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Legal Ethics
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September 24, 2024
NJ Justices Seem Doubtful Over Barring Atty Keyword Search
The New Jersey Supreme Court appeared skeptical Tuesday about forbidding attorneys from buying other lawyers' names as search engine keywords, questioning whether such a ban could hold up to First Amendment challenges.
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September 24, 2024
NY Atty Hit With $26M Malpractice Verdict For Exploiting Elder
A New York attorney will have to pay $26.2 million in damages to an ailing, elderly former client who accused him of committing legal malpractice by setting up a bad real estate deal, a jury has ruled.
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September 24, 2024
Conn. Judge Sends Law Firm's Trade Secrets Case To Fla.
A Connecticut boutique law firm must go to Florida if it wants to continue pursuing its trade secrets case against a consultant it accused of making off with some of its confidential information because the Constitution State is an improper venue, a federal judge has ruled.
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September 24, 2024
NJ Power Broker Says AG's 'Crime Thriller' Lacks A Crime
Powerful New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III Tuesday called the Garden State's 111-page indictment alleging he led a scheme to strong-arm the acquisition of waterfront property in Camden through threats of economic and reputational harm a "crime thriller with no crime," and said it must be dismissed.
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September 23, 2024
Smartmatic Can't Seek Punitive Damages In Newsmax Suit
A Delaware Superior Court judge on Monday ruled that Smartmatic USA Corp. can't seek punitive damages in the defamation trial over unsubstantiated claims from Newsmax Media Inc. that the company's voting systems rigged the 2020 election, saying Smartmatic couldn't meet its burden to prove express malice.
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September 23, 2024
Med Mal Case Is Settled After Scuttled $111M Verdict in Minn.
On the eve of a second trial, a Minnesota-based orthopedic center has settled a suit that previously ended in a $111 million verdict that was later vacated for being excessive, with federal court records indicating a deal has been reached in principle.
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September 23, 2024
Gordon Rees Gets Insurer's Wash. Malpractice Suit Trimmed
A Washington judge issued a mixed order in a lawsuit brought by the insurer for a climbing equipment manufacturer over allegations that misconduct by a Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP attorney — coupled with another insurer's decision to yank coverage — forced the manufacturer into a settlement over a climber's fall.
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September 23, 2024
Nonprofit, Union Say Janus Doesn't Apply To NYC Dues Fight
Two New York City public defenders cannot leverage the U.S. Supreme Court's Janus ruling to stop paying their union because the ruling only applies to public employees and they're technically employed by a nonprofit, argued their employer, union and the city in a motion to dismiss their lawsuit.
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September 23, 2024
Penn Law Professor Sanctioned For Discriminatory Remarks
A professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School will be sanctioned for making "sweeping and derogatory generalizations about groups by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status," according to university documents made available Monday.
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September 23, 2024
What A Harris Administration Would Mean For The Courts
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is familiar with the courtroom.
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September 23, 2024
Judge Recuses Self After Opening Jackson Walker Ethics Probe
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur has asked a Texas federal court to investigate potential sanctions against Jackson Walker LLP for its failure to disclose a relationship between a firm partner and a federal judge, also telling the court he would recuse himself from any proceedings involving the ethics breach.
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September 23, 2024
NC Man Gets 100 Mos. For Fleecing Attys In 'Collection' Scam
A North Carolina man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison after a Pennsylvania jury found him guilty on charges of mail, bank and wire fraud stemming from an international scheme to bilk attorneys out of millions of dollars.
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September 23, 2024
Feds Ask To File Up To 180-Page Brief On Trump Immunity
Federal prosecutors are seeking permission from a D.C. federal judge to file a lengthy brief making the case that Donald Trump is not immune from charges of election interference, telling the court that the "substantially drafted" motion won't be longer than 180 pages.
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September 23, 2024
J&J Accuses Beasley Allen Of Casting Bogus Talc Ballots
Johnson & Johnson has accused the Beasley Allen Law Firm of casting about two dozen false ballots against the company's latest talc bankruptcy plan without voters' consent and urged a New Jersey federal court to remove the firm from the plaintiff's steering committee as a consequence.
