Legal Ethics

  • April 01, 2025

    Hunter Biden Agrees To Disbarment In District of Columbia

    Hunter Biden has agreed to give up his license to practice law in Washington, D.C., according to an attorney disciplinary board's report issued Tuesday.

  • April 01, 2025

    Counterclaim Against Paralegal Must Proceed, Firm Says

    A counterclaim accusing a paralegal of bringing an unpaid overtime wages suit against an El Paso law firm in order to extort it for money should stay in play, the firm told a Texas federal court, saying its counterclaim is sufficiently linked to the former employee's litigation.

  • April 01, 2025

    NJ Fraudster Found Guilty After Earlier Sentence Commuted

    A New Jersey federal jury found fraudster Eliyahu Weinstein guilty of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme while he was on supervised release following a previous fraud sentence that drew clemency from Donald Trump at the end of his first presidential term.

  • March 31, 2025

    Law Firm's Blog Post Unwinds $43M Ill. Injury Retrial Verdict

    An Illinois appellate court wiped out a couple's $43 million jury verdict and ordered a third trial in their injury case Monday, saying the trial judge should have done a better job probing their attorney's highly improper blog and social media posts.

  • March 31, 2025

    Conn. Law Firm Hit With Class Action Data Breach Suit

    A 26-attorney Connecticut business litigation, intellectual property and employment law firm waited 16 months to notify potentially thousands of current and former clients of an alleged 2023 data breach that may have left sensitive personal information exposed to cybercriminals, a Monday lawsuit alleged

  • March 31, 2025

    NY Law Allows Ex-Thompson Hine Atty's Harassment Suit

    A former Thompson Hine LLP income partner who accused the firm of allowing a "toxic boys club" to flourish at its New York office may continue to pursue the bulk of her harassment claims, a federal judge ruled Monday, finding that a New York law ending forced arbitration of sexual harassment claims invalidates an arbitration agreement.

  • March 31, 2025

    Feds Seek $3M From Ex-Ill. Speaker, Who Wants New Trial

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan urged an Illinois federal judge to acquit him of bribery and wire fraud, or at least order a new trial, due to "numerous" jury instruction and evidentiary errors that confused and prejudiced the jury, on the same day prosecutors filed a motion for him to forfeit more than $3 million in the wake of his partial conviction.

  • March 31, 2025

    'Unprofessional' Pro Se Atty Can't Get 2nd Extortion Trial

    A medical malpractice attorney was denied a new trial by a Maryland federal judge who said prosecutors presented sufficient evidence that he tried to extort $25 million from the University of Maryland Medical System, and called out the lawyer for "inappropriate, unprofessional, and unbecoming" behavior while representing himself at trial.

  • March 31, 2025

    Trump EOs And Skadden Face Pushback At Law Schools

    President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting law firms, and one firm's attempt to avoid a directive, have each received pushback at top law schools, with more than 90 Harvard faculty members objecting to the measures' effect on the rule of law and Georgetown students blasting Skadden's deal with Trump as a second firm associate publicly resigned.

  • March 31, 2025

    Colo. Firm Says Former Atty Uses Google Ads To Steal Clients

    A prominent Colorado personal injury law firm has sued a former employee for trademark infringement, accusing the lawyer of purchasing Google ads so prospective clients searching for the Franklin D. Azar & Associates firm are directed to a phone number and website for his lesser-known law firm instead.

  • March 31, 2025

    Carlton Fields Faces DQ Bid In $500M Miss America Suit

    Carlton Fields faces a disqualification bid for allegedly having a conflict of interest in a $500 million lawsuit regarding the ownership of the company that runs the Miss America pageant.

  • March 31, 2025

    'American Idol' Singer Wants Early Win In Contract Fight

    Songwriter and former "American Idol" contestant Lauren Spencer-Smith, who rose to fame when her 2022 song "Fingers Crossed" went viral on TikTok, is seeking an early win for her New York federal lawsuit's breach of fiduciary and contractual obligations and faithless servant allegations, saying Saturday that the defendants "took the trust that was reposed in them as Spencer-Smith's attorneys and agents, and used that trust for their own benefit to the detriment of Spencer-Smith."

  • March 31, 2025

    Atty Wants Firm In Neutral Hands Amid Dispute With Partner

    A co-founder of Hodges & Foty LLP is asking a Texas state court to appoint a receiver to manage the winding down of the Houston law firm, claiming that the external oversight is necessary to protect the firm's clients and its financial interests from harm at the hands of his fellow firm founder.

