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Legal Ethics
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July 18, 2024
NJ Sen. President Settles Suit Over Filing After Client Died
New Jersey State Senate President Nick Scutari settled a malpractice case this week with a woman who claimed that he botched a personal injury case on behalf of her brother by waiting until months after her brother had died to file suit.
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July 18, 2024
Healthcare Co. Says Fired In-House Atty Lacks Standing To Sue
Kidney care company Panoramic Health has urged a Colorado federal judge to toss a former assistant general counsel's lawsuit that claims she was fired for raising concerns about violations of federal anti-kickback statutes.
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July 18, 2024
Pa. Office Blasts Atty's Blown Deadlines, Deflections Of Blame
A disbarred Philadelphia attorney shouldn't be reinstated because his missed deadlines and deflections of blame indicated that he had not moved on from the behavior that lost him his licenses to practice in Pennsylvania and Florida, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel told a state panel Thursday.
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July 18, 2024
Girardi Denied Bid To Delay Client Theft Trial To October
A California federal judge rejected disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi's motion to have his closely watched wire fraud trial moved to October from its current August start date, determining that he was unable to provide a genuine reason as to why proceedings should be pushed back two months.
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July 18, 2024
Ex-Pa. DA Suspended Over Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct
The former district attorney of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, had her law license suspended Tuesday after multiple cases she oversaw during her time in office ended up being dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct.
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July 18, 2024
DeSantis Blasts Ousted Atty's 3rd Bid To 'Rush' 11th Circ. Call
Suspended Florida prosecutor Andrew Warren should not be allowed to "rush" the Eleventh Circuit's consideration of the prosecutor's case, which could have "sweeping implications" for Florida's government, Gov. Ron DeSantis told the appellate court Thursday.
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July 18, 2024
Judge With Lake Property Exits $217M Dam Repair Tax Suit
A Michigan federal judge said he would step aside in a fight over a $217 million tax assessment to fund dam reconstruction because he's part of the assessment district, though he warned that hundreds of plaintiffs could have their own conflicts.
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July 18, 2024
NJ Law Firm Accused Of Botching Official Misconduct Case
A former sergeant in the Mercer County Sheriff's Office has launched a malpractice suit against a Passaic, New Jersey-based law firm, alleging that its attorneys caused him to lose thousands per month in disability benefits by mishandling his legal defense against misconduct charges.
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July 18, 2024
Del. Justices Asked To Undo Firm's 'Malicious' Suit Escape
Applied Energetics is asking the Delaware Supreme Court to revive a complaint alleging Gusrae Kaplan Nusbaum PLLC and a former partner filed a frivolous federal securities fraud suit in order to hobble other litigation against the company's former chief executive officer.
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July 18, 2024
Defense Attys Raised Cash For New Judge In Young Thug Trial
Three defense attorneys in the long-running and tumultuous prosecution of rapper Young Thug hosted a campaign fundraiser in 2022 for the third and latest judge assigned to the case this week, adding yet another potential hiccup to the bench's game of musical chairs.
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July 18, 2024
Colo. Judge Ends Voter Intimidation Case Midtrial
A Colorado federal judge on Thursday put an abrupt end to a bench trial in a lawsuit accusing members of a 2020 election denier group of illegal voter intimidation, concluding there was not enough evidence to back up the claims brought by voting rights groups.
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July 18, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Gets Nearly 2 Years For Election Crimes
A former BigLaw attorney was sentenced to 21 months in prison Thursday after being convicted of campaign finance violations tied to a failed run for U.S. Congress, with a Boston federal judge citing the defendant's legal acumen and experience as a law clerk as evidence he "should have known" better.
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July 17, 2024
Special Counsel To Appeal Ax Of Trump Classified Docs Case
Special Counsel Jack Smith told a Florida federal court Wednesday that he was challenging U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order earlier this week tossing the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump, according to a notice of appeal.
