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Legal Ethics
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June 13, 2024
IP Forecast: Cooley Atty Faces DQ Bid Over Past Patent Work
A prominent Cooley LLP lawyer will face questions next week in a Philadelphia courtroom over her work a decade ago at her former firm defending a cloud software startup that is now suing a Cooley client. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.
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June 13, 2024
Ex-Colo. DA Rips Current Prosecutor Over Conduct In Murder Case
A prominent former Colorado district attorney on Thursday roundly criticized a sitting prosecutor accused of misconduct, noting her freewheeling commentary about ongoing cases led to dismissals and suggested she refused to acknowledge the team she led had been "a bunch of disorganized, sloppy lawyers."
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June 13, 2024
House Hearing On NY Trump Prosecutors Flirts With Chaos
The House Judiciary Committee spiraled Thursday morning after Rep. Matt Gaetz demanded a vote to subpoena Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged former President Donald Trump with 34 felonies, of which he has been convicted, and the Republican chair of the committee had to call for a recess.
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June 13, 2024
Alston & Bird Wins Bid To Arbitrate COVID Vax Claims
Alston & Bird LLP can arbitrate a former aide's allegations that she was fired after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, a Georgia federal judge ruled Thursday, putting the litigation on ice pending the outcome of arbitration.
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June 13, 2024
NJ Judge Tosses Disbarred Atty's Suit Against State Panel
A New Jersey federal judge has tossed a disbarred civil rights attorney's lawsuit against the state's legal ethics board, ruling that the board and individual attorneys named in the case are immune from most of its claims and that the suit lacks enough detail to proceed on others.
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June 13, 2024
Judge Will Tap Arbitrator To Explain $87M Shipping Award
A New York federal judge will let an arbitrator who found that Levona Holdings Ltd. owed Eletson Holdings Inc. almost $87 million in damages clarify the order, saying it was sufficiently ambiguous to require elaboration and rejecting Levona's request that the arbitrator not be given that chance.
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June 13, 2024
Samsung Wants $26M Fees In IP Case Ended By Misconduct
Samsung told a Texas federal judge that it plans to ask for about $26 million in attorney fees after he threw out infringement litigation that hinged on confidential documents that he ruled were stolen by the tech giant's former employees.
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June 13, 2024
Feds' Forfeiture Error Won't Tank Outcome Execs' Conviction
Outcome Health executives can't wipe out their $1 billion fraud convictions or receive a new trial despite arguing that improperly frozen assets prevented them from hiring their chosen lawyers, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday, ruling that they waived their challenge to the forfeiture by waiting too long.
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June 13, 2024
Cyclist's Widow Can Seek Punitive Award From Crashing Atty
A Colorado federal judge is allowing a bicyclist's widow to revise her lawsuit against the attorney whose car fatally crashed into her husband as he rode, granting a bid to include punitive damages under state law.
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June 13, 2024
Rakoff Says Criminal Justice Act Attys Should Work Weekends
Indigent defendants requiring free criminal legal advice should have access to conflict-free counsel even over the weekends, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in Manhattan said in a blistering Thursday opinion, citing a suboptimal sequence of events in a high-profile drug case.
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June 13, 2024
Pryor Cashman Aided Developer Fraud, Owes $5.7M, Cos. Say
New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman LLP has been hit with a $5.7 million lawsuit in state court accusing it of aiding and abetting fraud while representing a real estate developer by allegedly providing false information to another party in a transaction involving a Manhattan property.
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June 13, 2024
Texas Biz Wants $4.7M Fee Dispute With Dentons Tossed
A Houston-area crisis response business wants a Texas federal court to toss international law firm Dentons Europe CS LLP's complaint accusing it of failing to pay more than $4.7 million in legal fees, arguing the action is deficient and that the dispute belongs in England.
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June 13, 2024
Georgia DA Willis Moves To Ax Trump Appeal In DQ Fight
A prosecutor from Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis' office wants a Georgia appellate court to nix an appeal that seeks to disqualify Willis from her election interference case against former President Donald Trump, claiming the appeal rests on flimsy evidence.
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June 13, 2024
NJ Judge Denies Liberty Mutual's Recusal Bid in Accident Suit
A New Jersey federal judge will not step away from a construction accident coverage suit, ruling Liberty Mutual's recusal bid, which cited his failure to disclose his multiple policies with the insurer and a previous investigation over a missing jewelry claim, would potentially block hundreds of judges from presiding over similar cases.
