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Legal Ethics
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July 10, 2024
Attys Bolt In Groups 'All The Time,' Colo. Judge Says
A Colorado judge hearing the appeal of an attorney who lost a jury trial in which she was accused of trying to lure colleagues away from a well-known regional personal injury firm noted Wednesday that lawyers commonly leave their firms in groups.
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July 10, 2024
Proof Of Ozy Media CEO's Fraud Is Overwhelming, Jury Told
A New York federal prosecutor on Wednesday told the jury weighing the fate of Carlos Watson that the evidence presented at trial clearly shows that the former Ozy Media CEO was at the helm of a scheme to deceive investors into backing the struggling news and entertainment startup, by falsely inflating its financials and lying about the company's prospects in order to keep it afloat.
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July 10, 2024
Feds Say Guo Ran 'Fraud Empire' As Racketeering Trial Wraps
Manhattan federal prosecutors urged a jury on Wednesday to convict Chinese dissident Miles Guo for operating his political movement as a vast racketeering conspiracy that "brainwashed" supporters into spending more than $1 billion on scam investments.
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July 10, 2024
Judge Chides Troopers' No-Show Atty At Sanctions Hearing
A Washington federal judge slapped a group of state troopers with sanctions Wednesday for defying a discovery order in their case against Ford Motor Co., while also calling out their attorney who failed to show up for the hearing despite the court's repeated prodding.
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July 10, 2024
Atty Says Alaska Judge Reprimand Bolsters 4th Circ. Bias Suit
A former public defender awaiting a bench ruling on her sexual harassment claims against the federal judiciary said Wednesday that the judge deciding her case should note a recent ruling reprimanding an Alaska federal judge for his "sexualized relationship" with a clerk in which the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council determined that intent was irrelevant.
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July 10, 2024
Bang Energy Drink Co. Ex-CEO Urges DQ Of Ch. 11 Judge
The former CEO of the company that makes Bang energy drinks urged the disqualification of a Florida federal bankruptcy judge and called for an investigation, alleging that the judge committed misconduct in the company's Chapter 11 case, according to a complaint filed with the Eleventh Circuit.
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July 10, 2024
Margolis Edelstein Fights Bid To Revive Malpractice Suit
An attorney representing Margolis Edelstein told the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday that an insurer's malpractice suit against the law firm shouldn't be revived as the firm's purported negligence wasn't the reason the insurer settled an underlying dispute for $1.2 million.
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July 10, 2024
NY Judge Slams 'Whopping' Brief In Terror Suit As Dickensian
A New York federal magistrate judge lectured attorneys in a lawsuit alleging a Pakistani bank funded terrorism, saying a recent joint status letter exceeded the limit by 70 pages and the parties are turning the case into a modern Jarndyce v. Jarndyce from the Charles Dickens classic "Bleak House."
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July 10, 2024
Walmart IP Foe May Face $2.9M Penalty After Jury Win Tossed
Counsel for a food tech startup that saw its $115 million patent infringement verdict against Walmart nixed may be ordered to pay the retail giant's $2.9 million legal bill due to misrepresentations about a key piece of evidence, an Arkansas federal judge said.
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July 10, 2024
Ocasio-Cortez Seeks Impeachment Of Justices Thomas, Alito
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez filed articles of impeachment against U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on Wednesday following a year of revelations about their repeated failures to disclose the acceptance of luxury travel and gifts, refusals to recuse in certain cases and other purported ethics violations.
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July 10, 2024
Ga. Judge Shakes Off YSL Bid To Step Aside From DQ Fight
A Georgia state judge has rejected a request from Atlanta rapper Young Thug that she step aside from handling his motion seeking another judge's recusal from his racketeering trial for allegedly colluding with prosecutors in a closed-door meeting with a key witness.
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July 10, 2024
Giuliani Urges DC Court Not To Disbar Him Over Trump Work
Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday urged the D.C. Court of Appeals to let him keep his law license, saying he did not commit misconduct in his work on former President Donald Trump's challenge to Pennsylvania's 2020 presidential election.
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July 10, 2024
Former Conn. Top Public Defender Claims Bias Led To Ouster
The former chief public defender in Connecticut has filed a second action challenging her June 4 ouster for misconduct, lodging an administrative appeal in state court that claims racial bias.
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July 10, 2024
Former McElroy Deutsch CFO Hits Ch. 11 Amid Theft Cases
McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter's former chief financial officer filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey this week as he awaits sentencing for embezzling over $1.5 million from the firm over a period of years via fraudulent bonuses.
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July 10, 2024
2 Roundup MDL Cases Axed After Plaintiffs Fail To Act
A California federal judge presiding over multidistrict personal injury litigation related to the Monsanto herbicide Roundup has ended two of the numerous cases, with one tossed for failure to prosecute and the second ending in an early win for Monsanto after the plaintiff failed to file a response, amid ongoing concerns that plaintiffs' attorneys are overtaxed.
