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Legal Ethics
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May 09, 2024
Sens. Press Colleagues For Public Defender Funding
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., a former public defender, led a letter Thursday to Senate appropriators calling for the federal public defender program to receive its full funding request for the upcoming fiscal year.
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May 09, 2024
9th Circ. Says Judge Defied Order To Revive Opioid Case
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday again revived a nearly 7-year-old case against a California doctor for allegedly selling opioid prescriptions and ordered that the case be reassigned, saying the presiding judge had defied the plain language of a previous order to reinstate the indictment.
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May 09, 2024
Sen. Menendez's 2nd Bribery Trial: All You Need To Know
In the wake of a 2017 mistrial on bribery charges, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez reaffirmed his dedication to public service and vowed never to stop fighting for the people of New Jersey.
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May 09, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 10 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial
Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day 10.
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May 09, 2024
NFL Player-Turned-Atty Can't Appeal After Contempt Deal
An appeal of a contempt-of-court order by NFL-player-turned-lawyer Walter Bernard is moot because the underlying dispute over unpaid rent has been settled and Bernard has been released from jail, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled.
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May 09, 2024
Mich. AG Charges Pro-Trump Atty With Election Tampering
A Michigan attorney is facing new criminal charges related to efforts to uncover fraud in the 2020 presidential election, as the state's attorney general accused her of handing over nonpublic voter data to an unauthorized person.
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May 09, 2024
Conn. Atty Denies Blame For News Story About Willkie Partner
A solo practitioner in Greenwich, Connecticut, denied blame on Thursday for having "concocted" an unflattering New York Post article that said a Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner and his wife were squatting in a Connecticut mansion during a heated legal battle with their landlord.
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May 09, 2024
Texas Court Urged To Keep Alive Judge Romance Suit
In a flurry of filings, a former shareholder in an engineering company has pushed a Texas federal court to reject bids to throw out his lawsuit over an ex-bankruptcy judge's secret relationship with a former Jackson Walker LLP attorney.
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May 09, 2024
Music Industry Vet's Son Fights Atty's Suit In Estate Spat
The son of music industry figure Solomon "Kal" Rudman has asked a New Jersey federal judge to toss a claim that he filed baseless counterclaims in state court against a South Florida attorney, arguing that the attorney's removal as an executor of Rudman's estate was not due to the son's counterclaims.
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May 09, 2024
Calif. Atty Wins Ruling To Pursue YouTube Defamation Suit
A California state appeals court has revived an Orange County attorney's defamation suit over comments made in a YouTube video regarding her father's affiliation with the Vietnamese Communist party.
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May 09, 2024
Philly Doctor Loses Bid To Restore $15M Bias Award
A Philadelphia federal judge on Thursday denied a former Thomas Jefferson University Hospital surgeon's request to reinstate a $15 million jury verdict against his onetime employer, reasoning that the judge would have reached the same conclusion as a previous judge who vacated the award before recusing himself from a new trial.
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May 09, 2024
Watchdog Seeks Texas Judge's Recusal In Noncompete Case
An industry watchdog is calling on U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker to step away from the U.S. Chamber's lawsuit in Texas federal court challenging the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's new noncompete rule, citing "ample financial conflicts" including his investments in Amazon, Apple and IBM, two of which are members of the Chamber.
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May 09, 2024
Ex-Pharma Exec Asks 1st Circ. To DQ Judge In Contempt Case
U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf cannot be impartial and must be disqualified from presiding over a criminal contempt trial against a former pharmaceutical executive accused of using an alias to flout a civil judgment, the defendant told the First Circuit in a Wednesday filing.
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May 08, 2024
Colo. Justice Doubts Auto-Reversal In 'Very Rare' Atty Conflict
Colorado's chief justice questioned Wednesday why a man should get to automatically reverse his sexual assault conviction because his lawyer was being simultaneously prosecuted by the same district attorney's office, a situation that the convicted man said is exceedingly rare.
