Legal Ethics

  • March 27, 2025

    Texas Law Firm Must Face 2nd Firm's Paxil Fees Suit

    A Texas appellate court affirmed Thursday that a law firm battling its former co-counsel over the proceeds of lawsuits concerning the antidepressant drug Paxil can't use the state's anti-SLAPP statute to avoid a breach of contract claim but tossed an award of $100,000 in attorney fees.

  • March 27, 2025

    Ex-Troutman Atty Says Racial Bias Suit Should Go To Trial

    A former Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP associate who says she was fired for calling out racial bias told a Washington, D.C., federal judge that the firm's own documents and testimony show it saw her as a valuable attorney, despite saying she was let go over performance.

  • March 27, 2025

    Dutch Software Co. Tells 4th Circ. To Pause Trial After Atty DQ

    A Dutch software company is taking another stab at delaying its impending trademark trial with an American rival, telling the Fourth Circuit that it should not be forced to proceed after the district court held one of its attorneys in contempt and essentially disqualified him.

  • March 27, 2025

    McCarter & English Faces DQ Bid In NJ Food Biz Dispute

    A food industry executive has asked a New Jersey federal court to remove McCarter & English LLP as counsel for his opponents in a business dispute, arguing that the firm previously represented him in negotiating the contract at issue.

  • March 27, 2025

    Eletson, Levona Ask 2nd Circ. To Not Delay Atty Removal

    The new owners of reorganized international shipping group Eletson and a creditor-turned-affiliate have urged the Second Circuit to nix Reed Smith LLP's emergency motion for a stay in a lawsuit seeking to enforce a $102 million arbitral award, as the law firm fights to continue representing the shipping company's pre-bankruptcy shareholders.

  • March 27, 2025

    Panera Franchisee Blames Insurer For Slip-And-Fall Payout

    A Massachusetts Panera franchisee said Travelers and its counsel botched a minor slip-and-fall claim, eventually leaving it on the hook for its full $250,000 deductible to cover an "inflated" settlement and legal fees in the case.

  • March 26, 2025

    Tesla Can't DQ Calif. Judge Over His Old Firm's Prior Work

    A California federal judge has rejected Tesla Inc.'s bid to disqualify him from an accident case over his prior law firm's work on employment cases against the automaker, saying that aside from that the motion was not brought in time.

  • March 26, 2025

    Atty's Falsehoods In Key Docs Aided $23M Fraud, Suit Says

    A pair of investment funds and two investors have hit a lawyer with professional malpractice and misrepresentation claims in Illinois federal court, accusing him of making false statements in solicitation documents to help their since-convicted managing member carry out a $23 million fraud.  

  • March 26, 2025

    Ramey Slams BlackBerry's IP Fee Win As 'Manifest Injustice'

    Ramey LLP and its client Silent Communications LLC urged U.S. District Judge Alan Albright Thursday to amend his finding that Ramey is liable for covering BlackBerry's attorney fees, estimated to be nearly $900,000, after filing a patent lawsuit in bad faith, arguing that the judgment is a "manifest injustice."

  • March 26, 2025

    Judge Knocks Amazon For Mislabeled Docs In Antitrust Suits

    Amazon.com Inc. must hand over dozens of records previously flagged as confidential to the consumers in a series of class actions alleging antitrust violations, a Washington federal judge has ruled, concluding that the e-commerce giant wrongly marked the documents as "attorney-client communications or attorney-work product."

  • March 26, 2025

    Ex-Aides Say AG Paxton Acted Like 'Pro Se Litigant' In Fee Fight

    Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's former deputies told a judge on Wednesday that litigating against their ex-boss was "like litigating against a pro se litigant," while defending their bid for hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees.

  • March 26, 2025

    Jay-Z's New Evidence May Save Claim Buzbee Tried Extortion

    A California state court judge said Wednesday that new evidence submitted by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter "has thrown a monkey wrench" in his analysis of the rapper's feud with personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee, and he's now inclined to keep alive an extortion claim stemming from now-abandoned rape allegations.

  • March 26, 2025

    State AGs, Bars Urge Attys To Speak Up Over Trump Orders

    In a pair of letters released on Wednesday, dozens of bar associations and over 20 state attorneys general urged lawyers to speak out against perceived threats to the rule of law in response to President Donald Trump's recent executive orders against prominent law firms and his call for the impeachment of a federal judge.

  • March 26, 2025

    11th Circ. Appears Dubious Of Ex-Judge's Defamation Claims

    An Eleventh Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday of former Alabama judge Roy Moore's claims that he was defamed by a Democratic PAC's ad referencing allegations that he made sexual advances on underage girls, suggesting the court could strike an $8 million verdict he won after the charges dragged down his 2017 bid for U.S. Senate.

