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Legal Ethics
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November 04, 2024
Hurricane Zeta MDL Judge Orders Mediation Amid DQ Battle
A Houston judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation created to handle claims from crew members who say they were injured while weathering Hurricane Zeta on a Transocean drilling rig ordered the parties to mediation Friday in the midst of a bitter disqualification battle between their feuding firms.
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November 04, 2024
NJ Justice Vexed By Judge's Stance On Thigh Touch Claim
New Jersey Chief Justice Stuart Rabner grilled a municipal judge Monday about apparently contradictory positions he took in response to accusations that he inappropriately touched the thigh of a law clerk during an alcohol-fueled day at his home — an action the jurist characterized as a "pat" despite previously appearing to agree that it was a "rub."
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November 04, 2024
Colo. Justices Say Expert Testimony OK Without Formalities
The Colorado Supreme Court held Monday that the formal offer and acceptance of an expert isn't required for that expert's testimony to be admissible, finding in a published opinion that there's no actual state requirement for courts to use such a practice.
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November 04, 2024
Judge Cites Tesla Stock, Friendship In SpaceX Firing Recusal
A California federal judge on Monday recused herself from a hostile work environment and retaliation suit brought by a group of former SpaceX employees, saying she owns Tesla stock and is friends with a SpaceX human resource executive's mother-in-law.
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November 04, 2024
Justices Remand Atty Privilege Case After Judge Admits Gaffe
The Colorado Supreme Court has remanded a case over whether communications between an insurance company's outside lawyer and the experts it hired to study an alleged construction defect are privileged, after some justices said the appeal was "half-baked" because the trial judge had already admitted she was wrong.
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November 04, 2024
Tesla Fights Sanctions Bid Over Atty's Mediation Appearance
Tesla Inc. has pushed back against a widow's sanctions bid over allegations a company in-house attorney appeared at a mediation in her wrongful death case despite lacking settlement authority, saying her attorneys improperly disclosed the contents of confidential mediation communications.
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November 04, 2024
Suspended Fla. Atty Seeks Leniency Over Missing Precedent
A suspended Florida attorney has urged the Florida Supreme Court to reduce the punishment it doled out last month, including a one-year suspension of his law license, arguing that the state Supreme Court's decision "cites no precedent," so it should use its discretion to hand out lesser sanctions.
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November 04, 2024
Atty Moves To Oust DA Who Cleared Cops In Brother's Death
A Littler Mendelson PC shareholder's effort to remove the Massachusetts district attorney who absolved officers in the 2021 fatal shooting of his brother left justices on the state's highest court grappling with the reach of a seldom-used state statute allowing them to oust government officials for "the public good."
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November 04, 2024
Mortgage Co. Accused Of 'Bad Faith' In Settlement With Atty
A former staff attorney with a mortgage company has accused the business of "bad faith" for purportedly trying to renegotiate the terms of a settlement to resolve her Texas state lawsuit alleging she was fired after she witnessed inappropriate sexual behavior by a deputy general counsel.
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November 04, 2024
Ford Gets New Trial In $1.7B Rollover Case In Georgia
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a new trial in a record-setting $1.7 billion rollover case against Ford Motor Co., saying it was "reluctantly" vacating the jury's verdict after finding that a trial court wrongly imposed issue preclusion sanctions that "almost completely prevented Ford from presenting a defense as to liability."
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November 04, 2024
Feds Slam Ozy Media CEO's 'Last-Ditch' Effort To DQ Judge
Prosecutors have pushed back against Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson's "last-ditch effort" to get his fraud and identity theft convictions undone, insisting that investments owned by the New York federal judge overseeing his case are in hedge funds and not in Watson's victims, and are too small to matter.
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November 04, 2024
Georgia Bar Forms 23-Person AI Special Committee
The State Bar of Georgia has announced the formation of a special committee that will explore and make recommendations on how the state's professional conduct rules cover developments in legal technology, particularly tools involving artificial intelligence.
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November 01, 2024
Manufacturer Says Atty Turned Tiff Into 'Slow Motion Disaster'
A Colorado electronics manufacturer says a law firm turned a minor dispute into a "slow motion disaster," resulting in a $1 million bill that threatens to sink the business, filing a malpractice suit one day before seeking bankruptcy protections.
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November 01, 2024
Atty Suing Ex-Partner Asks Judges For 'Fairly Nominal' Bond
An attorney suing his ex-CEO over the breakup of their law firm has asked a Connecticut Superior Court judge to clear up two orders from different jurists by explaining how much bond he'll be required to post, saying a "fairly nominal" bond would ensure he keeps the case on track.
