Legal Ethics

  • October 16, 2024

    Ex-BigLaw Partner Gets 16 Months For Tax Evasion

    A former partner at Husch Blackwell LLP and Dykema Gossett PLLC who pled guilty to refusing to pay taxes on millions of dollars in income was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

  • October 15, 2024

    Hunter Biden Sues Fox, Ex-Top Atty Over 'Humiliating' Series

    Hunter Biden on Tuesday renewed his lawsuit accusing Fox News Network of humiliating and harassing him with its fictional, six-part "mock trial" series, which he called a politically motivated attack that featured sexually explicit photos of him, this time naming as a defendant the network's former chief legal and policy officer.

  • October 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Look Into Avenatti's Identity Theft Conviction

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider whether the Second Circuit used an incorrect standard when ruling that identity theft played a "key role" in celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti's forging of ex-client Stormy Daniels' name and signature, upholding the disbarred lawyer's aggravated identity theft conviction.

  • October 15, 2024

    Motley Rice May Avoid DQ In Boston Opioid Case, Judge Hints

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday appeared skeptical of a bid by pharmacy benefit manager OptumRX to disqualify Motley Rice LLC from representing the city of Boston in a lawsuit over the company's alleged role in the opioid crisis.

  • October 15, 2024

    Paralegals Say Texas Personal Injury Law Firm Owes Them OT

    A Texas personal injury law firm failed to pay its employees for overtime and tried to put off back pay in order to buy time, nine paralegals said in a proposed collective action filed in federal court on Tuesday.

  • October 15, 2024

    Law Firm Ducks Sanctions Over Depos In NJ Malpractice Suit

    A New Jersey state judge has declined to sanction Chaitman LLP in a dispute over the order of depositions in a malpractice lawsuit stemming from real estate litigation.

  • October 15, 2024

    NJ Justices Approve Readmission Path For Disbarred Attys

    The New Jersey Supreme Court broke with decades of state precedent Tuesday in a long-awaited decision that attorneys disbarred for stealing client funds may be eligible to be reinstated after a period of disbarment lasting at least five years. 

  • October 15, 2024

    Young Thug Demands Entire Prosecution File In RICO Case

    Atlanta rapper Young Thug called on a Georgia state judge on Friday to order prosecutors to hand over their entire prosecution file so that he can decide whether to object to the anticipated testimony of Deputy District Attorney Michael Sprinkel.

  • October 15, 2024

    LA Injury Law Firm Sued Over Unsolicited Robocalls

    A California man is suing Los Angeles-based personal injury firm Wilshire Law PLC in federal court, alleging the firm is violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by making unsolicited robocalls to drum up business.

  • October 15, 2024

    Atty Says Appellate Co.'s Ads Look Like Case Updates

    A California attorney has launched a proposed class action against appellate case management company Record Press in California federal court alleging that the New York-based company sends lawyers spam emails that deceptively appear to be important updates about ongoing litigation.

  • October 15, 2024

    Judge Approves Murdaugh Boat Crash Settlement

    A South Carolina judge has approved a $15 million settlement in a suit against a gas station that allegedly sold alcohol to disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh's underage son, who was later involved in a boat crash that killed one person, after a hangup with an insurance carrier was resolved.

  • October 15, 2024

    Law Firms Diverge As Anti-ESG Pushback Continues

    A continuing onslaught of legislation and litigation opposing corporate environmental, social and governance actions has created a fork in the road for law firms, with some choosing to scale back efforts and others pushing ahead with their internal ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion goals.

  • October 15, 2024

    The 2024 Law360 Pulse Social Impact Leaders

    Check out our Social Impact Leaders ranking, analysis and interactive graphics to see which firms stand out for their engagement with social responsibility and commitment to pro bono service.

  • October 15, 2024

    Ga. Attorney Publicly Reprimanded For Trust Account Issues

    Georgia Supreme Court justices Tuesday accepted an attorney's bid for a public reprimand after the attorney, who was suspended a decade ago after a wire fraud conviction, admitted to violating professional rules on the safekeeping of property.

  • October 15, 2024

    Disbarment Isn't One Size Fits All For Attys Guilty Of Crimes

    Attorney discipline, much like the criminal justice system, is rarely a simple math equation where authorities can plug in a type of wrongdoing and an appropriate punishment is spit out. 

  • October 11, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Gets Trimmed $92M Fee In ACA Cases

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP will get $92 million in fees from a $3.7 billion win in two class actions against the government over risk corridor payments under the Affordable Care Act, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge ruled Thursday, trimming the firm's renewed $185 million request.

