Legal Ethics

  • March 31, 2025

    Feds Seek $3M From Ex-Ill. Speaker, Who Wants New Trial

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan urged an Illinois federal judge to acquit him of bribery and wire fraud, or at least order a new trial, due to "numerous" jury instruction and evidentiary errors that confused and prejudiced the jury, on the same day prosecutors filed a motion for him to forfeit more than $3 million in the wake of his partial conviction.

  • March 31, 2025

    'Unprofessional' Pro Se Atty Can't Get 2nd Extortion Trial

    A medical malpractice attorney was denied a new trial by a Maryland federal judge who said prosecutors presented sufficient evidence that he tried to extort $25 million from the University of Maryland Medical System, and called out the lawyer for "inappropriate, unprofessional, and unbecoming" behavior while representing himself at trial.

  • March 31, 2025

    Trump EOs And Skadden Face Pushback At Law Schools

    President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting law firms, and one firm's attempt to avoid a directive, have each received pushback at top law schools, with more than 90 Harvard faculty members objecting to the measures' effect on the rule of law and Georgetown students blasting Skadden's deal with Trump as a second firm associate publicly resigned.

  • March 31, 2025

    Colo. Firm Says Former Atty Uses Google Ads To Steal Clients

    A prominent Colorado personal injury law firm has sued a former employee for trademark infringement, accusing the lawyer of purchasing Google ads so prospective clients searching for the Franklin D. Azar & Associates firm are directed to a phone number and website for his lesser-known law firm instead.

  • March 31, 2025

    Carlton Fields Faces DQ Bid In $500M Miss America Suit

    Carlton Fields faces a disqualification bid for allegedly having a conflict of interest in a $500 million lawsuit regarding the ownership of the company that runs the Miss America pageant.

  • March 31, 2025

    'American Idol' Singer Wants Early Win In Contract Fight

    Songwriter and former "American Idol" contestant Lauren Spencer-Smith, who rose to fame when her 2022 song "Fingers Crossed" went viral on TikTok, is seeking an early win for her New York federal lawsuit's breach of fiduciary and contractual obligations and faithless servant allegations, saying Saturday that the defendants "took the trust that was reposed in them as Spencer-Smith's attorneys and agents, and used that trust for their own benefit to the detriment of Spencer-Smith."

  • March 31, 2025

    Atty Wants Firm In Neutral Hands Amid Dispute With Partner

    A co-founder of Hodges & Foty LLP is asking a Texas state court to appoint a receiver to manage the winding down of the Houston law firm, claiming that the external oversight is necessary to protect the firm's clients and its financial interests from harm at the hands of his fellow firm founder.

  • March 31, 2025

    DOJ Seeking Steep Costs To Make Challengers Think Twice

    The U.S. Department of Justice is quickly implementing President Donald Trump's plan to seek huge sums of money from litigants whose cases impede his agenda but ultimately prove unsuccessful, court records show.

  • March 31, 2025

    Faegre Drinker Fights Sanctions Bid In Trump IP Song Suit

    Conservative group Turning Point Action Inc. is urging a Georgia federal judge not to sanction its Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP counsel in a copyright suit filed by the estate of soul artist Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. over President Donald Trump playing his song "Hold On, I'm Comin'," disputing claims they submitted a "frivolous" dismissal bid.

  • March 31, 2025

    Disbarred Fraudster Gets 25 Years For $18M Hemp Scam

    A disbarred attorney with a history of investor fraud was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a scheme in which he solicited more than $18 million from investors by claiming to own a hemp farm that didn't exist and overhyping an edibles company.

  • March 31, 2025

    Ex-Workday Atty's Bias Claims Axed, Stock Dispute Kept Alive

    A California federal judge tossed a Black ex-Workday attorney's claims that he endured race and disability bias that culminated in the software vendor sending police to his house to conduct an unnecessary wellness check, but the judge allowed the attorney pursue claims that he was shorted on stock options.

  • March 31, 2025

    Perkins Coie DQ'd From Facial Recognition IP Suit

    Perkins Coie LLP has been disqualified from defending Jumio Corp. in a patent infringement lawsuit involving facial recognition technology, with the San Francisco federal judge who signed the order citing the firm's prior general corporate and intellectual property representation of plaintiff FaceTec Inc.

  • March 31, 2025

    Boston Bomber Judge Won't Recuse From Juror Bias Inquiry

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined to recuse himself from conducting an inquiry into potential juror bias during the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

  • March 31, 2025

    Eric Adams Urges Speedy Dismissal As NYC Primaries Loom

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday urged a Manhattan federal judge to promptly throw out his bribery and corruption charges, pointing to an upcoming mayoral election filing deadline and the court's previous vows to rule quickly.

  • March 29, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Terror Liability, Health Provider Choice

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench this week to consider whether a federal law subjecting Palestinian government organizations to federal jurisdiction violates due process principles and if the Medicaid Act's provider choice provision allows individual benefit recipients to sue states over the disqualification of healthcare providers. 