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September 23, 2024
Law Firm Accused Of 'Gamesmanship' In NJ Malpractice Suit
A pair of siblings suing Chaitman LLP for malpractice in New Jersey told the state court that the firm is delaying the litigation with a discovery motion about the order in which depositions should be taken that "should never have been filed to begin with."
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September 23, 2024
Conn. Judge Rips 'Odd Lawyering' In Referral Fee Feud
A Connecticut Superior Court judge on Monday slammed what he called "odd lawyering" at the summary judgment stage of an attorney fee feud in an underlying personal injury case, asking why affidavits failed to clarify the facts in dispute as the case heads toward trial.
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September 23, 2024
Ex-Conn. Police Chief Demands Atty Fees After Winning Suit
The former chief of police in Newington, Connecticut, is demanding attorney fees after a state court judge dismissed him from a defamation lawsuit brought by the onetime town attorney and other ex-officials, which arose from ethics complaints that the plaintiffs say were full of lies.
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September 23, 2024
Legal Malpractice Suit Over Med Mal Case In Ga. Revived
A Georgia state appellate court on Monday revived a legal malpractice lawsuit over a former attorney's handling of a medical malpractice case, saying a trial court improperly granted a dismissal motion after disqualifying the lawyer who filed it.
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September 23, 2024
Fabiani Cohen Says Equity Partner Can't File Employee Claim
Fabiani Cohen & Hall LLP told a New York federal judge on Friday that its equity partner's employment suit is motivated by her desire to increase her profit share of the firm, arguing that her status as an equity owner means she can't be considered an employee for the purposes of her claims.
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September 23, 2024
FEMA Looks To Escape Atty's Bias And Retaliation Suit
The U.S. government has asked a federal judge to toss a suit alleging two agencies pushed out an Asian American attorney following her complaints that a male colleague harassed her, arguing she failed to state a claim in her "behemoth," 190-page complaint.
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September 20, 2024
Litigation Funding Firm Likely Out Of Hurricane Ad Class Action
A Texas federal judge said Thursday that a funding company that lent $20 million to a law firm accused in a proposed class action of conspiring to deceptively solicit hurricane victims should be dropped as a defendant.
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September 20, 2024
NY Judge Resigns Amid Ethics Charges of Corruption, Abuse
A New York state judge in Westchester County has agreed to resign from the bench after the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct charged him last month with multiple counts of judicial misconduct, including dismissing traffic tickets for friends, sexually harassing a newly appointed judge, and berating court staffers and attorneys.
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September 20, 2024
Eviction Law Firm Says Tenant's Fee Class Action Untimely
An eviction law firm pushed a Colorado federal court to toss a proposed class action filed by tenants who claim the firm illegally charged them attorney fees before their eviction proceedings were resolved.
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September 20, 2024
Veteran High Court Litigator Warns Of Ethics Debate's Impact
Accusations that U.S. Supreme Court justices are corrupt or nothing more than politicians in robes are unwarranted, tremendously dangerous and threaten to irreparably harm the institution's legitimacy, veteran high court litigator Kannon Shanmugam warns.
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September 20, 2024
Plaintiffs Firms Battle Over Proposed $9B Deal In J&J Talc Suit
Two leading plaintiffs law firms in the multibillion-dollar litigation over Johnson & Johnson's tainted talcum powder are now warring among themselves, with Smith Law Firm PLLC suing Beasley Allen Law Firm for defamation after Beasley Allen accused the former of selling out clients to pay off litigation funders.
Expert Analysis
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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Series
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's recent bribery conviction included obstruction charges based on his former lawyer's preindictment presentation to prosecutors, highlighting valuable lessons on the legal ethics rules implicated in these kinds of defense presentations, say Steve Miller and Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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Lawyers Must Be Careful When Using Listservs
The American Bar Association's formal opinion from May correctly states that attorneys must obtain clients' consent before posing related questions to listservs, but potential risks and drawbacks of using listservs go beyond those highlighted by the ABA, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.