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Legal Ethics
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July 03, 2024
Pennsylvania Casino Can't Reopen 'Legal Advice' Battle
Parx Casino can't get a Pennsylvania federal court to reconsider its orders to turn over most of its disputed communications with Eckert Seamans in a lawsuit over whether the law firm put the casino operator's interests ahead of another client that makes gaming machines, the court ruled Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
NJ Law Firm Founder Alleges Partners Forced Him Out
A New Jersey attorney is accusing the other members of the family law firm he founded of pushing him out due to his old age.
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July 03, 2024
Cyclist's Widow Settles With Atty Who Caused Fatal Crash
A bicyclist's widow has reached a settlement with the attorney whose car fatally crashed into her husband, just a few weeks after a Colorado federal judge allowed her to revise her lawsuit to include punitive damages under state law.
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July 02, 2024
Ozy's Watson Says He's No Fraudster, Judge Accused Of Bias
Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson on Tuesday sought to rebut claims of deceiving financial backers of the media and entertainment company, denying any involvement in a ploy to impersonate a YouTube executive in order to secure funding from Goldman Sachs, while defense counsel continued to accuse the trial judge of bias.
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July 02, 2024
Debevoise Can't Avoid Testifying In Ex-Cognizant Execs' Trial
A New Jersey federal judge denied Tuesday a bid by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP to quash a subpoena seeking testimony from a firm partner for the coming bribery trial of two former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. executives.
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July 02, 2024
Ex-Senior Apple Atty To Pay SEC $1.1M For Insider Trading
Apple's former director of corporate law must pay $1.1 million to securities regulators stemming from criminal insider trading charges to which he pled guilty in 2022, a New Jersey federal judge said Tuesday, finding that his "egregious" violations warrant the penalty since "his very job" was to ensure compliance with securities laws.
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July 02, 2024
Samsung Says IP Law Firm, Litigation Funder Misused Info
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. says an intellectual property law firm and a Chinese litigation funder used its confidential information without permission to help Staton Techiya LLC assert patent infringement allegations, telling a Texas federal judge that the conduct demonstrated why the court should add the other companies to Samsung's suit.
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July 02, 2024
Wash. Court OKs Anti-Masker's School Recall Sanctions
Washington appellate judges said Tuesday an Evergreen State man waited too long to appeal $30,000 in sanctions and ruled the trial court was justified in pinning most of the blame on him — instead of his attorneys — for filing baseless recall petitions to dissuade school board members from complying with a state COVID-19 mask mandate.
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July 02, 2024
YSL Judge Shares Transcript Of Secret Witness Meeting
The transcript of a secret meeting involving Fulton County prosecutors, a key state's witness and the judge overseeing the Young Slime Life case was released Monday, shortly after it was announced that proceedings in the case would be paused until an outside judge reviews motions for the judge's recusal.
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July 02, 2024
Calif. Atty Facing Disbarment After Admitting To $4.8M Fraud
The California State Bar announced Tuesday that a prominent Golden State family law attorney has agreed to be disbarred after she admitted to misappropriating "virtually the entirety" of a more than $4.8 million client trust account, then attempting to cover up the theft of funds by filing false documents.
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July 02, 2024
'Shark Tank' Sweatshirt Biz Lands Injunction, But No Atty Fees
The startup behind "The Comfy" sweatshirt featured in an episode of "Shark Tank" that won an $18 million verdict against a rival sweatshirt brand has secured an injunction against the competitor, but it has failed to collect nearly $2 million in requested legal fees on account of "quarrelsome conduct on both sides," according to an Arizona federal judge.
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July 02, 2024
Beasley Allen Slams J&J's DQ Bid 'Check-Up' In Talc Tort
The Beasley Allen Law Firm and Johnson & Johnson continue to spar over the firm and attorney Andy Birchfield's role in long-running federal and state mass torts over talcum powder injuries, with the firm calling out J&J on Tuesday for "prodding" the New Jersey courts to boot the lawyers from the litigation.
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July 02, 2024
Ex-Bankruptcy Judge Will Be Deposed Over Atty Romance
The former Texas bankruptcy judge whose secret relationship with a Jackson Walker LLP attorney ignited a major judicial ethics scandal has agreed to sit for a seven-hour deposition to answer questions about the episode.
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July 02, 2024
Seton Hall Says Ex-Prez's Whistleblower Suit Must Be Axed
A New Jersey trial court was urged to toss retaliation, sexual harassment and discrimination claims against Seton Hall University and its board of regents by its former president, with the school arguing the whistleblower suit is rife with "gamesmanship," ignoring both case law and the underlying facts.
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July 02, 2024
Dentons Says Ex-Client Can't Escape $4.7M Fee Suit In Texas
International law firm Dentons Europe CS LLP urged a Texas federal court Tuesday to keep alive its suit accusing a Houston-area crisis response business of failing to pay more than $4.7 million in legal fees and said the correct venue was Texas, not England, as the business has argued.
