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Legal Ethics
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September 09, 2024
Conn. Atty Defaults In Real Estate Client's Overcharge Suit
A Connecticut Superior Court clerk has entered a default judgment against a law firm accused of botching a real estate transaction, leaving the firm's namesake attorney to face allegations that he distributed home sale proceeds to unknown people and wrote a bad check to the true beneficiary of a trust.
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September 09, 2024
Zeta MDL Judge Limits Talk Of Arnold & Itkin Billing 'Scheme'
A Harris County judge said on Monday she would limit what questions a drilling rig owner could ask witnesses about where they received medical care during an upcoming trial amid allegations that attorneys for seamen injured while on the ship during Hurricane Zeta engaged in a scheme to inflate medical bills.
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September 09, 2024
No Re-Do In Ex-Defender's Sex Bias Case Against Judiciary
A Massachusetts federal judge declined on Monday to reconsider his ruling that the federal judiciary did not violate the rights of a former North Carolina public defender because the attorney had not adequately put her office on notice of her sexual harassment claims.
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September 09, 2024
Kramer Levin Beats NJ Malpractice Suit From RE Developer
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has defeated a malpractice suit from a real estate developer who claimed it represented both the developer and a firm partner's son — who was an employee of the developer — at the same time, according to a New Jersey state appellate decision issued Monday.
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September 09, 2024
Judge Settles Suit Over Atty Blackmailing Her With Nude Pics
A Florida state court judge on Monday settled her lawsuit alleging an attorney blackmailed her with nude photos of herself, just weeks before a trial in the case was supposed to begin.
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September 09, 2024
Judge Rejects Ex-Law Prof's Recusal Bid In Retaliation Suit
A Florida federal judge has declined to step away from a retaliation and breach of contract suit brought by a former law professor at Florida A&M University, noting "even if" the professor were correct in asserting the judge had been critical of her, such critiques do not necessitate recusal.
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September 06, 2024
Covington Owes $100M For Malpractice, Ex-Client Claims
A blockchain entrepreneur and attorney is seeking at least $100 million from Covington, claiming in a legal malpractice suit filed Friday in New York state court that he could have avoided years of fighting a federal extortion case if firm partners hadn't advised against handing prosecutors "clearly exculpatory evidence."
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September 06, 2024
DC Circ. Considers Age Of Ex-Trump Aide's Surveillance Claims
Even after more than an hour of argument, the D.C. Circuit didn't seem convinced Friday that ex-Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page timely accused the Justice Department, the FBI and several individuals of various violations tied to their surveillance of him as they probed Russian election interference.
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September 06, 2024
7th Circ. Skeptical Of Bid To Revive Fraud Claims Against Firm
The Seventh Circuit seemed inclined Friday not to disturb lower court rulings that sank a litigation funder's fraud and damages claims against a law firm that abruptly dropped the business to represent a former employee who left to open a competing venture.
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September 06, 2024
Ex-CEO Of Defunct Solar Co. Seeks Sanctions In Fraud Suit
The former CEO of a bankrupt solar energy firm filed a motion for sanctions Friday in Michigan federal court, alleging the plaintiffs' counsel misrepresented the ex-CEO's inability to produce information during a discovery meeting regarding claims he defrauded customers by selling faulty solar systems.
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September 06, 2024
Justice Alito Reports Concert Tickets From Catholic Activist
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito accepted $900 concert tickets from a German princess and Catholic activist in 2023, but otherwise received no free trips or other gifts, according to his annual financial disclosure, which was made public Friday.
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September 06, 2024
Pa. Borough Says Insurer, Atty Wrongfully Settled Feud
A Pennsylvania borough accused its insurer-retained counsel of committing legal malpractice by consummating a settlement acting against its wishes in an underlying "baseless" lawsuit brought by a borough council member, telling a state court that the attorney acted in the insurer's best interest.
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September 06, 2024
SEC Accuses Fla. Men Of Mass Tort Litigation Financing Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday accused a father and son from Florida of running a fraudulent litigation funding scheme by promising investors returns from financing mass tort litigation they were not actually funding.
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September 06, 2024
Atty Loses Bid To Revive NJ Malpratice Suit Against 2 Firms
A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of an attorney's common law fraud and negligence claims against two law firms for allegedly misrepresenting a debt he owed.