  • October 11, 2024

    Mich. Atty Can't Escape Voting Machine Possession Trial

    A Michigan state judge on Friday said an attorney cannot escape an indictment alleging that she unlawfully accessed voting machines after the 2020 election, rejecting her argument that the charging document should be void because the state law about voting machine possession is too vague.

  • October 11, 2024

    Boston Bomber Says Judge's Praise For Jury DQs Him

    A Massachusetts federal judge's public comments praising the jury that delivered a conviction and death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev disqualify him from reviewing alleged juror misconduct, the defendant's lawyers said in a filing unsealed Friday.

  • October 11, 2024

    Ex-Girardi Keese CFO Pleads Guilty In Calif. Wire Fraud Cases

    Girardi Keese's former Chief Financial Officer Christopher K. Kamon pled guilty Friday in California federal court to two counts of wire fraud, admitting that he conspired with the firm's disgraced co-founder Tom Girardi to steal millions from a client, while also stealing millions from the firm behind Girardi's back.

  • October 11, 2024

    Mich. Firm's Settlement Dispute Returns To State Court

    A Michigan federal judge ruled Friday that an attorney-client fight over how to divide settlement proceeds in a police brutality case belongs in state court, reasoning that the dispute was a matter of contract law over which he could not exercise jurisdiction.

  • October 11, 2024

    Attys Ordered To Apologize For Neighborhood 'Scream Test'

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has ordered attorneys representing a plaintiff in a civil rights suit to go door-to-door and issue written apologies to residents and business owners after subjecting a South Philadelphia neighborhood to a looped recording of a woman screaming as part of an acoustics test last month.

  • October 11, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Faces DQ Bid For Musk-Dogecoin Deal Leak

    Dogecoin investors want Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to be disqualified in their case against Elon Musk and Tesla Inc. because the law firm and its attorneys publicly disclosed a confidential settlement offer in the contentious lawsuit.

  • October 11, 2024

    Fox Rothschild Aims To Exit Malpractice Suit Over Land Row

    Fox Rothschild LLP has called on a New Jersey state court to throw out malpractice claims leveled against it by two siblings who accused a lawyer at the firm of bungling a 1984 property deed and 1993 trust belonging to their stepfather, arguing the sisters are trying to improperly hold it responsible for purported, decades-old negligence by other law firms.

  • October 11, 2024

    Ex-Firm's Role In Amicus Doesn't Force Judge Recusal In NJ

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has issued an order spelling out the grounds for a judge's recusal in relation to an amicus group, stating that the involvement of a judge's former law firm in an amicus filing is not grounds alone for disqualification.

  • October 11, 2024

    Nelson Mullins Can't Beat DQ In Foreign Exchange Fraud Suit

    A Florida state appeals court panel unanimously sided with a trial court Friday in deciding that Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP can't represent the defendant in a lawsuit accusing him of duping the plaintiff into doing business with online foreign exchange platform FxWinning Ltd. because the firm previously represented the plaintiff in a "substantially related" suit against the company.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

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    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • Why Fed. Circ. Affirmed Attorney Fee Award In PersonalWeb

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    A recent Federal Circuit decision to leave a $5.2 million fee award in place in the PersonalWeb patent case underscores district courts' discretion to sanction unreasonable arguments and litigation tactics under the U.S. Code's attorney fee provision, say attorneys at Shearman. 

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

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    Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

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    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.

  • Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

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    Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.

  • In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

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    Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.

  • Opinion

    Animal Rights Are About Saving Nature, And Our Own Future

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    The climate crisis makes it clear that animal law — conceived of as an ecocentric approach to protecting the most vulnerable nonhumans who depend on the natural environment — is essential to restoring the Earth and safeguarding the future of humanity, says Carter Dillard at the Fair Start Movement.

  • The Ethics Of Accepting Advanced Legal Fees In Crypto

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    State and local bar associations have been weighing in on whether attorneys may accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment in advance of providing legal services, but the answer is frequently a fact-specific inquiry that demands close reading of the rules of professional conduct, say Matthew Feinberg and Jeffrey Cunningham at Goldberg Segalla.

  • How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

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    Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • 5 Gifts That May Run Afoul Of Government Ethics Rules

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    As the holiday season ramps up, it’s essential to keep in mind that government officials and employees are all subject to specific gift rules, and related violations can lead to consequences far worse than coal in one’s stocking, say Mark Renaud and Rob Walker at Wiley.

  • 3 Defense Takeaways From The Bankman-Fried Trial

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    FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction offers several key lessons for future white collar defendants, from the changing nature of cross-examination to the continued risks of taking the stand, say Jonathan Porter and Gregg Sofer at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

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