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July 17, 2024
'Inflammatory' Atty Statement Axes $11M Stanley Injury Verdict
A Missouri appellate court has tossed an $11 million jury verdict in a suit alleging a Stanley Black & Decker unit caused a man to lose an eye due to a defective staple gun, saying plaintiff's counsel made improper "inflammatory" references to Stanley as a "billion-dollar company."
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July 17, 2024
Dykema Faces Sony Sanctions Bid In Baseball Game TM Suit
Sony has urged a Texas federal court to sanction a baseball training company and its counsel in a trademark dispute over the digital giant's use of the phrase "future star series" in a popular video game, claiming they launched a lawsuit without investigating material facts and refused to eliminate false allegations.
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July 17, 2024
'Rust' Fiasco Shows Harm Of Gatekeeping Evidence, Attys Say
The dismissal of Alec Baldwin's criminal charges in the "Rust" movie shooting serves as a "glaring example" of how a case can tumble off the rails when prosecutors decide whether evidence is valuable to the defense, experts say.
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July 17, 2024
Ex-Cognizant Execs Bemoan Access Woes In Bribery Case
Former Cognizant executives accused of authorizing a bribe to a government official in India have told a New Jersey federal court that obstacles to their access to evidence and overseas witnesses undermine their right to a fair trial and could warrant the dismissal of the case.
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July 17, 2024
Benesch Accused Of Summons Error In Hospital Challenge
Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP and two of its attorneys are facing a malpractice lawsuit by a nonprofit hospital alleging they failed to issue timely summonses in a lawsuit, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses.
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July 17, 2024
UMich Ducks Black Law Prof's Bias, Retaliation Suit
A Michigan federal judge released the University of Michigan on Wednesday from a Black law professor's lawsuit accusing the school of harshly disciplining her after she complained about race discrimination, saying she failed to rebut the university's argument that she was punished because she threatened staff members.
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July 17, 2024
Burr & Forman Accused Of Aiding Health Insurance Fraud
Burr & Forman LLP has been hit with a malpractice suit in Georgia federal court by the liquidating trustees of two purported health insurance companies after the firm allegedly aided in a scheme to defraud customers by charging exorbitant fees and denying promised coverage, saying the attorneys helped create a web of LLCs to which it siphoned off millions.
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July 17, 2024
Two Days In, New Judge In Young Thug Trial Bails Out
Just days after taking over the long-running racketeering trial of rapper Young Thug after its last judge was forced out over bias concerns, the case's new judge said Wednesday she was stepping down due to one of her former deputies' romantic involvement with a co-defendant.
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July 17, 2024
Colo. Firm Says Ex-Director Stole Clients While On Payroll
Colorado boutique Whitcomb Selinsky PC is accusing one of its former directors of trying to steal clients while he was still employed with the firm to take with him to his new practice.
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July 17, 2024
Judge Says Atty Shouldn't Be Deported For Crash Scheme
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday urged federal officials not to deport a Canadian attorney sentenced for his involvement in an illegal crash victim solicitation scheme, saying that outside of the scheme, the attorney has a "hell of a lot" to offer the community.
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July 17, 2024
Ex-Fed. Judge Likely Conflicted In 23 Cases, Say Prosecutors
Disgraced District of Alaska Judge Joshua Kindred presided over at least 23 criminal cases in which attorneys appearing before him may have had inappropriate relationships with the judge, according to an email sent by federal prosecutors and obtained Wednesday by Law360.
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July 17, 2024
Calif. Judge Admonished For Saying Victim Smelled Of Pot
A California state judge was publicly admonished for making a series of inappropriate remarks in court, including one instance where he said a victim smelled of marijuana, according to a decision by the California Commission on Judicial Performance.
Expert Analysis
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.
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Opinion
Guardrails Needed Against Politically Motivated Atty Discipline
As illustrated by revelations about disbarred attorney Tom Girardi’s influence, there is a need to revamp attorney discipline to protect the public, but any reforms to misconduct rules must also consider how bar-directed disciplinary hearings are increasingly used as a political weapon, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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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.