Legal Ethics

  • October 23, 2024

    Trump Shooting Suspect Seeks Fla. Judge's Recusal

    A man charged with attempting to shoot former President Donald Trump wants the Trump-appointed judge overseeing his case to step aside to preserve the appearance of impartiality, pointing Wednesday to news articles speculating that she could be in the running for a top legal position if Trump wins reelection.

  • October 23, 2024

    Court Denies Fees In 'Objectively Specious' Trade Secrets Suit

    A Seattle federal judge has agreed that a dental health insurer litigated an "objectively specious" trade secrets lawsuit against two of its former company officials, but ruled that not enough showed it was pursuing the case "in bad faith."

  • October 23, 2024

    Co. Misleads Claimants About Visa Mastercard MDL, Attys Say

    Class counsel for plaintiffs in long-running multidistrict litigation accusing Visa and Mastercard of charging improper merchant fees asked a New York federal judge to demand explanations from a third-party company over misleading statements it allegedly made regarding the claims-submission process for recovering settlement payments.

  • October 23, 2024

    Tribes Want Magistrate Judge To Drop Out Of $12M Award Suit

    Two Native American tribes have told a Wyoming federal court that a magistrate judge should recuse himself from an oil and gas company's lawsuit attempting to stop them from using their tribal judicial system to vacate a more than $12 million arbitration award.

  • October 23, 2024

    Judges Hint Settlement May Have Waived Atty's Free Speech

    Attorney Timothy Brignole and his Hartford law firm, Brignole Bush & Lewis LLC, may have surrendered free speech rights when they signed a nondisparagement agreement with a former employee, stripping them of the ability to claim First Amendment protection over comments attributed to them in a lawsuit, judges of the Connecticut Appellate Court hinted Wednesday.

  • October 23, 2024

    Combs, Feds At Odds Over Gag Order Amid Press Blitz

    Attorneys for Sean "Diddy" Combs told a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday that they are unable to agree with prosecutors about who should be barred from talking to the press about the hip-hop mogul's sex-trafficking and racketeering case.

  • October 23, 2024

    Del. Judge Won't Yet Revisit $242K Atty Sanctions In Ch. 7

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Wednesday that he won't, for now, set aside more than $242,000 in legal fees he ordered a lawyer representing the owners of an insolvent government contractor to pay in a clawback lawsuit, saying that since the sanctions order was appealed to the district court, he doesn't have jurisdiction.

  • October 23, 2024

    Feds Ask To Drop Conviction Tainted By Alaska Judge Scandal

    Federal prosecutors in Alaska have moved to voluntarily vacate the conviction of a man who assaulted two jail employees, after determining the case was irrevocably tainted by the sexual misconduct scandal that toppled former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred.

  • October 23, 2024

    Fla. Judge Fights Ethics Charges Of 'Intemperate' Conduct

    A Sunshine State judge attempted to explain away accusations by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission that he acted "intemperately," saying that while he, at times, struggles with patience, he treats those who appear before him with "dignity and courtesy."

  • October 23, 2024

    Law Firm Accuses Ex-Paralegal Of 'Sabotage' In Bears Case

    An Illinois law firm has accused one of its former paralegals of attempting to stiff the firm for work it did settling his discrimination suit against the Chicago Bears, alleging that the erstwhile employee declined to file key paperwork and deleted critical files.

  • October 23, 2024

    9th Circ. Orders Michael Avenatti To Be Resentenced

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the resentencing of Michael Avenatti over his California conviction for tax violations and stealing from clients, saying the lower court made multiple mistakes when it handed down a 14-year prison term to the onetime celebrity attorney.

  • October 23, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Injury Firm's Win In Fight Over Google Ads

    The Ninth Circuit has upheld an Arizona federal court's ruling in favor of a Tempe-based personal injury firm that was sued by another personal injury firm, Lerner & Rowe, over its purchases of Google advertising search terms, with the judges finding little "actual confusion" was caused by the advertising strategy.

  • October 23, 2024

    Chemical Co. GC Fires Back At Pregnancy Bias Claims In NJ

    Arxada and its general counsel struck back at a former in-house attorney's claims in a New Jersey state court lawsuit that the specialty chemicals company unlawfully dismissed her in the days after she talked about taking leave to recover from a miscarriage.

  • October 23, 2024

    DC Judge Won't Let DQ'd Atty Back On Dominion Case

    A D.C. federal judge has refused to disturb an order disqualifying an indicted Michigan attorney from representing former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne against a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

  • October 23, 2024

    Ga. Justices Say Open Records Suit Against DA Can Proceed

    The Supreme Court of Georgia said a district attorney for the Peach State's Western Judicial Circuit must face an Open Records Act suit claiming she withheld records, and that one of her arguments to escape the suit "fundamentally misunderstands Georgia's separation-of-powers doctrine."

