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Legal Ethics
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August 23, 2024
Client Says Negligence Led To NJ Firm's Ransomware Attack
A client of The Wacks Law Group LLC hit the New Jersey firm with a proposed class action claiming that its negligence in properly securing its data storage led to the theft of hundreds of clients' personal information in a March cyberattack.
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August 23, 2024
Ohio Judge Dinged For Public Posts About Guardianship Spat
The Ohio Supreme Court has publicly reprimanded a probate court judge for allowing staff to make inaccurate comments to the press about a guardianship case and for posting comments about the case on the court's Facebook page, including accusing a man of elder abuse without evidence.
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August 23, 2024
On Final Night Of DNC, Prosecutors Ruled The Stage
Vice President Kamala Harris invoked her experience as a prosecutor and an attorney general in her speech Thursday night in Chicago accepting the Democratic nomination for president.
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August 22, 2024
Panel Backs Sex Misconduct Findings About Ex-Alaska Judge
A judicial conference review panel affirmed Thursday the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council's finding that former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred of the District of Alaska had an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with a law clerk and created a hostile work environment.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive PwC's $2.5M Sanction Against LA
The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously restored a $2.5 million sanction sought by PwC against the city of Los Angeles for pervasive discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing fight, finding that the trial court had the authority to impose monetary sanctions under the state's Code of Civil Procedure.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices OK Argentine Atty's Uber Fraud Fight
California justices gave an Argentinian lawyer a green light Thursday to pursue allegations that Uber fraudulently hid crucial information as he represented Uber before its Buenos Aires launch, clarifying that his tort fraudulent-concealment claim is not necessarily barred by the so-called economic loss doctrine if his employment contract never contemplated the alleged fraud.
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August 22, 2024
Texas Appeals Knocks $1M Hernia Mesh Fee Ask Down To $135K
A Texas appeals court on Wednesday upheld an arbitration award of $135,000 in attorney's fees in a decadeslong hernia mesh litigation dispute while denying the firm's request for $1 million.
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August 22, 2024
5th Circ. Says No Tolling For COVID, Trims Atty's Conviction
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday knocked a false statement charge off Houston attorney Richard Plezia's conviction for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar ambulance-chasing kickback scheme but upheld the rest of his conviction, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by helping another lawyer evade federal income taxes.
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August 22, 2024
Denver Firm Says Ex-Client's Settlement Bars Malpractice Suit
The Denver law firm of Fairfield and Woods PC is firing back at a malpractice suit in which it's accused of causing a former client more than a million dollars in damages, saying the client had already settled with the firm and agreed not to sue.
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August 22, 2024
Calif. Atty Can't Beat Sanctions In Geragos Malpractice Suit
A California state appeals court on Wednesday affirmed $23,000 in sanctions for discovery violations on the part of a lawyer representing clients in a malpractice case against Hollywood litigator Mark Geragos.
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August 22, 2024
Nadine Menendez's Bribery Trial Delayed Until 2025
The bribery trial of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's wife is delayed until at least January because she is being treated for cancer, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday.
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August 22, 2024
NY AG Tells Appeals Court To Uphold $465M Trump Judgment
Donald Trump has barely challenged the extensive proof of financial statement lies undergirding a $465 million civil fraud judgment against him and his co-defendants, New York's attorney general said in an appeals brief looking to preserve the bench verdict.
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August 22, 2024
Fla. Immigration Attorney Also Disbarred In NY
A Miami immigration attorney who was disbarred in Florida earlier this year received another blow Thursday when the New York Supreme Court decided that he could no longer practice in its state either.
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August 22, 2024
Morgan & Morgan Wants Malpractice Claims In Arbitration
Morgan & Morgan PA's Jacksonville, Florida, office is pushing back against a former client's claim that the arbitration agreement between them was "unconscionable," saying he failed to produce any evidence proving as much.
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August 22, 2024
Tom Girardi Takes The Stand In His Criminal Fraud Trial
Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi took the stand Thursday in his California federal fraud trial and denied stealing from any of his clients, while also showing a strong grasp of past events and people but claiming to have no memory of the trial's witnesses and key moments, or to even know his own lawyer's name.