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge Blocks Bid To 'Hijack' $44M Ga. Realtor Settlement

    A Georgia federal judge on Friday rejected a bid by the plaintiffs who brought a series of landmark fee inflation claims against the National Association of Realtors and major brokerages to intervene in a similar Peach State action, putting their bid to block an alleged lowball settlement on ice.

  • March 28, 2025

    Failed Software Secrets Case Costs MasterCard Unit $2.8M

    A federal judge in Utah has ordered a MasterCard unit to cough up over $2.8 million in legal fees for "aggressively" litigating an "objectively specious" trade secrets suit against two McKinsey consultants who went on to found one of MasterCard's only serious rivals in a corner of the business analytics software market.

  • March 28, 2025

    TSI Ch. 7 Trustee Opposes Firm's Withdrawal From The Case

    The Chapter 7 trustee for the Teams Systems International estate is opposing the withdrawal of law firm Cross & Simon from representing the defunct company and its principals in an adversary action alleging the misappropriation of some $14 million of funds in the years leading up to the bankruptcy, arguing it will leave the defendants without counsel with multiple matters pending.

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge Won't End Atty Dispute Over Beirut Bombing Suit

    A federal judge declined to give a Maryland law firm a pretrial win in a lawsuit brought by two Houston attorneys who accused it of unfairly terminating a joint venture for litigation over the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.

  • March 28, 2025

    Tubi Says Keller Postman Breached Deal In Arbitration Fight

    The D.C. federal judge overseeing video streaming service Tubi Inc.'s tortious interference suit against Keller Postman LLC over mass arbitration claims ordered the parties on Friday to schedule a status conference for next month, in light of Tubi's claims that the firm violated an agreement.

  • March 28, 2025

    No Admission Needed For Conn. Atty To Use Anti-SLAPP Law

    A Connecticut attorney and his Hartford firm weren't required to admit that they engaged in allegedly disparaging speech against a former employee in order to use the anti-SLAPP statute in their attempt to toss the case, a state appeals court ruled Friday in a matter of first impression. 

  • March 28, 2025

    Shutts & Bowen Accused Of Sinking Florida Country Club Sale

    A real estate corporation is suing Florida firm Shutts & Bowen LLP and one of its partners for malpractice, alleging that as part of a fee dispute, they scuttled a deal for the sale of a country club that the business had been negotiating.

  • March 28, 2025

    3rd Circ. Preview: April Arguments Feature Class Action Rows

    The Third Circuit's April argument lineup springs into action with securities litigation brought by Walmart investors claiming they were misled about the government's opioid investigation into the company, and a bid to upend an attorney fee award stemming from the settlement of data breach litigation against convenience store chain Wawa.

  • March 28, 2025

    NC Atty Can't Shield Bank Docs From Tycoon In Hacking Suit

    A North Carolina attorney and former FBI agent can't stop aviation tycoon Farhad Azima from parsing through his bank records as part of an international hacking conspiracy case, a federal judge said Friday, though he did limit the scope of the records Azima sought.

  • March 28, 2025

    NJ Law Firm Beats DQ Bid Over Atty's Indictment

    The indictment of Brown & Connery LLP senior partner William Tambussi on since-dismissed racketeering charges does not create a conflict of interest that would require the firm to stop representing New Jersey in an employee retaliation lawsuit, a state appellate court has ruled.

Expert Analysis

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • What Lawyers Can Learn From High School AI Suit

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    A pending Massachusetts lawsuit regarding artificial intelligence use in an academic setting underscores the need for attorneys to educate themselves on AI technology and tools that affect their clients so they can advise on establishing clear expectations and limits around the permissible use of AI, say attorneys at Hinckley Allen.

  • Service Providers Must Mitigate 'Secondary Target' Risks

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    A lawsuit recently filed in an Illinois federal court against marketing agency Publicis over its work for opioid manufacturers highlights an uptick in litigation against professional service providers hired by clients that engaged in alleged misconduct — so potential targets of such suits should be sure to conduct proper risk analysis and mitigation, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • Mitigating Defamation Liability Risks Of AI-Generated Content

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    Until Congress and the courts provide clear guidance about defamation liability stemming from generative artificial intelligence tools, companies should begin building controls to prevent the creation of defamatory content, says Michael Gerrity at Accenture.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records

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    Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • Opinion

    Why States Should Adopt ABA's 'Duty To Inquire'

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    State bars should codify the American Bar Association's proposed rule on a lawyer's duty to scrutinize each representation as it provides guardrails for lawyers, supports self-regulation of the profession, and helps avert money laundering and other crimes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • Trump Faces Uphill Battle If He Tries To Target Prosecutors

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    On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to go after the state and federal prosecutors who had investigated and prosecuted him, but few criminal statutes would be applicable — to say nothing of the evidence required to substantiate any charges against prosecutors, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

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