Legal Ethics

  • April 26, 2024

    Ex-Moody's GC Cops To Tax-Filing Fail On $54M Paycheck

    The former general counsel for Moody's Corp. has pled guilty to willfully failing to file federal income tax returns for four years in which he collected $54 million in income, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

  • April 25, 2024

    Atty Sued For Malpractice Can't Rep His Firm, Ex-Client Says

    A Seattle real estate broker suing her former attorney for allegedly botching arbitration proceedings has told a Washington state judge that that attorney can't both be a defendant and represent his firm in their counterclaims for unpaid fees. 

  • April 25, 2024

    Calif. AG Charges A Top LA Prosecutor Over Cop File Access

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta has unveiled criminal charges accusing a top Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office prosecutor and adviser to DA George Gascón of illegally accessing nearly a dozen confidential sheriff's deputy files in 2021.

  • April 25, 2024

    Stryker Says Sanctions Bid Goes 'Galaxies Beyond' Law

    Medical device maker Stryker urged a Colorado federal judge to reject an ex-distributor's latest request for sanctions, arguing in a brief that the distributor's $2.2 million bid goes "galaxies beyond" what it asked for at trial and what the Tenth Circuit said the court could entertain.

  • April 25, 2024

    Objector Takes $125M PACER Overcharge Deal To Fed. Circ.

    An objector to a $125 million deal resolving class action claims that the federal judiciary overcharges users of its PACER court records system is taking his challenge to the settlement to the Federal Circuit.

  • April 25, 2024

    Ex-Tabloid CEO Says Trump Was Furious When Affair News Hit

    Former American Media Inc. CEO and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker told a New York jury on Thursday that he paid off Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep her from going public about an affair with Donald Trump, who became enraged when news of the affair surfaced just days before the 2016 election.

  • April 25, 2024

    DOD Unblocks Cohen Seglias From Emails Following Lawsuit

    Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC on Thursday dropped its lawsuit against the Defense Information Systems Agency after the agency acknowledged it mistakenly flagged the firm for malware and blocked it from government emails, the firm's attorney told Law360.

  • April 25, 2024

    Atty Slams Mogul's Fight For Bank Records As Waste Of Time

    An attorney struck back against an airline mogul's attempt to acquire his bank records as part of a hacking lawsuit, telling a federal court that a subpoena was invalid because it was sent under an improper bank name.

  • April 25, 2024

    Coverage Recap: Day 3 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 adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day three.

  • April 25, 2024

    Former Fuel Co. GC, CEO Must Pay $750K In SEC Fraud Suit

    The former general counsel and CEO of an Arizona fuel company accused of conspiring to defraud investors out of $30 million have reached consent orders with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to pay nearly $750,000 in fines, disgorgement and restitution.

  • April 25, 2024

    Trump Legal Fees Paid Via Illegal Scheme, Watchdog Org Says

    Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and related political committees have masked payments for millions of dollars in legal work done for the former president in a possible violation of federal law, an election watchdog claims in a complaint filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.

  • April 25, 2024

    Jury Rejects Ex-Medical Co. GC's Suit Against Loeb & Loeb

    A Colorado federal jury has rejected a former in-house attorney's claim that Loeb & Loeb LLP and one of its ex-partners acted outrageously when they filed a lawsuit on behalf of a medical device company accusing him of stealing trade secrets.

  • April 25, 2024

    Attys, Insurance Agent Found Guilty Of Tax-Avoidance Scheme

    Two St. Louis tax attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent on Thursday were found guilty on all counts of conspiring to defraud the federal government and aiding in the filing of false tax returns for their role in a tax avoidance scheme that prosecutors claim cost the Internal Revenue Service more than $4 million.

  • April 25, 2024

    Atty Group Asks Justices To Review Judge's Non-Recusal

    The Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a D.C. Circuit judge's decision not to recuse himself from a former al-Qaida member's case, saying the judge's refusal undermined ethical standards for judges.

  • April 25, 2024

    Conn. Judge In Drug Price-Fixing Suit Reveals Day Pitney Ties

    U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea of the District of Connecticut said Thursday he will not recuse himself from overseeing state enforcers' price-fixing claims against Sandoz Inc. and other drug companies despite Sandoz's attorneys being from Day Pitney LLP, where he was once a partner.

  • April 25, 2024

    Real Estate Atty, Insurer Scuttle Hacking Policy Feud In Conn.

    A Connecticut real estate attorney and an insurance company owned by Berkshire Hathaway have moved to end their claims against one another, in a state court dispute over who should be on the hook after the lawyer was accused of transmitting several property payments to hackers.

  • April 25, 2024

    Indictment Says 'Car Wreck Clyde' Skimmed From Client Deals

    A federal grand jury has indicted a Houston attorney and his former office manager over claims they defrauded clients by skimming nearly $2.4 million from settlement proceeds and using the funds for personal expenses, including private school and Ferraris.

