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Legal Ethics
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July 29, 2024
ABA's 1st Generative AI Opinion Points Attys To Ethical Duties
The American Bar Association ethics committee published on Monday its first formal opinion on attorney use of generative artificial intelligence tools, saying lawyers should consider their ethical obligations, including those related to model rules on competency, confidentiality and fees.
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July 29, 2024
Mich. AG Drops Remaining Case Against Carhartt Heiress Atty
Prosecutors will not retry a Michigan attorney they claim stole from his wealthy client, the late Carhartt company heiress Gretchen Valade, and have agreed to toss similar embezzlement charges in a separate case.
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July 29, 2024
Judge Narrows Ex-Worker's Claims Against Bronx DA's Office
A New York federal judge has trimmed claims in an employment suit lodged against the Bronx district attorney's office by a woman who worked there, holding that others alleging discrimination under the Family and Medical Leave Act and a racially driven promotion could move forward.
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July 29, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Litigation linked to Elon Musk sparked several filings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week, including a call for sanctions and hand-wringing about a proposed multibillion-dollar attorney fee. Here, Law360 looks at this and other highlights from last week in Delaware's Chancery Court.
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July 29, 2024
Ga. Prosecutors Fight DQ Bid Over Secret Meeting In YSL Trial
Georgia prosecutors said Friday it would be "egregious abuse" of the court's discretion to grant Atlanta rapper Young Thug's request to have them disqualified from the racketeering trial because of a secret meeting with the judge and a witness, arguing that this is an unwarranted request that seeks to delay the already longest trial in Peach State history.
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July 29, 2024
Irked Judge Says Late Filing 'Sandbagged' Conn. Firm
A Connecticut state court judge on Monday chided attorneys for an eleventh-hour filing and other missed deadlines on behalf of a couple lodging malpractice claims against Evans & Lewis LLC, blocking the wife from testifying to fight the firm's attempt to throw her husband out of the lawsuit.
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July 29, 2024
Biden Support Adds Heat To Calls For Supreme Court Reform
President Joe Biden endorsed significant U.S. Supreme Court reform on Monday, calling on Congress to pass legislation that would impose term limits and an enforceable code of conduct on the justices and to adopt a constitutional amendment that would reverse the court's decision granting former presidents broad immunity for crimes committed in office.
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July 29, 2024
8 Ex-Employees Say NJ Firm Didn't Pay OT, Paid Women Less
Davis Saperstein & Salomon PC has been hit with a pair of lawsuits in New Jersey state court alleging the Bergen County-based personal injury firm didn't pay overtime wages, paid its female employees less than their male colleagues and subjected a pregnant woman to a hostile work environment.
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July 29, 2024
NC Attys Dismissed From Malpractice Suit Over Missed Filing
A pair of North Carolina-based attorneys involved in a legal malpractice suit filed by the parents of two children who died in a car fire were voluntarily dismissed from the family's suit against their former firm.
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July 29, 2024
Mich. Justices Say Subbed Atty Can't Be Sanctioned
Michigan's Supreme Court has ruled state statute doesn't require all attorneys representing a sanctioned party "be held jointly responsible for frivolous conduct," reversing a decision that imposed sanctions on an attorney who joined a real estate contract dispute after sanctionable conduct occurred.
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July 29, 2024
Reebok Rips Shoe Rival's 'Underhanded' Conduct In TM Case
Reebok asked a Massachusetts federal judge to sanction an Italian shoemaker and strike nearly three dozen witnesses who were disclosed at the last minute in a trademark case, the latest claim by the shoe and apparel giant of "underhanded" tactics.
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July 26, 2024
'Low-Grade Lawyering': Quinn Emanuel Attys Draw Judge's Ire
A California federal judge considering Guardant Health's sanctions bid in a false advertising case against rival Natera said Friday that representations to the court by Natera's attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP regarding a proposed expert witness were "less than forthright" and "pretty low-grade lawyering."
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July 26, 2024
SEC Sues Banker And Ex-Prosecutor Alleging $1.6M Fraud
A Georgia banker fraudulently bilked approximately $1.6 million from unsuspecting investors for "furs and furniture" and other expenses while a former Florida prosecutor ignored several red flags when holding on to the investments, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Georgia federal court.
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July 26, 2024
Girardi Can't Show Ex-CFO's Spending Habits In Fraud Trial
Jurors in Tom Girardi's upcoming fraud trial won't hear details about the spending habits of Girardi Keese's former CFO, who's accused of a "side fraud" that bilked millions without Girardi's knowledge, after a California federal judge agreed with prosecutors Friday that the evidence appears more prejudicial than probative.
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July 26, 2024
Ex-Magistrate Judge Picked To Oversee Texas Insurance Fight
A New York federal judge has appointed a former magistrate judge to oversee a dispute between a Texas school district and several insurers who allegedly stiffed the district $17 million in damages following Hurricane Hanna.
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July 26, 2024
Insurer Says It Needn't Cover Divorce Attys In Malpractice Suit
Hanover Insurance Group asked a federal court Friday to rule that it doesn't have to defend a pair of Houston-area divorce attorneys in a legal malpractice suit alleging they botched a divorce case.
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July 26, 2024
Assa Abloy Resolves DOJ Merger Monitor Dispute
Assa Abloy told a D.C. federal judge that it's agreed "in principle" on how a monitoring trustee will review its compliance with a U.S. Department of Justice merger lawsuit settlement, resolving a simmering dispute over its complaints of an open-ended multimillion-dollar investigation.