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July 10, 2024
Pa. Developer's Heirs, Foundation Can't Appeal Fee Denial
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania won't take up a fee dispute stemming from a disagreement over the control of a foundation established by Pittsburgh developer Jack Buncher.
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July 10, 2024
Conn. Justices Told Banking Agency's Probe Overstepped
The Connecticut Department of Banking's investigation into Commonwealth Law Group and Commonwealth Servicing Group LLC's debt negotiation practices violated the constitutional separation of powers, because only the state's judicial branch has regulatory authority over legal services provided to clients by their attorneys, the firms told the state Supreme Court.
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July 09, 2024
Texas Chief Justice Calls Pulling IDs Over Fines 'Stupid'
The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a Tuesday hearing on funding civil legal aid that the practice of revoking a person's driver's license for an inability to pay court fees was "stupid."
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July 09, 2024
4th Circ. Finds No Judicial Bias In DOD Contractor's Sentence
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a nine-year prison sentence for a North Carolina woman who fraudulently obtained military contracts valued at over $2.2 million, rejecting her argument that the district judge should've recused himself for bias and calling his admonishment during her sentencing "'ordinary,' albeit strongly worded."
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July 09, 2024
Disbarred Ohio Atty Cops To Landing Law Jobs With Fake IDs
A disbarred Ohio attorney admitted Tuesday to using false identities — including information belonging to his father, girlfriend and a dead man — to snag high-paying gigs or job offers from at least seven different law firms, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
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July 09, 2024
NY Judge In Trump Case OKs Narrow Subpoena For Atty
An attorney who told reporters he held an impromptu hallway conversation with a New York state judge in the lead-up to February's $464.6 million civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump must turn over any communications he had with the court regarding the underlying action, according to a Tuesday ruling.
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July 09, 2024
FTC Is Denied Amazon's Instructions On Signal Use, For Now
A Washington federal judge refused Tuesday to give the Federal Trade Commission a peek into what it contends is the extensive use of Signal by Jeff Bezos and other top Amazon.com executives to hide communications relevant to a monopolization lawsuit, preferring to order deposition testimony on that use first.
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July 09, 2024
Dems Request Special Counsel To Probe Justice Thomas Gifts
Two Democratic senators have asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' failure to disclose various gifts received during his tenure on the high court amounts to chargeable ethics violations or tax crimes.
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July 09, 2024
Amazon Judge Offers To Quit COVID Pay Case
A Colorado federal judge urged Amazon and workers suing the company over unpaid COVID-19 screenings to file briefs on whether he should recuse himself from the case, disclosing that his son works for what he believes is an Amazon affiliate.
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July 09, 2024
No Conflict For Ballard Spahr In Ex-Union Leader's Bribe Case
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday rejected a claim by former Philadelphia union leader and convicted felon John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty that his Ballard Spahr LLP defense team marred its representation of him in a bribery prosecution because of a conflict of interest with Comcast.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Use Caution In Cases Involving Illegal Images Of Minors
In cases where underage victims of sexual assault and abuse have been coerced into sharing nude or sexual images, attorneys representing abuse survivors must understand the strict protocols that regulate the handling of such illegal images, while taking care to protect essential evidence, says Michelle Simpson Tuegel at Simpson Tuegel.
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: Why Better Feedback Habits Are Needed
Not giving assignments or constructive criticism to junior associates can significantly affect their performance and hours, potentially leading them to leave the firm, but partners can prevent this by asking the right questions and creating a culture of feedback, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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Calif. Ruling Adds Employer Considerations On Email Policies
Following a California appellate court's recent decision disqualifying an attorney in Militello v. VFarm 1509, companies should take steps to explicitly inform employees of email monitoring, as it could affect the admissibility of email evidence if a dispute arises, say Shawn Ogle and David Sarfati at Atkinson Andelson.
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Rebuttal
Law Needs A Balance Between Humanism And Formalism
A recent Law360 guest article rightly questions the pretextual pseudo-originalism that permits ideology to masquerade as judicial philosophy, but the cure would kill the patient because directness, simplicity and humanness are achievable without renouncing form or sacrificing stare decisis, says Vanessa Kubota at the Arizona Court of Appeals.
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How The Circuit Split Over CFPB Funding May Play Out
The Second Circuit created a circuit split last month when it found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure doesn't violate the U.S. Constitution and clashed with the Fifth Circuit's holding that the CFPB itself is unconstitutional, but the U.S. Supreme Court may find a middle ground, say Andrew Braunstein and Casey Howard at Locke Lord.
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Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery
As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.
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Opinion
Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case
The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.
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Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI
In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms
Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.
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Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation
Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
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Insureds' Notice Pleading May Be Insufficient In Federal Court
A recent New Jersey federal court ruling in Bauman v. Hanover Insurance held that bare-bones notice pleading was insufficient and dismissed the policyholder's coverage complaint, a reminder that courts may require more than an expression of general disagreement with an insurance company's denial letter to proceed with the case, says Eugene Killian at The Killian Firm.
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Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide
Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.