Legal Ethics

  • July 29, 2026

    Ethics Panel Seeks 9-Month Suspension For Detroit Judge

    A Detroit judge faces suspension without pay for nine months after Michigan's Judicial Tenure Commission found she knowingly made false claims that a Mackinac Island bicycle shop owner assaulted her during a dispute over a bike rental and later misled investigators about what happened. 

  • July 29, 2026

    Senate Postpones Key Vote For AG Nominee Blanche

    The committee vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's bid to take the permanent role, slated for Thursday, was postponed after Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., were not fully on board.

  • July 28, 2026

    Randy Quaid Loses Bid To Undo $3.5M Calif. Property Ruling

    Actor Randy Quaid and his wife cannot overturn a $3.5 million judgment awarded to a California couple who bought a Santa Barbara property that once belonged to the Quaids, an appeals court ruled Tuesday, finding substantial evidence supporting claims that the Quaids' false ownership assertions damaged the property's marketability.

  • July 28, 2026

    Texas Judge Calls Late Bid To Disqualify Atty 'Dilatory Tactic'

    A Texas federal judge on Tuesday denied a request to disqualify an attorney representing the former chief executive of a real estate company related to the late mogul Gene Phillips, saying the attempt to knock out the attorney came way too late in the game.

  • July 28, 2026

    Montgomery McCracken Must Face Suit Over NJ College Move

    A New Jersey state judge on Tuesday declined to dismiss Rider University's lawsuit alleging Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP's negligence caused it to forfeit a property worth $42 million, ruling from the bench that the school adequately alleged it relied on guidance from one of its attorneys.

  • July 28, 2026

    Winston Taylor Seeks Sanction Against Ex-Client Hunter Biden

    Winston Taylor urged a D.C. state court on Monday to sanction its former client Hunter Biden in its legal bills collection suit, saying the former president's son destroyed Signal communications that would have proved he understood that he owes the law firm more than $50,000.

  • July 28, 2026

    BofA Must Face Consumer Suit Over Autopay Double Charges

    An Illinois federal judge has ruled that Bank of America NA cannot avoid facing a majority of the claims in a lawsuit accusing the bank of not adjusting automatic payments on credit cards when customers manually pay off their statement balance in the middle of a billing cycle, finding a consumer established standing and showed evidence of a deceptive practice.

  • July 28, 2026

    Queens Defenders Head Gets 3.5 Years For Looting The Nonprofit

    A Brooklyn federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the former director of the Queens Defenders to more than 3.5 years in prison after the longtime attorney admitted to a course of embezzlement that destroyed the group dedicated to legal services for the poor.

  • July 28, 2026

    Judge Calls Off IP Trial, Threatens Sanctions Against Apple

    A Texas federal judge has vacated an impending trial date for a patent infringement suit against Apple, saying he needed time to resolve outstanding jurisdictional issues, but ordered Apple to explain why it shouldn't be sanctioned for raising those issues so close to trial.

  • July 28, 2026

    AT&T Whistleblower Told To Cut Facts From Ethics Case Filing

    Former AT&T in-house counsel and whistleblower Theodore Marcus has been asked to delete part of his response to professional misconduct charges pending against him in Washington, D.C., because the filing allegedly contains privileged information.

  • July 28, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Stock Work Hurt 2 Companies, Jury Told

    The chief financial officer for an insurance company told a Florida jury Tuesday that a stock drop for Patriot National Inc. — which is suing Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for malpractice for allegedly putting together a shoddy securities offering — dramatically affected his own business as well.

  • July 28, 2026

    Ga. DA Seeks Judge's Recusal Over Ethics Charges

    A Georgia district attorney has urged a state court to recuse a judge from presiding over criminal cases the DA's office is prosecuting, arguing that the judge has been formally accused of ethics violations for improperly threatening to jail prosecutors in 2023.

  • July 28, 2026

    Court Is In Session Whenever A Judge Says It Is, 6th Circ. Told

    Court is wherever and whenever a judge says it is, counsel for a Detroit judge told a Sixth Circuit panel Tuesday, arguing that subjecting a student to a mock arrest and trial because she fell asleep during a field trip was within his jurisdiction.

  • July 28, 2026

    Ga. Justice Hopefuls Say Watchdog Violates Their Free Speech

    Two unsuccessful candidates for seats on the Georgia Supreme Court are urging a Georgia federal court to keep their suit alive, arguing that the state's judicial watchdog violated their freedom of speech when it publicly accused them of violating ethics rules days before the May election.

