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Legal Ethics
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July 08, 2024
Fla. Judge Who Cursed From Bench Faces 60-Day Suspension
An ethics panel on Monday again recommended a 60-day suspension for a judge's intemperate conduct on the bench that included cursing out a member of the gallery in his courtroom, despite the Florida Supreme Court's previous determination that the sanction was inadequate.
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July 08, 2024
House Hearing Postponed For Trump's NY Prosecutors
The House Judiciary Committee's hearing with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and top prosecutor Matthew Colangelo on former President Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts has been postponed.
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July 08, 2024
1st Circ. Nominee Cut Teeth As 'Victim-Centered' Prosecutor
Maine Superior Court Justice and First Circuit nominee Julia Lipez spent most of her legal career prosecuting federal human trafficking cases, an experience former colleagues say demonstrates her sense of fairness and a sharp focus on the well-being of victims.
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July 08, 2024
The Biggest Patent Rulings Of 2024: A Midyear Report
The Federal Circuit issued its first en banc patent decision since 2018, a circuit judge's suspension was solidified and courts shed further light on foreign damages and skinny labels. Here's a look back at these rulings and other top patent decisions from the first half of 2024.
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July 08, 2024
Biden Says Reelection Crucial To Supreme Court Reform
President Joe Biden told congressional Democrats his reelection is crucial to bringing about "real" reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court in a letter Monday rejecting calls for him to back out of the presidential race.
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July 05, 2024
Feds Slam Girardi's 'Last Ditch Effort' To Block Evidence
Prosecutors urged a California federal judge Friday to reject Tom Girardi's bid to suppress evidence collected without a search warrant from his law firm's bankruptcy trustee, arguing that the trustee had control of the firm's books and records and had the power to voluntarily produce the documents for the disgraced attorney's wire fraud case.
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July 05, 2024
Conn. Firm Sued For Repping Both Parties In Business Sale
A Connecticut law firm has been hit with a malpractice suit saying an attorney improperly represented both parties in the sale of an interest in a restaurant business and ultimately drafted an agreement that misstated the deal in favor of the seller, leading to a $750,000 claim against the buyer.
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July 05, 2024
Armstrong Teasdale Resisted Diversity, Ex-DEI VP Says
Armstrong Teasdale LLP's former vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion claims the law firm hired her to help it cultivate a more diverse workplace, but then blocked her attempts to make recommendations and improvements before wrongly firing her, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Missouri state court.
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July 05, 2024
Fired Atty Only Gets $9K From $1.5M Motorcycle Crash Deal
A Connecticut appeals court ruled Friday that $9,000 was a fair payment to a personal injury attorney who was fired after he quickly obtained a $100,000 settlement offer for a motorcyclist who eventually settled for $1.5 million.
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July 05, 2024
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court
Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
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July 05, 2024
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court's lethargic pace of decision-making this term left the justices to issue a slew of highly anticipated and controversial rulings during the term's final week — rulings that put the court's ideological divisions on vivid display. Here, Law360 takes a data dive into the numbers behind this court term.
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July 05, 2024
High Court Flexes Muscle To Limit Administrative State
The U.S. Supreme Court's dismantling of a 40-year-old judicial deference doctrine, coupled with rulings stripping federal agencies of certain enforcement powers and exposing them to additional litigation, has established the October 2023 term as likely the most consequential in administrative law history.
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July 05, 2024
The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court's session ended with a series of blockbuster cases that granted the president broad immunity, changed federal gun policy and kneecapped administrative agencies. And many of the biggest decisions fell along partisan lines.
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July 05, 2024
5 Moments That Shaped The Supreme Court's Jan. 6 Decision
When the high court limited the scope of a federal obstruction statute used to charge hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol, the justices did not vote along ideological lines. In a year marked by 6-3 splits, what accounts for the departure? Here are some moments from oral arguments that may have swayed the justices.
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July 05, 2024
The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term
In a U.S. Supreme Court term teeming with serious showdowns, the august air at oral arguments filled with laughter after an attorney mentioned her plastic surgeon and a justice seemed to diss his colleagues, to cite just two of the term's mirthful moments. Here, we look at the funniest moments of the term.