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July 26, 2024
Fired Doc Can Pursue Claims Against Atty Over Award Error
A Michigan state appeals court has ruled a doctor may pursue malpractice claims against the attorney who represented him during arbitration proceedings in an underlying wrongful termination suit after she allegedly failed to catch the arbitrator's miscalculation of the award, reportedly resulting in a $2.5 million loss.
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July 26, 2024
Domino's Says Driver's Atty Should Pay Up For Doomed Suit
Domino's Pizza said Thursday a law firm that lost a case claiming delivery drivers weren't properly reimbursed for expenses should know its new suit against the company will fail for the same reasons, asking a Michigan federal judge for sanctions because the firm should know the new plaintiff must also arbitrate her claims.
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July 26, 2024
Attys Face Sanctions For Fake Citations In Whistleblower Suit
A Virginia federal judge has asked lawyers representing a plaintiff in a whistleblower case to defend why they should not be sanctioned for including seemingly fabricated case sources in a brief objecting to a protective order, questioning whether it was a case of "ChatGPT run amok."
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July 26, 2024
Ga. Public Defender's Office Gets Early Win In Atty's Bias Suit
Georgia's Augusta Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office got an early win Friday in a discrimination and retaliation suit lawsuit filed by a former assistant public defender, saying she relied on her office to "infer that discrimination has occurred" based on her race or sex.
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July 26, 2024
Hunter Biden's Attys Made 'False Statements,' Judge Says
The California federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden's criminal tax trial threatened to sanction the presidential son's lawyers Wednesday, saying they made "false statements" in a motion to dismiss that cited a Florida federal judge's order disqualifying the special prosecutor in Donald Trump's classified documents case.
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July 26, 2024
Cuomo Harassment Document Fight Heads To NY Appeals Court
A Manhattan judge on Friday allowed both the New York attorney general and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to appeal parts of a decision requiring the state to produce unredacted transcripts of some witness interviews in the sexual harassment investigation that led to Cuomo's resignation.
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July 26, 2024
7th Circ. Nixes Ex-Immigration Attorney's Appeal
The Seventh Circuit nixed an appeal from a former immigration attorney found guilty of conspiring with clients, interpreters and employees to submit fabricated asylum applications, saying the lower court didn't err in its rulings about benefits the government provided to some witnesses.
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July 26, 2024
Ex-Calif. Bar Exec Misrepresented Bar Funds Use, Judge Says
A California State Bar Court judge on Wednesday recommended a one-year stayed suspension and one-year probationary period for a former California state senator and state bar executive director accused of using thousands of dollars from bar funds for a 2014 trip to Mongolia — a lesser penalty than the presumed professional sanctions.
Expert Analysis
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Groundbreaking Nev. Law May Alter Insurance Landscape
The Nevada Legislature recently passed a law prohibiting insurers from issuing liability policies with eroding limits provisions that has the potential to create massive shifts in the marketplace — and specifically in areas like professional liability, cyber, and directors and officers insurance, says Will Bennett at Saxe Doernberger.
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Perspectives
Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
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Durham Hearing Shows Common Cross-Examination Errors
Trial attorneys can glean several key cross-examination lessons from the mistakes made by several members of the U.S. House of Representatives during a recent hearing on special counsel John Durham’s FBI probe, say Luke Andrews and Asha Laskar at Poole Huffman.
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Opinion
When Corporate Self-Disclosure Threatens Individuals' Rights
The prosecution of former Cognizant executives in New Jersey federal court demonstrates how the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate enforcement policy can contravene the constitutional rights of individual defendants who are employed by cooperating companies, says Gideon Mark at the University of Maryland.
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Pitfalls Of Attorney AI Use In Brief Prep Has Judges On Alert
Some lawyers are attempting to leverage generative artificial intelligence as a brief drafting tool, which may serve to greatly reduce the burden of motion practice, but several recent cases show that generative AI is not perfect and blind reliance on this tool can be very risky, say Matthew Nigriny and John Gary Maynard at Hunton.
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Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too
While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.
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Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions
As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.
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Insurance Coverage For ChatGPT Legal Fiasco: A Hypothetical
William Passannante at Anderson Kill draws on the recent case of an attorney sanctioned by the Southern District of New York for submitting a ChatGPT-authored brief to discuss what the insurance coverage for the attorney's hypothetical claim might look like.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled
In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.
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Handling Hostile Depositions: Keep Calm And Make A Record
When depositions turn contentious, attorneys should, among other strategies, maintain a professional demeanor and note any objectionable conduct on the record, thereby increasing chances of a favorable outcome for the client while preserving the integrity of the legal process, say attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson.
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5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World
As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.
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A Midyear Look At How AI Is Affecting Lawyers
The past six months have been a notable period for advancements in artificial intelligence and generative AI, and as we head into the second half of the year, we must review the implications that AI has for the legal industry, including how lawyers will be advising clients on use of AI technology, says Natasha Allen at Foley & Lardner.
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Opinion
Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action
After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.
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New Health Data Compliance Considerations For Pa. Lawyers
Given the regularity with which attorneys handle private health information, it is important for Pennsylvania firms to understand recent significant amendments to the state's data breach law, which address information not currently covered by federal law, says Mark Mattioli at Post & Schell.