  • March 31, 2025

    DOJ Seeking Steep Costs To Make Challengers Think Twice

    The U.S. Department of Justice is quickly implementing President Donald Trump's plan to seek huge sums of money from litigants whose cases impede his agenda but ultimately prove unsuccessful, court records show.

  • March 31, 2025

    Faegre Drinker Fights Sanctions Bid In Trump IP Song Suit

    Conservative group Turning Point Action Inc. is urging a Georgia federal judge not to sanction its Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP counsel in a copyright suit filed by the estate of soul artist Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. over President Donald Trump playing his song "Hold On, I'm Comin'," disputing claims they submitted a "frivolous" dismissal bid.

  • March 31, 2025

    Disbarred Fraudster Gets 25 Years For $18M Hemp Scam

    A disbarred attorney with a history of investor fraud was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a scheme in which he solicited more than $18 million from investors by claiming to own a hemp farm that didn't exist and overhyping an edibles company.

  • March 31, 2025

    Ex-Workday Atty's Bias Claims Axed, Stock Dispute Kept Alive

    A California federal judge tossed a Black ex-Workday attorney's claims that he endured race and disability bias that culminated in the software vendor sending police to his house to conduct an unnecessary wellness check, but the judge allowed the attorney pursue claims that he was shorted on stock options.

  • March 31, 2025

    Perkins Coie DQ'd From Facial Recognition IP Suit

    Perkins Coie LLP has been disqualified from defending Jumio Corp. in a patent infringement lawsuit involving facial recognition technology, with the San Francisco federal judge who signed the order citing the firm's prior general corporate and intellectual property representation of plaintiff FaceTec Inc.

  • March 31, 2025

    Boston Bomber Judge Won't Recuse From Juror Bias Inquiry

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined to recuse himself from conducting an inquiry into potential juror bias during the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

  • March 31, 2025

    Eric Adams Urges Speedy Dismissal As NYC Primaries Loom

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday urged a Manhattan federal judge to promptly throw out his bribery and corruption charges, pointing to an upcoming mayoral election filing deadline and the court's previous vows to rule quickly.

  • March 29, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Terror Liability, Health Provider Choice

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench this week to consider whether a federal law subjecting Palestinian government organizations to federal jurisdiction violates due process principles and if the Medicaid Act's provider choice provision allows individual benefit recipients to sue states over the disqualification of healthcare providers. 

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge Blocks Bid To 'Hijack' $44M Ga. Realtor Settlement

    A Georgia federal judge on Friday rejected a bid by the plaintiffs who brought a series of landmark fee inflation claims against the National Association of Realtors and major brokerages to intervene in a similar Peach State action, putting their bid to block an alleged lowball settlement on ice.

  • March 28, 2025

    Failed Software Secrets Case Costs MasterCard Unit $2.8M

    A federal judge in Utah has ordered a MasterCard unit to cough up over $2.8 million in legal fees for "aggressively" litigating an "objectively specious" trade secrets suit against two McKinsey consultants who went on to found one of MasterCard's only serious rivals in a corner of the business analytics software market.

  • March 28, 2025

    TSI Ch. 7 Trustee Opposes Firm's Withdrawal From The Case

    The Chapter 7 trustee for the Teams Systems International estate is opposing the withdrawal of law firm Cross & Simon from representing the defunct company and its principals in an adversary action alleging the misappropriation of some $14 million of funds in the years leading up to the bankruptcy, arguing it will leave the defendants without counsel with multiple matters pending.

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge Won't End Atty Dispute Over Beirut Bombing Suit

    A federal judge declined to give a Maryland law firm a pretrial win in a lawsuit brought by two Houston attorneys who accused it of unfairly terminating a joint venture for litigation over the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

    Author Photo

    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

    Author Photo

    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Key Ethical Issues For Gov't Attys Moving To Private Practice

    Author Photo

    Transitioning from government service to private practice presents complex ethical challenges for attorneys, including navigating conflicts of interest, confidential information rules and post-employment restrictions, say attorneys at HWG.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

    Author Photo

    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

    Author Photo

    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

    Author Photo

    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

    Author Photo

    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

    Author Photo

    In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

  • The Implications Of 2024's AI Rules And Regs For Patent Attys

    Author Photo

    Christina Huang, John Smith and Devin Stein at Faegre Drinker review this year's new rules and regulations on the development and use of artificial intelligence — from the Biden administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the American Bar Association and various states — as they apply to patent attorneys.

  • When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

    Author Photo

    As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

    Author Photo

    The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Legal Ethics archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!