  • April 25, 2024

    Ex-Defender Says Feds Can't Hide Other Harassment Reports

    A former assistant federal defender wants to make certain #MeToo evidence public following the trial in a case accusing the judiciary of botching its probe into her own sexual harassment complaint, saying the contents of similar allegations concerning the Federal Defender's Office have already been publicly revealed.

  • April 25, 2024

    NJ Law Firm Accusing Of Sharing Client's Privileged Info

    New Jersey law firm DiFrancesco Bateman Kunzman Davis Lehrer & Flaum PC has been hit with a malpractice lawsuit in state court from an attorney and commercial real estate developer alleging the firm passed along privileged information to another client in connection with a separate lawsuit.

  • April 25, 2024

    Pa. Justices OK Teacher 'Character' Test For Suspended Atty

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that an ex-attorney's disciplinary records can be used by the state Department of Education when evaluating whether that attorney has the "good moral character" to get a teaching license.

  • April 24, 2024

    Giuliani Among 18 Trump Allies Charged In Ariz. Election Case

    An Arizona grand jury has indicted 18 allies of former President Donald Trump over their alleged efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election, the Arizona Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday, including former state lawmakers and several unnamed individuals who appear to be former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and disgraced attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.

  • April 24, 2024

    Jury Must Decide Law Firms' Fee Dispute Over Nassar Suits

    A jury will need to decipher the terms of an agreement in a fee dispute between Andrus Wagstaff PC and Lipton Law Center PC for joint representation of the survivors of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, a Michigan federal judge ruled Wednesday, partially rejecting Andrus Wagstaff's summary judgment bid.

  • April 24, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy GC Tells Jurors He Wanted To Be 'Helpful' To HP

    Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel conceded Wednesday in the criminal trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he told an HP lawyer he wanted to be as "helpful" as possible to the company as it was investigating Autonomy-related issues that popped up after the Silicon Valley giant purchased the British company, and that he was told he could face liability for his work at Autonomy.

  • April 24, 2024

    Tax Fraud Case Skewed By Prosecutors' Spin, NC Jury Told

    Prosecutors and defense attorneys in a tax fraud trial against two lawyers and an insurance agent traded final barbs Wednesday in a North Carolina courtroom before sending the jury to deliberate, with the defendants again defending the tax plan at the center of the government's case and accusing prosecutors of making up facts.

  • April 24, 2024

    Feds Want Disbarred Atty's FOIA Suit Over USPTO Docs Axed

    The federal government urged a North Carolina federal court Wednesday to toss a disbarred attorney's sprawling Freedom of Information Act lawsuit over U.S. Patent and Trademark Office documents, arguing the case is one of a dozen duplicative, meritless suits the plaintiff has filed.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

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    Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

  • Noncompetes Hold Atty Privilege Pitfalls For Health Industry

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    Providers negotiating with medical professionals bound by enforceable restrictive covenants must tread carefully due to not only risk of breaching physicians' covenants but also risk of wrongful conduct that pierces attorney-client privilege, says Scott O'Connell at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

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    Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Opinion

    Guardrails Needed Against Politically Motivated Atty Discipline

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    As illustrated by revelations about disbarred attorney Tom Girardi’s influence, there is a need to revamp attorney discipline to protect the public, but any reforms to misconduct rules must also consider how bar-directed disciplinary hearings are increasingly used as a political weapon, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Groundbreaking Nev. Law May Alter Insurance Landscape

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    The Nevada Legislature recently passed a law prohibiting insurers from issuing liability policies with eroding limits provisions that has the potential to create massive shifts in the marketplace — and specifically in areas like professional liability, cyber, and directors and officers insurance, says Will Bennett at Saxe Doernberger.

  • Perspectives

    Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

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    Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

  • Durham Hearing Shows Common Cross-Examination Errors

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    Trial attorneys can glean several key cross-examination lessons from the mistakes made by several members of the U.S. House of Representatives during a recent hearing on special counsel John Durham’s FBI probe, say Luke Andrews and Asha Laskar at Poole Huffman.

  • Opinion

    When Corporate Self-Disclosure Threatens Individuals' Rights

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    The prosecution of former Cognizant executives in New Jersey federal court demonstrates how the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate enforcement policy can contravene the constitutional rights of individual defendants who are employed by cooperating companies, says Gideon Mark at the University of Maryland.

  • Pitfalls Of Attorney AI Use In Brief Prep Has Judges On Alert

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    Some lawyers are attempting to leverage generative artificial intelligence as a brief drafting tool, which may serve to greatly reduce the burden of motion practice, but several recent cases show that generative AI is not perfect and blind reliance on this tool can be very risky, say Matthew Nigriny and John Gary Maynard at Hunton.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

  • Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

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    As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

  • Insurance Coverage For ChatGPT Legal Fiasco: A Hypothetical

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    William Passannante at Anderson Kill draws on the recent case of an attorney sanctioned by the Southern District of New York for submitting a ChatGPT-authored brief to discuss what the insurance coverage for the attorney's hypothetical claim might look like.

  • Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification

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    With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.

  • Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled

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    In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.

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