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July 05, 2024
Judge Should Have Been Disqualified From Case, Panel Said
A Washington appeals court panel said a trial judge should have been disqualified over bias concerns raised by metro Seattle's bus agency in a worker discrimination case, according to an opinion that said the judge's order allowing an amended complaint was not a discretionary ruling in the case that would have forbid disqualification.
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July 05, 2024
Fla. Law Firm Settles Student Debtors' Suit After Mistrial
Weeks after a mistrial upended proceedings in a contentious case in which seven student debtors accused a Boca Raton, Florida, law firm of fraudulently claiming it could eliminate their private loan debt for a fee, the debtors have voluntarily and permanently dropped the claims following a settlement negotiation.
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July 05, 2024
Trump Urges Halt To Mar-A-Lago Case, Citing Immunity Ruling
Former President Donald Trump urged a Florida federal judge Friday to pause the criminal case that accuses him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said he might be immune to charges related to official acts.
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July 05, 2024
DQ'd Atty Denied Bid To Have Netflix Atty Held In Contempt
A California federal judge rejected a bid by a former Whitestone Law attorney to hold an attorney representing Netflix in a patent infringement case in contempt over harassment allegations, determining that the unwanted contact does not violate the order disqualifying his ex-firm.
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July 05, 2024
Rutgers Faces Contempt Bid Over Discipline In Bias Suit
A Rutgers Law School student is asking a New Jersey state court to sanction the university for moving ahead with disciplinary measures against him for defamation, bullying, intimidation and harassment, arguing it violates a protective order he received in his discrimination lawsuit.
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July 05, 2024
Mich. Atty Ethics Board Moves Trump Allies' Cases Forward
The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board has refused to dismiss misconduct claims against six attorneys for challenging the results of the 2020 election in the Great Lakes State and ordered their disciplinary proceedings to move forward.
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July 05, 2024
Ga. Elections Office Wants Out Of Appeals Seat Challenge
An elections office in Fulton County, Georgia's elections department asked a judge this week to be let out of a lawsuit alleging that the winner of a recent state appeals court election lied about his residency and is ineligible for the office, arguing that the suit "fails to make even a single allegation of misconduct, fraud or irregularity."
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July 05, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Settles Defamation Suit Against Influencer
Former Greenberg Traurig LLP partner Allan A. Kassenoff has settled his $150 million defamation lawsuit against the social media influencer Kassenoff claims ruined his life by lying about his nightmarish divorce.
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July 05, 2024
Denver Firm Accused Of Botching Business Dispute
The Denver law firm of Fairfield and Woods PC and one of its attorneys has been accused in Colorado state court of malpractice that caused their client more than a million dollars in damages in connection with a business dispute involving the client's brother.
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July 05, 2024
Court To Weigh Scope Of Ex-Judge's Atty Romance Testimony
A Texas bankruptcy judge said he must determine the scope of a deposition over a former judge's concealed romantic relationship with an ex-Jackson Walker LLP attorney, reversing course on a stipulation and ruling he has "exclusive authority" to "authorize and set limits regarding the nature of the testimony."
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas
Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.
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Opinion
Ga. Needs To Resolve Cannabis Counsel Confusion
Georgia’s medical cannabis regulator finally adopted rules for low-THC oil last month, but a 2021 ethics ruling prohibits lawyers from advising participants in the state’s legal program and creates a confounding landscape that the state bar and courts must address, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruze at Bradley Arant.
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Patent Litigants Should Be Vigilant After Rare Retrial Order
A California federal court's recent unusual order for a new trial for attorney misconduct in Pavemetrics v. Tetra Tech should remind patent litigants to be careful about arguments that frame an infringement case in a way that does not fairly reflect the dispute at hand, say Ranganath Sudarshan and Yuval Mor at Covington.
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DOJ's Compensation Reforms Pit Cos. Against Their Execs
The U.S. Department of Justice’s new policy, incentivizing compliance-focused corporate compensation programs and prompt disclosures of misconduct, will complicate the relationship between companies and their executives, and create potential ethical conflicts for counsel, say Solomon Shinerock and Annika Conrad at Lewis Baach.
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Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?
What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.