  • October 22, 2024

    Texas Firm 'Tortured' Barratry Case, Appeals Court Hears

    A Texas law firm accused of ambulance chasing told a state appeals court that the opposition had "tortured" the case, saying during oral arguments Tuesday that Bandas Law Firm PC pursued the case merely as an extortion racket.

  • October 22, 2024

    Giuliani Must Give NYC Apartment, Watches To Poll Workers

    A New York federal judge Tuesday ordered Rudy Giuliani to hand over most of his property to two Georgia poll workers, including his Manhattan apartment, Mercedes-Benz, luxury watches and valuable sports memorabilia, to help cover the $148 million judgment the former mayor owes for defaming them.

  • October 22, 2024

    Colo. Justices Suggest Remanding 'Half-Baked' Privilege Case

    Colorado Supreme Court justices appeared reluctant Tuesday to do more than remand a case over whether attorney-client privilege protects communications by an insurance company's lawyers with engineers hired for processing a claim, with two justices calling the appeal "half-baked" since the trial judge admitted she used the wrong standard.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ex-Google GC Must Be Investigated By Calif. Bar, Groups Say

    A trio of groups led by the American Economic Liberties Project on Tuesday pressed the State Bar of California to investigate former Google general counsel Kent Walker for "coaching" the company to "engage in widespread and illegal destruction of records relevant to multiple ongoing federal trials."

  • October 22, 2024

    Legatum Exec Wins $8M Libel Trial Against D.C. Investigator

    A D.C. federal jury has awarded the founder of Dubai-based investment company Legatum more than $8 million in his defamation case against a private investigator accused of preparing and disseminating a bogus "background report" falsely stating the executive was a Russian asset.

  • October 22, 2024

    Judge Tells Firm To Tighten Up Testimony In Nassar Fee Trial

    A Michigan federal judge cautioned a local personal injury firm Tuesday to reel in the head of the firm on the witness stand, warning he was losing the jury in a long "inside baseball" legal discussion in his efforts to get a greater cut of fees from a Colorado firm for work on a Larry Nassar abuse settlement.

  • October 22, 2024

    Calif. Official Cops To Taking Bribes For $10M In Contracts

    A member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors has admitted to steering $10 million worth of COVID-19 relief funds to a charity affiliated with his daughter in exchange for more than $500,000 in bribes, California federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

  • October 22, 2024

    NJ Justices Cast Doubt On Out-Of-State Atty Referral Fee Ban

    New Jersey Supreme Court justices on Tuesday sounded skeptical of an ethics rule change that would ban certified attorneys from paying referral fees to out-of-state lawyers, questioning an advisory panel's conclusion that such fees represent an authorized payment for legal services.

  • October 22, 2024

    Law Firm Wins Atty Fees In Texas Over Lies To Ghana Court

    An African energy company has to pay nearly $166,000 in attorney fees to an international arbitration specialty law firm after the company was sanctioned for lying to a Ghanaian court about proceedings in Texas, a Texas federal judge has ruled.

  • October 22, 2024

    LegalZoom, Ex-User Clash Over Unlawful-Practice Arbitration

    Legal services provider LegalZoom cannot force a proposed class action alleging unauthorized practice of law into arbitration, a former customer has told a New Jersey federal judge, because the web platform provided an inadequate explanation for a supposedly binding arbitration agreement.

Expert Analysis

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices

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    The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.

  • Alleged $636M Deal Error Shows Value Of Old-School Methods

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    Though Proskauer Rose has now settled claims involving a copy-paste error in deal documents that could have resulted in $636 million in damages, the debacle reminds attorneys that classic revision methods using paper copies can help avoid drafting errors and actually save time in the long run, says Richard Leisner at Trenam.

  • Twitter Sanction Highlights Privacy Law's Complexity

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent decision to uphold a sanction against X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, for failing to produce account records in response to a subpoena highlights the importance of understanding the Stored Communications Act, particularly when deciding to produce or not produce data, says Cary Aronovitz at Holland & Knight.

  • Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees

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    The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review

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    Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Opinion

    Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues

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    Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

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    When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth

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    Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

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    X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

  • Nev. Insurance Law May Mean Turmoil In Liability Market

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    Nevada's new law prohibiting insurers from issuing or renewing defense-within-limits liability policies in the state could cause professional liability insurers to withdraw certain products or prohibitively increase premiums — and while an emergency regulation allows for exceptions, the situation remains fluid, says Joshua Leach at Atheria Law.

  • Lessons From High-Profile Witness Tampering Allegations

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    As demonstrated by recent developments in the cases against former President Donald Trump and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, allegations of witness tampering can carry serious consequences — but attorneys can employ certain strategies to mitigate the risk that accusations arise, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Covington Ruling Strengthens SEC's Enforcement Powers

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    A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent order that Covington & Burling provide the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with the identities of its clients in response to a subpoena reinforces the agency’s broad authority to investigate cybersecurity violations, and suggests law firms must take steps to strengthen data privacy, say Elisha Kobre and Ryan Dean at Bradley Arant.

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