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July 02, 2024
Bond-Rigging Suit Revived Over Judge's Wife's Stock Conflict
The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived a proposed class action accusing big banks of rigging corporate bonds, ruling that the New York federal judge who previously dismissed the suit should have recused himself due to his wife's ownership of Bank of America stock.
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July 02, 2024
Pa. Clerk Named After Departures Spur 'Judicial Emergency'
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania's president judge has selected an interim clerk of courts to take over the office's duties following last week's sudden resignation of the elected clerk and the Supreme Court's declaration of a judicial emergency.
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July 02, 2024
Fla. Bar Drops Kennedys Ethics Case Over Unlawful Practice
The Florida Bar has dropped an ethics complaint against Kennedys CMK and three of its attorneys over allegations the firm improperly presented the lawyers as permitted to practice law in the Sunshine State.
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July 02, 2024
Mich. Justices Pass Up 'Most Famous' Atty's Malpractice Case
The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place an appellate ruling that said comments by self-proclaimed "America's most famous trial lawyer" during a press conference can be used in a malpractice suit brought against him by a former client.
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July 02, 2024
Ga. Justices Say Atty Ethics Rules Only Apply To Legal Work
A Georgia lawyer did not violate attorney ethics rules when she allegedly mishandled trust funds since she was managing those funds only as a fiduciary and not as a lawyer, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
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July 02, 2024
Dykstra Denied Early Win In Embezzlement Suit Against Atty
Former MLB All-Star Lenny Dykstra swung for an early win but missed in his lawsuit accusing his former attorney and the attorney's firm, Galanter Associates, of embezzling funds from him, when a California judge denied his summary judgment motion Tuesday.
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July 02, 2024
After Fischer, Judge Releases Atty Convicted In Jan. 6 Riot
A D.C. federal judge ordered the release of a Georgia attorney imprisoned for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying his pending appeal would likely result in his freedom after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed an obstruction of Congress law used to convict him and others involved in the assault.
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July 02, 2024
DLA Piper Tells Judge Fired Associate Got Proper Discovery
Counsel for DLA Piper LLP told a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday the firm has provided responsive information to a former associate who claims she was unlawfully fired while pregnant, adding it is confident her termination was lawful.
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July 02, 2024
Therapy Co. Sues Littler For Alleged Bad Advice
A Chicago-based therapy company has sued Littler Mendelson PC in Cook County Circuit Court, accusing the firm of failing to advise against a labor contract that was not permitted, which ended up costing the company nearly $225,000.
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July 02, 2024
Giuliani Disbarred In New York Over Election Falsehoods
A New York appellate court Tuesday barred Rudolph Giuliani from practicing law in New York, citing ample evidence that the former New York City mayor made repeated false statements about the 2020 presidential election.
Expert Analysis
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Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery
As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.
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Opinion
Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case
The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.
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Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI
In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms
Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.
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Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation
Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
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Insureds' Notice Pleading May Be Insufficient In Federal Court
A recent New Jersey federal court ruling in Bauman v. Hanover Insurance held that bare-bones notice pleading was insufficient and dismissed the policyholder's coverage complaint, a reminder that courts may require more than an expression of general disagreement with an insurance company's denial letter to proceed with the case, says Eugene Killian at The Killian Firm.
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Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide
Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.
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Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas
Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.
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Opinion
Ga. Needs To Resolve Cannabis Counsel Confusion
Georgia’s medical cannabis regulator finally adopted rules for low-THC oil last month, but a 2021 ethics ruling prohibits lawyers from advising participants in the state’s legal program and creates a confounding landscape that the state bar and courts must address, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruze at Bradley Arant.
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Patent Litigants Should Be Vigilant After Rare Retrial Order
A California federal court's recent unusual order for a new trial for attorney misconduct in Pavemetrics v. Tetra Tech should remind patent litigants to be careful about arguments that frame an infringement case in a way that does not fairly reflect the dispute at hand, say Ranganath Sudarshan and Yuval Mor at Covington.
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DOJ's Compensation Reforms Pit Cos. Against Their Execs
The U.S. Department of Justice’s new policy, incentivizing compliance-focused corporate compensation programs and prompt disclosures of misconduct, will complicate the relationship between companies and their executives, and create potential ethical conflicts for counsel, say Solomon Shinerock and Annika Conrad at Lewis Baach.
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Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?
What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.
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Opinion
Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts
The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.
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3 Reasons Why Congress Should Stay Out Of NY Trump Probe
Congress members should reconsider their investigation of the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment of former President Donald Trump for several key reasons — and if they persist, future congressional leadership should adopt a rule prohibiting this kind of local interference, say Kenyen Brown and Kevin Carroll at Hughes Hubbard.