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September 06, 2024
Jones Foster Notches Fees Win After Beating Malpractice Suit
Jones Foster PA won on a counterclaim for over $100,000 in unpaid legal fees against a pair of former clients this week in Florida federal court, shortly after defeating those clients' malpractice suit last month.
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September 06, 2024
NJ Atty Censured Over 'Protracted Conflict Of Interest'
A New Jersey attorney has been censured in connection with his representation in an action over environmental contamination of a real estate property.
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September 06, 2024
Trump Sentencing Pushed Back Until After Election
The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump's hush money case said Friday he will not sentence the former president before Election Day, pushing the hearing date from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26 in an effort to avoid the appearance of political considerations.
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September 06, 2024
Indicted Power Broker, Atty Brother Hit With Civil RICO Suit
Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff has accused the indicted brothers George E. Norcross III, a New Jersey power broker, and Parker McCay CEO Philip A. Norcross of causing him and his company millions of dollars in damages by intimidating and extorting him out of his property development rights in the city of Camden, New Jersey.
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September 06, 2024
Judge Newman's Suspension Extended For Another Year
Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman was barred Friday from hearing cases for at least another year due to her refusal to participate in an investigation into her health, with the appeals court's other judges deciding unanimously to extend a suspension that began last year.
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September 05, 2024
Panel Finds Colo. Attys Can't Poach From Current Employers
A Colorado Court of Appeals panel on Thursday upheld a $4,000 verdict and $1.2 million in fee awards against an attorney who violated an employment contract when she tried to lure colleagues away from a prominent regional personal injury firm, finding the firm's contract was valid and enforceable.
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September 05, 2024
DA Pans Trump Maneuvering On Hush Money Case Removal
Attorneys in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told the Second Circuit in a letter Thursday that Donald Trump is mischaracterizing a federal judge's recent order to further his baseless bid to move his hush money case to U.S. district court.
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September 05, 2024
Colo. Election Denier Hit With $1K-A-Day Contempt Fine
A Colorado federal judge held a prominent 2020 election denier in contempt Wednesday for refusing to answer key questions during a deposition in a defamation suit brought by a former Dominion Voting Systems executive and then walking out in defiance, hitting the conspiracy theorist with a $1,000-per-day fine until he coughs up requested information.
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September 05, 2024
Norton, Quinn Emanuel Decry $600M Patent, Contempt Ruling
NortonLifeLock and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP again urged the Federal Circuit to overturn a $600 million patent infringement verdict against the company that was in part based on the firm's being held in contempt, with both saying the holding has serious flaws.
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September 05, 2024
Fla. Law Firm Says It's Owed $247K In Fees From Chiquita MDL
A South Florida law firm has urged a federal court to grant it $247,000 for its work in reaching a settlement from the long-running multidistrict litigation over Chiquita Brands International Inc.'s funding of Colombian paramilitaries, saying a fellow attorney waived objections after failing to meet with other lawyers in the case.
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September 05, 2024
$9.1M In Fees Requested For Calif. Debt Relief Law Firm Ch. 11
Just days after a bankruptcy judge said in court that unsecured creditors in the case of collapsed California debt relief firm Litigation Practice Group will likely receive little to nothing, professionals working on the case filed about $9.1 million in fee requests — enough to use up most of the available cash.
Expert Analysis
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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The Crucial Privilege Exception At Play In Trump Indictment
Following Donald Trump’s recent indictment for retaining classified documents, Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG explains how his attorney’s notes of their conversations became admissible in the case, what it means for the attorney's representation of Trump, and what obligations lawyers have in similar circumstances.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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What To Know About Recent Trends In PTAB Sanctions
Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG discusses recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board trends in sanctioning and how to handle a discipline complaint from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the wake of the PTAB's recent cancellation of multiple biological specimen collection patents.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
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A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery
The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.
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Opinion
High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law
The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.
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Opinion
Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts
As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.
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Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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How Cognizant Bribery Case Could Shape DOJ Investigations
A case playing out in New Jersey federal court – U.S. v. Coburn, involving bribery charges against former Cognizant executives – will examine when a company’s cooperation becomes an outsourced investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, and could potentially limit the government’s use of certain evidence, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.