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Legal Ethics
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August 19, 2024
Chinese Exile's Daughter Wants Ch. 11 Sanctions Overturned
The daughter of bankrupt Chinese exile Miles Guo and her New Jersey-based attorney are asking the Second Circuit to overturn a bankruptcy judge's $83,370 discovery sanction, calling the discovery requests in question unclear and the sanction excessive.
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August 19, 2024
Gov't, Contractor Urge Against Sanctions Over Doc Dispute
Both the federal government and a contractor have urged a Court of Federal Claims judge not to sanction the government for the mislabeling of documents in a dispute over a U.S. Air Force construction deal, after the government argued its mistakes were inadvertent.
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August 19, 2024
Kasowitz Urges NY Court To Toss Supertall Tower Suit
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP asked a New York state court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two limited liability companies tied to AmBase Corp. over Manhattan's troubled supertall Steinway Tower.
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August 19, 2024
DQ'd Judge Should Have Kept Quiet, Tax Challengers Say
A Michigan federal judge who disqualified himself from homeowners' challenge to a $217 million dam repair tax assessment put his "thumb on the scale of justice" by improperly commenting on legal questions as he bowed out, according to homeowners seeking to have the comments rescinded.
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August 19, 2024
Ex-NJ County Exec Loses Bid To DQ Firm In Retaliation Suit
A former Cumberland County, New Jersey, health official claiming his firing was political retaliation cannot disqualify the county's counsel in his lawsuit, Testa Heck Testa & White PA, over interactions he had with two firm attorneys around the time of his firing, a state court judge ruled Friday.
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August 19, 2024
Ex-McElroy Execs' Theft, Bias Cases Paused Amid Ch. 11
A New Jersey state court has sided with McElroy Deutsch and stayed all litigation between the law firm and two former executives, including both the firm's fraud claims and discrimination counterclaims made against it, while a related bankruptcy case plays out.
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August 19, 2024
Ford Can't Show Judge Is Biased In Crash Case, Driver Says
Victims of a car crash urged the North Carolina state appeals court to reject a bid by Ford to get a trial court judge booted from a vehicle safety lawsuit, arguing the carmaker hasn't shown the judge is biased by bringing up statements he made years ago as a private attorney who took on the company.
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August 19, 2024
Atty Faces Contempt Bid In Fla. Forex Trading Firm Case
The court-appointed receiver of an investment company at the center of a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit over the firm's $75 million foreign currency trading fraud has asked for the company's now-imprisoned CEO's appeals attorney to be held in contempt of court for allegedly failing to comply with a subpoena.
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August 19, 2024
Voters Fight DeSantis Bid To Toss Prosecutor Suspension Suit
Florida voters and a partisan advocacy group have pushed back against Gov. Ron DeSantis' argument that voters have no right to see an elected official serve an entire term in a suit over the suspension of Florida prosecutor Monique Worrell, saying it doesn't matter when interference in an election occurs because the effect on the voters is the same.
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August 19, 2024
FTC Says Albertsons Execs Deleted Texts About Merger
The Federal Trade Commission accused executives from Albertsons of deleting text messages about the supermarket chain's planned megamerger with Kroger, saying the messages likely contained valuable internal views about the effects of the $25 billion deal.
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August 19, 2024
Trump's Immunity Appeal May Delay Sentencing, DA Says
Prosecutors will not oppose Donald Trump's request to delay sentencing in his New York hush money case, currently set for next month, while he seeks to dismiss his conviction in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling, agreeing that an immediate appeal may upend the proceedings anyway.
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August 19, 2024
Florida Judge's Recusal Not Required After Child's Arrest
A Florida judge presiding over the juvenile division in a county where the judge's own child was arrested or charged with a crime need not be recused from juvenile delinquency cases, a state ethics watchdog has found, though the judge must disclose the information to parties in juvenile delinquency matters.
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August 16, 2024
2 BigLaw Firms Nix Bankruptcy Judge Romance Suit, For Now
A Texas federal judge Friday tossed an investor's racketeering lawsuit alleging a conspiracy involving Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Jackson Walker LLP, a disgraced Texas bankruptcy judge and his secret romance with a former Jackson Walker partner, dismissing the suit without prejudice while voicing her distaste for its allegations of judicial misconduct.
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August 16, 2024
Feds Get Boost From Dem Reps In 5th Circ. PWFA Fight
The federal government's Fifth Circuit challenge to a court order blocking it from enforcing a law to protect pregnant workers in Texas got support on Friday from four Democratic lawmakers who argued the lower court ruling, if upheld, would undercut Congress' authority to set its own rules of operation.
