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Legal Ethics
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May 24, 2024
Alec Baldwin Must Face 'Rust' Shooting Charges
A New Mexico state judge on Friday denied Alec Baldwin's motion to dismiss his indictment on involuntary manslaughter charges in the fatal on-set shooting of a cinematographer during the filming of "Rust" in Santa Fe, rejecting the actor's claims of prosecutorial misconduct before the grand jury.
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May 24, 2024
Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List
President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.
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May 24, 2024
Ga. Appeals Seat Winner Faces Challenge Over Residency
A Georgia attorney is looking to pause the certification of Tuesday's election win by a onetime state bar leader for a Georgia Court of Appeals seat, arguing that he lied about his Atlanta residence when he qualified to run for the judgeship since he allegedly lived in Tennessee.
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May 24, 2024
Exiled Chinese Businessman Is No $1B Fraudster, Jury Told
Exiled Chinese businessman and purported billionaire Guo Wengui ran legitimate companies in support of a broad movement that opposed the Chinese Communist Party, his attorney told a Manhattan federal jury Friday, rather than what prosecutors say was a multifaceted $1 billion fraud.
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May 24, 2024
Alito Flag Displays 'Improper' And 'Dumb,' District Judge Says
A Massachusetts federal judge is calling out U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for controversial flags reportedly seen flying outside his homes, saying such actions erode public trust in the courts.
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May 24, 2024
Calif. Judge Gets 2nd Reprimand After Calling Atty 'Snake Oil'
For the second time in his judicial career, a California state judge has been publicly admonished for misconduct on the bench, most recently for referring to a public defender as "snake oil" in a criminal case and for "usurping the role of prosecutor" in another trial that was later overturned because of the judge's conduct.
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May 24, 2024
Weinstein Atty Trying To Chill Retrial Testimony, DA Says
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has argued that a lawyer for Harvey Weinstein violated ethics rules by publicly accusing one of the movie mogul's alleged rape victims of perjury in an "obvious" attempt to dissuade her from testifying again at an upcoming retrial.
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May 24, 2024
Alabama Judge Says Attys Subverted Plumbing Defect Deal
In an effort to safeguard the due process rights of hundreds of homeowners, an Alabama federal judge has tossed out more than 300 settlement class "opt-outs" and partially reopened the objection period in a product liability suit, determining that outside attorneys repeatedly misled clients regarding the pending settlement, leading to the numerous exclusion requests.
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May 24, 2024
NC Bill Will Let Attys Expunge Discipline Records
The North Carolina Senate approved a measure Thursday that would allow attorneys to clear certain disciplinary actions from their professional records, along with other changes to the Tar Heel State's lawyer ethics process.
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May 24, 2024
Ex-DOJ Atty Clark Says He Was Denied A Fair Ethics Hearing
Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark was denied a fair hearing in his Washington, D.C., ethics case and should not face punishment, he told an attorney disciplinary committee in a Thursday filing.
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May 24, 2024
Foley & Lardner Given All-Clear To Exit SEC Suit
A North Carolina federal judge permitted Foley & Lardner LLP on Friday to exit as counsel for a Malta-based registered investment adviser that is defending claims in a $75 million lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, despite the judge's previous concerns about the firm's withdrawal.
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May 24, 2024
Any Coloradan Can Enforce Open Meetings Law, Panel Says
The Colorado Court of Appeals has sided with an attorney who has filed dozens of open meetings law claims against government bodies in the state, finding that the attorney has standing to sue a school board even though he lives hundreds of miles away.
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May 24, 2024
Menendez, Kasowitz Firm Spar Over Subpoena To Cooperator
Amid his bribery trial, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey is urging a Manhattan federal judge to order a government cooperator to turn over communications involving his current counsel at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP and his former attorneys.
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May 23, 2024
DLA Piper Must Share Prior Pregnancy Bias Claims With Court
A New York federal magistrate judge on Wednesday ordered DLA Piper to let her privately review previous pregnancy discrimination complaints against it as part of discovery in a former attorney's suit, an order that comes after the firm argued the burden of sharing them "far outweighs its likely benefit."
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May 23, 2024
'Not Us At Our Best:' SEC's Top Cop Talks Debt Box Error
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement director Gurbir Grewal took responsibility Thursday for his agency's sanctioned actions in a lawsuit against crypto project Debt Box, saying that the case did not represent the agency "at our best" but was not a sign that there were any widespread problems with the way it conducts its enforcement proceedings.
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May 23, 2024
Mich. Atty Convicted For Arranging Murder Of Jeweler Client
A Michigan attorney was one of two convicted by an Oakland County jury Thursday of first-degree premeditated murder and conspiracy for their role in a plot to kill his client, a well-known jeweler, to gain access to millions of dollars in the jeweler's trust.
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May 23, 2024
White House Says 1st Circ. Judge Didn't Aid Daughter's Nom
The White House said Thursday that a First Circuit judge played no part in his daughter's nomination to the appeals court, and plans to retire if she's confirmed.
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May 23, 2024
NC Fintech Atty Sues Paymentus For Gender, Age Bias
A former senior corporate counsel for cloud-based billing company Paymentus Corp. has slapped her former employer with a $100,000 age and gender discrimination suit in North Carolina federal court, saying she was paid less than her male colleagues and eventually fired for complaining, only to be replaced by a much younger male attorney.