  • July 28, 2026

    Fish & Richardson Slams IP DQ Bid As Possibly Manufactured

    LVMH urged a Texas federal court to reject a bid to boot Fish & Richardson PC from defending the luxury goods business against an infringement lawsuit over patents for nonfungible token display technology, saying the company behind the suit may have tried to "manufacture" a conflict to disqualify the firm.

  • July 28, 2026

    Troutman Amin Accused Of Overbilling, Fraud Over TCPA Row

    A New Jersey solar panel company claims Troutman Amin LLP — which bills itself as the foremost telemarketing defense firm in the country — charged $200,000 to fight a case that could have been settled for $80,000.

  • July 28, 2026

    Trader In BigLaw Deal-Tipping Scheme To Plead Guilty

    A Florida resident is set to plead guilty to his alleged role in a sweeping scheme to trade on insider information about impending acquisitions that was stolen from major law firms, according to a court filing Tuesday.

  • July 27, 2026

    J&J, Ovarian Cancer Talc Claimants Unveil $5.5B Global Deal

    Johnson & Johnson announced Monday that it has agreed to pay some $5.5 billion to put to rest tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its talcum powder products caused ovarian cancer, with plaintiffs' counsel calling the deal "long-delayed justice" for their clients.

  • July 27, 2026

    ABA Says Feds' Susman Godfrey DQ Bid Is More Intimidation

    The American Bar Association on Monday urged the D.C. federal judge overseeing its lawsuit challenging 2025 executive orders targeting law firms to reject the Trump administration's bid to have Susman Godfrey LLP disqualified as plaintiffs' counsel, calling it the latest "effort to intimidate" the American legal profession.

  • July 27, 2026

    Calif. Judge Doubts AI Citation Case Fits Diversion Program

    A State Bar of California judge on Monday explained her decision to decline to refer an attorney to the bar's alternative discipline program for allegedly using nonexistent citations drafted with artificial intelligence, saying the attorney did not provide any grounds for such a referral and she is unsure there could be any such grounds.

  • July 27, 2026

    Cooley Owes $25.4M Judgment To NJ Biotech Co. Founder

    A New Jersey state court on Monday entered a $25.4 million judgment against Cooley LLP after a jury found the multinational firm had committed malpractice in its representation of a biotech founder who said his own lawyers assisted in shoving him out of his company.

  • July 27, 2026

    Atlantic Moves To Dismiss Kash Patel Defamation Suit

    The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick on Monday defended their article describing the alleged drinking and absences of FBI Director Kash Patel, maintaining that Fitzpatrick's reporting was deeply-sourced and asking a Washington federal judge to toss Patel's defamation lawsuit on the basis that he has not plausibly alleged any "actual malice" in publishing the story.

  • July 27, 2026

    Quinn Emanuel's Ethics Training 'Promising,' Judge Says

    A California federal judge Monday approved a court-ordered ethics training program prepared by Quinn Emanuel in the wake of misrepresentations the firm made concerning an expert in a false advertising suit brought by Guardant Health against its client Natera, saying the firm had designed an "extremely promising" eight-hour program.

  • July 27, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Atty Says Patriot Nat'l Founder Sank Co.

    A Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner wrapped up her testimony Monday in a Florida state malpractice trial brought by the founder of Patriot National Inc., telling the jury that the founder was willing to forgo establishing a floor on the value of so-called Series B warrants, which he says contributed to the company's demise.

  • July 27, 2026

    NJ Justices Set 3rd-Party Legal Fee Rules In Criminal Cases

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday set forth parameters for third-party legal fee arrangements in criminal cases, upholding a murder conviction on the grounds that no conflict of interest resulted from a state witness paying his lawyer and finding that third‑party payments don't create per se conflicts of interest.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Trail Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Navigating the muddy, root-filled path of trail marathons and ultramarathons provides fertile training ground for my high-stakes fractional general counsel work, teaching me to slow down my mind when the terrain shifts, sharpen my focus and trust my training, says Eric Proos at Next Era Legal.

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Presidential Pardon Brokering Can Create Risks For Attys

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    The emergence of an apparent “pardon shopping” marketplace, in which attorneys treat presidential pardons as a market product, may invite investigative scrutiny of counsel and potential criminal charges grounded in bribery, wire fraud and other statutes, says David Klasing at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • Prisoners' Access To Health Info Should Have No Bars

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    To safeguard against unnecessary deaths in custody, courts and policymakers should clarify that incarcerated individuals’ constitutional right to medical care also includes access to sufficient information about their medical conditions, lifting current restrictions that can lead to crucial information being withheld, says Jaehyun Oh at Jacob Fuchsberg Law.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

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