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May 08, 2024
Wash. Justices Decline Personal Injury Atty's Fee Split Spat
Washington's high court has declined to hear a personal injury lawyer's challenge to his old firm's fee-splitting agreement, letting stand a state appellate court's ruling that the contract had "clear and unequivocal language" compelling him to pass on half the fees he earned from the firm's former clients after his departure.
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May 08, 2024
Robins Kaplan File Flub Bad Look For Both Sides, Panel Says
A Manhattan appeals panel expressed concern Wednesday that Robins Kaplan LLP had poked through an opposing party's Dropbox database that was accidentally shared in investor litigation, while also criticizing the other side for failing to catch the error.
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May 08, 2024
Cannabis Law Firm Accused Of $5M Error In Pot Shop Deal
A cannabis retailer has sued Vicente LLP in Massachusetts state court, alleging the law firm negligently drafted an amendment to a purchase agreement that prevented the company from recovering nearly $5 million in damages when the deal fell through.
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May 08, 2024
NJ Court Reverses Order Piercing School Board Atty Privilege
A New Jersey appellate court has reversed trial court orders compelling a school district to produce communications with its attorneys in a discrimination and malicious prosecution suit brought by a former administrator, finding that she had not established any Sixth Amendment right at stake to necessitate piercing attorney-client privilege.
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May 08, 2024
ABA Directs Attys To Avoid Sharing Client Info On Listservs
It is in the best interest of clients for their legal counsel to avoid sharing information related to representation while seeking advice in an online listserv forum, if the comments or questions could be connected to a client's identity, according to American Bar Association guidance published Wednesday.
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May 08, 2024
In Story Of Sex And Lies, Can Cohen Write Final Chapter?
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has told a story of scandal and scheming to the jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, setting the stage for the prosecution's star witness to take the stand and wrap up the narrative.
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May 08, 2024
Disbarred Mich. Atty Jailed For Stealing $140K From Client
A Michigan attorney will spend more time in prison than planned after failing to keep up his side of a plea agreement he made with the state attorney general when he admitted to stealing more than $140,000 from an elderly client.
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May 08, 2024
Hurricane Ads Suit Paused For Law Firm Amid Ch. 11 Case
In light of its recent bankruptcy filing, a Texas federal judge has paused class claims against a beleaguered Texas law firm accused of misconduct in soliciting clients in hurricane-related property damage cases, but the case remains active against a legal funding outfit and other defendants.
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May 08, 2024
Conn. Justices To Hear McCarter & English Damages Demand
The Connecticut Supreme Court has accepted a certified question from a federal district court judge in McCarter & English LLP's yearslong fee feud with a former client, agreeing to decide whether the firm can recover punitive damages after years chasing Jarrow Formulas Inc. and winning a jury verdict last year.
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May 08, 2024
Disbarred Pennsylvania Atty Gets Prison Time For Forgery
A disbarred Pennsylvania attorney has been sentenced to 30 days to a year in prison after pleading guilty on Friday for having presented fake court documents to clients with forged signatures, including those of judges, and misrepresenting the status of their cases.
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May 08, 2024
ABA Will Study Rape Questions' Necessity For Bar Applicants
An American Bar Association commission will issue a report and recommendations by August on the practice of requiring would-be lawyers to disclose and discuss their experiences of sexual violence during the attorney licensure process.
Expert Analysis
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law
A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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The Fed. Circ. In February: A Reminder On Procedure Rule 28
Because the Federal Circuit does not often issue a sua sponte precedential order emphasizing an important rule of practice, it is useful to look at how the court applied the restrictions of appellate procedure Rule 28 in Promptu v. Comcast last month, and in cases that preceded it, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.
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Opinion
DOJ Press Office Is Not Fulfilling Its Stated Mission
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs’ apparent practice of issuing press releases when someone is indicted or convicted, but not when a defendant prevails, undermines its stated mission to disseminate “current, complete and accurate” information, and has negative real-world ramifications, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.