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November 01, 2024
Fitbit Knocks Out Cellspin Litigation Campaign At Fed. Circ.
Fitbit and others defeated a pair of appeals on Friday in patent litigation over ideas involving programming automatic social media posts, with the Federal Circuit ruling to reject arguments that a California federal judge should have decided patent suits differently and should have recused herself anyway because of her husband's ties to Fitbit parent Google.
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November 01, 2024
Judge Skeptical Of NYC Mayor's Bid To Dismiss Bribery Count
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday voiced skepticism of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' motion to dismiss his bribery charge, and set an April trial date in a case accusing the mayor of taking travel perks from Turkish officials in exchange for official favors.
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November 01, 2024
GRSM50 Won't Be Disqualified In Detroit Hotel Firing Suit
A Michigan federal judge has refused to disqualify Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP from representing an upscale Detroit hotel in a retaliation suit filed by three fired employees, but flagged the firm for being "negligent" in its handling of discovery in the case.
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November 01, 2024
What Happens To Ga. Election Case If Trump Wins?
The fate of the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump is on the ballot this November, according to legal experts, who told Law360 that a Trump victory would likely mean any trial would have to wait until he completes his term in office.
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November 01, 2024
Ex-Mohawk IT Exec Cops To $1.8M Ripoff Of Flooring Co.
Days before he was set to face trial, flooring giant Mohawk's former head of information technology pled guilty Friday to eight wire fraud and conspiracy charges for running a third-party vendor scheme that ripped off his employer to the tune of $1.8 million.
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November 01, 2024
Judge In Philly Inquirer Data Sharing Case Won't Join Class
The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing a consolidated action accusing the Philadelphia Inquirer of sharing subscribers' video viewing habits with Meta is eligible to join the class, but has decided to renounce his right to class membership in order to continue being the judge.
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November 01, 2024
How 2024 Election Litigation May Look Different From 2020
Courts are fielding a flood of lawsuits over the 2024 presidential election, with more certainly to come, but those suits may have some significant differences from the ones that played out in 2020, according to experts.
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November 01, 2024
Jackson Walker Rips Trustee's Judge Romance Fee Clawback
The U.S. Trustee's Office is exceeding its authority as a "watchdog" in seeking to claw back money paid to Jackson Walker LLP in bankruptcy cases because the judge presiding over those cases was having a secret relationship with a firm partner, the firm told a Texas federal bankruptcy court.
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November 01, 2024
Dentons, Boies Schiller Want Out Of 'Absurd' $300M RICO Suit
Dentons and Boies Schiller Flexner LLP have asked a Manhattan federal court to toss a $300 million racketeering lawsuit brought against them by a former client and his companies following what they called a botched power plant contract in Senegal, with Dentons further requesting Rule 11 sanctions against the plaintiffs and their counsel for bringing "frivolous" claims.
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November 01, 2024
Danish Tax Agency To Settle With Atty In $2.1B Tax Fraud Suit
Denmark's tax authority has agreed to settle with an attorney whom it has accused of helping clients claim fraudulent tax refunds in a sprawling $2.1 billion case, according to a letter by its attorney in New York federal court.
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November 01, 2024
Conn. Judge Hacks Up Ex-Town Atty's Defamation Suit
A Connecticut state court judge has dismissed all claims against the town of Newington and most claims against its tax assessor from a wide-ranging lawsuit brought by a group of former officials, including the former town attorney, who alleged that they were disparaged in a series of "false" ethics complaints and public comments.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
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For Now, Generative AI Is Risky For Class Action Counsel
Although a recent survey showed most in-house counsel think that their outside counsel should be using generative artificial intelligence "in some way" in class action work, the technology is more a target for class actions than it is a tool to be used in practice at present, says Matthew Allen at Carlton Fields.
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When Your Client Insists On Testifying In A Criminal Case
Speculation that former President Donald Trump could take the stand in any of the four criminal cases he faces serves as a reminder for counsel to consider their ethical obligations when a client insists on testifying, including the attorney’s duty of candor to the court and the depth of their discussions with clients, says Marissa Kingman at Fox Rothschild.
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Why Preemption Args Wouldn't Stall Trump Hush-Money Case
With former President Donald Trump's New York hush-money criminal trial weeks away, some speculate that he may soon move to stay the case on preemption grounds, but under the Anti-Injunction Act and well-settled case law, that motion would likely be quickly denied, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.