Attys
Christina Huang, John Smith and Devin Stein at Faegre Drinker review this year's new rules and regulations on the development and use of artificial intelligence — from the Biden administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the American Bar Association and various states — as they apply to patent attorneys.
-
When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US
As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.
-
What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025
The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
-
Series
Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.
-
How White Collar Defense Attys Can Use Summary Witnesses
Few criminal defense attorneys have successfully utilized summary witnesses in the past, but several recent success stories show that it can be a worthwhile trial tactic to help juries understand the complex decision-making at issue, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
-
Opinion
6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School
Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.
-
Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware
Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
-
Top 10 Legal Malpractice Defenses As Claims Tick Up
As legal malpractice claims and payouts increase, law firms should remember certain time-tested defenses, such as asserting no duty to nonclients, omissions beyond the scope of engagement or lack of proximate cause, say attorneys at Goulston & Storrs.
-
Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out
In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.