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May 23, 2024
Wash. Atty Stops Practicing Law After Assaulting Associate
A family law attorney in Washington state has resigned from practicing law after a series of criminal offenses, including a misdemeanor sexual assault and an attempted hate crime involving a colleague after a work-sponsored event, according to state bar association disciplinary records made public this week.
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May 23, 2024
Ex-Kline & Specter Atty Fights Firm's Counterattack
An ex-Kline & Specter PC attorney struck back at the firm's counterclaims in a court battle after he departed and started a solo practice, arguing to a Pennsylvania state court that the firm wasn't privy to the client communications that formed the basis of its argument.
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May 23, 2024
Ex-Staffer Of Fulton DA Testifies On Fund Misuse Allegations
A former program manager under Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told a Georgia state legislative committee Thursday that she was banished to a file room and her work life was made a "hell" after she reported alleged misuse of federal grant funds.
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May 23, 2024
Trump Loses 2 NY Criminal Appeals As Trial Winds Down
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday lost a pair of appellate challenges complaining that both the judge and jury in his ongoing New York criminal hush-money trial are biased, just a few days before closing statements in the historic case.
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May 23, 2024
Legal Marketer, Ark. Firm Agree To End Trade Secrets Suit
A legal marketing business has agreed to dismiss a Georgia federal lawsuit accusing an Arkansas law firm and others of stealing and profiting off its trade secrets, including a database of client leads for mass torts over talcum powder and heartburn medication.
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May 23, 2024
Trump Atty Nears Deal To End Colo. Discipline Case
Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and Colorado's attorney discipline office said Thursday that they were finalizing a settlement in a disciplinary case over Ellis' false statements about the presidential election in Georgia, though the disciplinary judge cautioned that he is prepared to rule if he does not like the deal.
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May 23, 2024
NC High Court Sees No DA Conflict In Cyberstalking Case
North Carolina's highest court ruled Thursday that a county prosecutor was improperly disqualified from a criminal case in which the alleged victim is a county manager, reasoning that the scenario didn't meet conflict-of-interest parameters established by the court's decades-old precedent.
Expert Analysis
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Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Crime And Custody Coverage
Cryptocurrency firm FTX's recent implosion provides a case study for potential crypto exposure under traditional insurance policies, and suggests carriers should ask some basic underwriting questions, including whether a company engages in transactions involving cryptocurrencies or holds digital assets in custody, says Anjali Das at Wilson Elser.
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The Discipline George Santos Would Face If He Were A Lawyer
Rep. George Santos, who has become a national punchline for his alleged lies, hasn't faced many consequences yet, but if he were a lawyer, even his nonwork behavior would be regulated by the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and violations in the past have led to sanctions and even disbarment, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.
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Why FERC's Proposed Duty Of Candor Rule Is Problematic
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is considering adopting a new regulation that would prohibit the submission of any inaccurate or false information when communicating with the agency, which would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns, say attorneys at Skadden.
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A Litigation Move That Could Conserve Discovery Resources
Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben proposes the preliminary legal opinion procedure — seeking a court's opinion on a disputed legal standard at the outset, rather than the close, of discovery — as a useful resource-preservation tool for legally complex, discovery-intensive litigation.
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Litigators Should Approach AI Tools With Caution
Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT hold potential to streamline various aspects of the litigation process, resulting in improved efficiency and outcomes, but should be carefully double-checked for confidentiality, plagiarism and accuracy concerns, say Zachary Foster and Melanie Kalmanson at Quarles & Brady.
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Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Accountant And Atty Liability
The recent fall of cryptocurrency firm FTX highlights complexities regarding accounting and tax reporting for digital assets, and reveals lawyers’ potential liability exposure when providing services to crypto firms — as a result, insurers may face unintended vulnerabilities related to this nebulous landscape, say Anjali Das and Farzana Ahmed at Wilson Elser.
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Thorny Legal Issues Surround NY Prosecutor's Trump Tell-All
As the Manhattan district attorney's office empanels a grand jury in its ongoing Donald Trump investigation, it is seeking to pause publication of a book by former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz that focuses on Trump's indictment — an unusual situation that raises issues of prejudice, contractual responsibility and legal ethics, says John Harris at Frankfurt Kurnit.
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5 Ways Attorneys Can Use Emotion In Client Pitches
Lawyers are skilled at using their high emotional intelligence to build rapport with clients, so when planning your next pitch, consider how you can create some emotional peaks, personal connections and moments of magic that might help you stick in prospective clients' minds and seal the deal, says consultant Diana Kander.
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5 Keys To A Productive Mediation
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Cortney Young at ADR Partners discusses factors that can help to foster success in mediation, including scheduling, preparation, managing client expectations and more.
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Evaluating The Legal Ethics Of A ChatGPT-Authored Motion
Aimee Furness and Sam Mallick at Haynes Boone asked ChatGPT to draft a motion to dismiss, and then scrutinized the resulting work product in light of attorneys' ethical and professional responsibility obligations.
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Jan. 6 Panel Transcripts Highlight Attorney Ethics Issues
Recently released transcripts of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee demonstrate that there is always a lurking conflict when someone other than the client is paying the fee, and that disclosure must therefore be painstaking and extensive, says Steven Lubet at Northwestern University.
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7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023
Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.
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Series
Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base
When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.
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Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target
Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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5 Gen X Characteristics That Can Boost Legal Leadership
As Generation X attorneys rise to fill top roles in law firms and corporations left by retiring baby boomers, they should embrace generational characteristics that will allow them to become better legal leaders, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.