  • March 26, 2025

    BCBS Settlement Opt-Outs Ordered To Disclose Funding Deals

    Four law firms representing hospitals that opted out of the landmark $2.8 billion Blue Cross Blue Shield antitrust settlement must disclose whether their clients were motivated by a "quick payment" from litigation funders, an Alabama federal judge ordered Tuesday.

  • March 26, 2025

    Sysco Can't Tap Out Of $50M Price-Fix Deal With JBS

    Sysco can't back out of a $50 million agreement it made with JBS for the meat producer to exit sprawling litigation accusing it of working to fix the price of poultry, beef and pork, even though Sysco has since signed away its interest in the antitrust claims, a federal court has ruled.

  • March 26, 2025

    DOJ Can't DQ Judge In Perkins Coie Suit Over Trump Order

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday shot down a demand from the U.S. Department of Justice that she step aside from Perkins Coie LLP's lawsuit against the federal government over President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm.

  • March 26, 2025

    Ex-CEO Says McGuireWoods Can't Rehash Immunity Appeal

    McGuireWoods LLP and one of its former partners are rehashing immunity defenses in a last-ditch effort to dodge a long-running defamation case, the former CEO of a managed care organization told the North Carolina Court of Appeals in seeking to have the case kicked back down to the trial court.

  • March 26, 2025

    Del. Justices Urged Not To Open Malpractice Suit 'Floodgates'

    Attorneys representing Brockstedt Mandalas Federico LLC and Schochor Staton Goldberg & Cardea PA urged the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject a bid to revive a malpractice suit filed over damages sought for a child's "catastrophic injuries" allegedly caused by contamination from a chicken plant, saying doing so could open "floodgates" for similar suits.

  • March 26, 2025

    Ill. Attorney Accused Of Spending Client's Settlement Funds

    A state's attorney in Illinois is facing disciplinary proceedings for allegedly misusing a former client's settlement funds while he was still in private practice and doctoring a bank statement to cover his tracks.  

  • March 26, 2025

    Calif. Consumer Affairs Dept. Sued For 'Unqualified' Arbitrator

    California's Department of Consumer Affairs has been accused of harming consumers by allowing unqualified individuals to handle arbitrations, according to a suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

  • March 26, 2025

    Ore. Lawyer Challenges Forced Bar Membership At High Court

    An Oregon attorney is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case after the Ninth Circuit found that the state bar violated his First Amendment right to freedom of association by publishing political statements — which included criticism of President Donald Trump — but also said a disclaimer that the bar doesn't speak for all its members could be enough to fix it.

  • March 26, 2025

    Goldstein's Devices Must Be Monitored, Judge Affirms

    A Maryland federal judge on Tuesday rejected U.S. Supreme Court lawyer and SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein's request to dismiss a bail condition that requires his electronic devices to be monitored out of concerns that he's been hiding millions in cryptocurrency from the government and could flee while facing tax evasion charges.

  • March 26, 2025

    Jailed Conn. Atty Should Be Suspended, Ethics Boss Says

    Connecticut's Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel asked a state court to suspend an attorney and former probate judge, who has a history of discipline and is currently in police custody for a pending criminal matter, while a trustee examines whether he has active cases or an attorney trust account.

  • March 25, 2025

    Diddy Producer's Atty Gets Warning For 'Shocking' Statement

    A New York federal judge threatened counsel for one of Sean "Diddy" Combs' former music producers with sanctions Monday for a pattern of false statements and inappropriate insults in civil sexual assault litigation, calling one statement in the attorney's court filings "not just disturbing, but shocking."

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating Arbitration Confidentiality Challenges In Age Of AI

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    Artificial intelligence is already significantly involved in various aspects of arbitration and posing challenges for maintaining confidentiality, but relatively quickly implementable practices can be utilized as safeguards as AI tools continue to be integrated, says David Coher at CoherADR.

  • The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024

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    Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • What Insurers Should Know About AI Use In Litigation

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    As the use of artificial intelligence in litigation evolves, insurers should note standing court orders, instances of judges utilizing AI to determine policy definitions and the application of evidentiary standards to expert evidence that incorporates AI, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Despite Political Divide, FEC Found Common Ground In '24

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    The Federal Election Commission, although evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, reached consensus in consequential advisory opinions, enforcement actions and regulations last year, offering welcome clarity on some key questions facing campaigns, PACs and parties, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025

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    If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Key Ethical Issues For Gov't Attys Moving To Private Practice

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    Transitioning from government service to private practice presents complex ethical challenges for attorneys, including navigating conflicts of interest, confidential information rules and post-employment restrictions, say attorneys at HWG.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

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