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August 22, 2024
Insurer, Atty Drop Case Linked To Bogus Check Scheme
An insurance firm has agreed to drop its claim seeking a declaration from a Washington federal court that it is not on the hook to cover a Seattle-area solo practitioner over an alleged counterfeit check scheme, after the bank and attorney settled their underlying dispute.
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August 21, 2024
Girardi Faked Dementia Symptoms, Neurologist Testifies
A neurologist with Vanderbilt University testified Wednesday in Tom Girardi's criminal fraud trial in California federal court that the disbarred attorney was likely exaggerating his cognitive problems in late 2020 just as his law firm imploded into bankruptcy and his legal problems mounted because he believed it would be "beneficial."
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August 21, 2024
Judge Skeptical Ex-Murder Suspect Can Sue Embattled DA
A Colorado federal judge appeared to have doubts Wednesday about the prospects of a malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by a man initially charged with the murder of his wife, asking how the lawsuit can defeat immunity for police and prosecutors.
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August 21, 2024
10th Circ. Says Ex-Prosecutor Still Hasn't Proven Immunity
A Tenth Circuit panel on Wednesday said a former Denver deputy district attorney had not yet proven that she was entitled to qualified immunity in a malicious-prosecution case dating back more than a decade, the second time the appeals court has reversed a procedural win for the prosecutor.
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August 21, 2024
Texas Law Firm Cleared Of Overcharging Criminal Client
A Texas appellate court cleared Austin law firm Minton Bassett Flores & Carsey PC of breaching its fiduciary duties and delaying a trial date to rake in more legal fees from a criminal defendant, upholding the trial court's decision to dismiss the case in a Wednesday opinion.
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August 21, 2024
9th Circ. Lets Atty Fight Against $8M Malicious Prosecution
A Nevada attorney may take to the federal court to challenge an Arizona state court's civil judgment finding him liable for malicious prosecution, the Ninth Circuit determined Wednesday, finding the federal district court was wrong to toss his claims on the grounds they were barred by jurisdictional precedent established in the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
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August 21, 2024
USPTO Beats Atty's FOIA Suit Over Ethics Probe
A California trademark lawyer who says he has been facing a disciplinary matter at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over whether his associates let their assistants sign for them on trademark applications could not use a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get more information from the agency about the origins of that accusation.
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August 21, 2024
Judge Accused Of Locking Up Girl Who Dozed In Courtroom
A teenage girl filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Michigan federal court against a state judge who she says had her handcuffed and detained after she fell asleep during a class presentation in his courtroom and berated her in a mock version of the reality show "Scared Straight" that played out on the court's YouTube platform.
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August 21, 2024
How AI Could Shake Up Federal Evidence Rules
Judges, lawyers and academics say it's only a matter of time before the breakneck development of artificial intelligence collides with a cautious, slow-moving judicial system and gives rise to a thorny array of evidentiary issues. They're just not sure what to do about it.
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August 21, 2024
Dems At DNC Push For High Court Reform
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday made the case at an event adjacent to the Democratic National Convention that U.S. Supreme Court reform is an issue that everyday Americans should care about and championed the progress made thus far.
Expert Analysis
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Opinion
NY Should Pass Litigation Funding Bill To Protect Plaintiffs
New York state should embrace the regulatory framework proposed in the Consumer Litigation Funding Act, which would suppress the unregulated predatory lenders that currently prey on vulnerable litigants but preserve a funding option that helps personal injury plaintiffs stand up to deep-pocketed corporate defendants, says Alan Ripka at Alan Ripka & Associates.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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High Court Injunction Case Could Shake Up Fee-Shifting Rules
In agreeing to review a Virginia case rendered statutorily moot before final judgment, the U.S. Supreme Court could finally settle the question of if — and when — a preliminary injunction can win attorney fees for a prevailing party, but all possible answers could disrupt fee-shifting schemes written into major laws, says Laurens Wilkes at Winston & Strawn.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.