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August 16, 2024
Atty Gets 32 Months In Prison For Bribing Chicago Alderman
An Illinois federal judge on Friday sentenced an immigration attorney and real estate developer convicted of bribing former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years and eight months in prison, maintaining prison time is warranted because the lawyer initiated the bribe and tried to hide it from federal agents and the grand jury.
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August 16, 2024
Texas Injury Firm's Ex-Associate Must Face Poaching Suit
A Texas state appeals court refused to dismiss a suit accusing a former associate of Daspit Law Firm PLLC of improperly poaching clients following his firing in 2022, saying his conduct isn't covered by state statute protecting citizens from retaliatory lawsuits.
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August 16, 2024
Fla. Atty Gets Second Look At Sanctions Ruling Over Mistrial
A Florida attorney and his law firm, Garrison Yount Forte & Mulcahy LLC, will get the sanctions against them reconsidered by a state trial court after a three-judge panel for Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal found they were denied a necessary hearing prior to receiving the penalties after the attorney's actions led to a mistrial in a personal injury case.
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August 16, 2024
Gunster Aims To Erase Data Breach Suit In Florida
Gunster Yoakley & Stewart PA has asked a Florida federal court to toss a proposed class action related to a data breach in 2022, arguing that the former client failed to state actual damages sustained by the potential class due to the cybersecurity incident.
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August 16, 2024
V&E Can Advise Wood Pellet Co. Enviva In Ch. 11, Court Says
Months after a Virginia bankruptcy court blocked Vinson & Elkins LLP from representing Enviva in the wood pellet maker's Chapter 11 case due to a possible conflict of interest, the court has reversed course, permitting the law firm to serve as special counsel after it pledged to narrow the scope of its work.
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August 16, 2024
Former Texas Judge Sanctioned Over Atty Romance Interview
Former bankruptcy judge David R. Jones was sanctioned Friday for an "off the record" interview with Jackson Walker LLP, in which he asked the firm not to take his deposition during a federal investigation into Jones' secret romantic relationship with a former Jackson Walker partner.
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August 16, 2024
Ford Says $1.7B Loss Blocks Punitives In Rollover Suit
Ford Motor Co. is asking a Georgia federal court to throw out a bid for punitive damages from the children of a couple who died in a rollover crash, saying punitive damages in a prior $1.7 billion loss in a similar suit bars the claim.
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August 16, 2024
Pashman Stein Must Face NJ Atty's Malpractice Claims
A New Jersey state court has rejected Pashman Stein Walder Hayden PC's bid to dismiss a malpractice counterclaim lodged against it by an attorney and former client, who the firm has argued painted an "outright deceptive narrative" to avoid paying nearly $100,000 in legal fees.
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August 16, 2024
Ortho Center Seeks Lit Funding Details After Scuttled Verdict
A Minnesota-based orthopedic center wants a former patient to disclose information regarding his litigation financing agreement with Bench Walk Advisors following a $110 million malpractice verdict, which a judge later decided was "astronomical" and largely scrapped.
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August 16, 2024
Atty Who Reported Client Can't Get SEC Award, DC Circ. Says
The D.C. Circuit was not moved by an attorney's attempt to claim a potential multimillion-dollar award for reporting his client to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the attorney could not have reasonably believed that blowing the whistle on the $44 million fraud was in his client's best interest.
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August 16, 2024
Jury Says Lin Wood Must Pay $750K In Defamation Case Fees
A day after returning a $3.75 million verdict against retired Atlanta defamation attorney Lin Wood in the defamation case brought against him by three of his former law partners, a Georgia federal jury on Friday said he must also pay $750,000 toward their attorney fees and costs.
Expert Analysis
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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Asserting 'Presence-Of-Counsel' Defense In Securities Trials
As illustrated by the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, defense attorneys in securities trials might consider arguing that counsel had some involvement in the conduct at issue — if the more formal advice-of-counsel defense is unavailable and circumstances allow for a privilege waiver, say Joseph Dever and Matthew Elkin at Cozen O'Connor.
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Key Takeaways From DOJ's Recent FARA Advisory Opinions
The U.S. Department of Justice recently published several redacted advisory opinions on the Foreign Agents Registration Act, clarifying its current thinking on when a person or entity is required to register as a foreign agent under the statute, and when they may qualify for an exemption, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley Rein.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.
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Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD
Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.