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June 13, 2024
Justice Thomas Failed To Disclose More Trips, Dems Say
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose more private jet trips gifted by billionaire and Republican donor Harlan Crow, according to new information released Thursday by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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June 13, 2024
New State Judge, UT Austin Prof Headed To Biz Court
In his latest round of business court appointments, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that a recently appointed state court judge and the owner of Sharp Appellate PLLC are his two picks for the new venue's San Antonio-area seats.
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June 13, 2024
Ga. Justices Pause Jail For YSL Atty For Contempt Appeal
The Georgia Supreme Court said Wednesday that a defense lawyer for Atlanta rapper Young Thug doesn't have to head to jail Friday, ruling that he can appeal the criminal contempt charge lodged against him for refusing to divulge how he knew of a closed-door conversation between prosecutors, a witness and the judge presiding over the racketeering case.
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June 13, 2024
Dechert Backs Special Master In Airline Mogul's Hacking Suit
Dechert LLP has said a special master got it right when she largely denied an airline tycoon's numerous bids to access allegedly privileged information in his suit seeking to prove an international hacking conspiracy, asking a North Carolina federal judge to affirm the decision.
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June 13, 2024
Man Accused Of Posing As Immigration Atty Cops To Larceny
A New York City man who was accused by city prosecutors of posing as an immigration attorney and fraudulently raking in legal fees pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of petit larceny and was sentenced to time served.
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June 12, 2024
'Repugnant To Civility': Judge Rips, Yet Won't DQ Taft Stettinius
A Michigan state judge slammed law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP for keeping ex-client MGM in the dark about its merger with another firm and called Taft Stettinius' assertion MGM should have figured it out "repugnant to civility," but nonetheless said he wouldn't disqualify Taft Stettinius from representing MGM's opponent in an arbitration.
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June 12, 2024
Colo. DA's Probe Harms Justice System, Ex-Judge Says
A former Colorado state judge told an attorney disciplinary panel Wednesday that a district attorney's push to interview the judge's ex-wife after he made adverse rulings for the prosecution in a high-profile murder case was prompted by a "baseless conspiracy theory" and harmful to judicial independence.
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June 12, 2024
Senate Dems Admonish Roberts As Ethics Reform Stalls
Several senior Democratic senators chided Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday for failing to take responsibility for or address the U.S. Supreme Court's ethics issues, vowing to continue fighting Republican opposition and to pass court reform legislation unless the chief justice makes improvements.
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June 12, 2024
Prosecutor Drops Extortion Case Against Fla. Securities Atty
A Florida state prosecutor on Wednesday dropped a felony extortion charge against a securities litigation attorney who was accused of threatening to expose an accuser's criminal past if she didn't resign from their condominium board, saying an investigation revealed that there wouldn't be a reasonable likelihood of conviction.
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June 12, 2024
School Says Declaration Bares Quinn Emanuel Lies In IP Feud
Columbia University has told the Federal Circuit that a declaration from a former Norton Lifelock Inc. computer scientist shows that the company's former lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP are lying about his refusal to testify in the school's decade-long $600 million patent case in Virginia federal court.
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June 12, 2024
Doctor Says Lawyer, Insurer Agreed To Backdoor Settlement
A Colorado neurosurgeon accused an attorney and an insurer of interfering with the legal services provided to him in defense of an underlying medical malpractice suit, telling a state court the underlying suit was settled without his consent, elevating the carrier and its insured's interests over his own.
Expert Analysis
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Case Law Is Mixed On D&O Coverage For Gov't Investigations
As the Fourth Circuit’s recent decision in Brown Goldstein v. Federal Insurance Co. demonstrates, federal appeals courts take different approaches to determine whether government investigations are covered by directors and officers liability insurance, so companies and individuals must review their policy language, say Chloe Law, Jan Larson and Caroline Meneau at Jenner & Block.
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How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Indemnification In Exec Separation Deals: Read The Fine Print
The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision denying the former CEO of space infrastructure company Momentus the advancement of legal fees highlights the importance of considering post-employment indemnification and advancement rights in executive separation agreements, says Daniel Morgan at Blank Rome.
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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The Crucial Privilege Exception At Play In Trump Indictment
Following Donald Trump’s recent indictment for retaining classified documents, Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG explains how his attorney’s notes of their conversations became admissible in the case, what it means for the attorney's representation of Trump, and what obligations lawyers have in similar circumstances.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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What To Know About Recent Trends In PTAB Sanctions
Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG discusses recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board trends in sanctioning and how to handle a discipline complaint from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the wake of the PTAB's recent cancellation of multiple biological specimen collection patents.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
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A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery
The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.