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Legal Ethics
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May 22, 2024
Ex-Mich. Judge Loses Law License Challenge
A former Detroit trial court judge's failure to object to a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss her claims means she cannot continue to pursue a discrimination and defamation complaint against the state's judicial disciplinary board, a federal judge in Michigan ruled Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
New Bill Calls For High Court To Explain Emergency Rulings
A coalition of Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to provide vote tallies and explanations for decisions in most cases on its elusive emergency docket.
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May 22, 2024
Ill. Judge Hands Over Case As Cautious Step Amid DQ Bid
An Illinois federal judge overseeing an Illinois tax attorney's witness tampering case — who previously presided over his fraud trial that ended in a mistrial — recused herself from a retrial "in an abundance of caution," but rejected the attorney's claims that she recommended to the government to add the tampering charge.
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May 22, 2024
NJ Law Firm Sued For Allegedly Botching Med Mal Action
New Jersey law firm Bramnick Rodriguez Grabas Arnold & Mangan LLC has been hit a legal malpractice lawsuit in state court from a former client alleging the firm botched a medical malpractice action by failing to submit an expert report.
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May 22, 2024
Deal Reached In Dispute Over Seward & Kissel Call Logs In NJ
The billionaire founder of hedge fund Two Sigma Investments LP agreed this week to allow records of his communications with Seward & Kissel LLP, with some limitations, to be turned over to his wife, who is suing the firm, alleging that it helped cheat her out of billions in the couple's ongoing divorce.
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May 22, 2024
Fla. Judges Cleared To Speak On Legal Process During Panels
A Florida judge can participate in a local bar association discussion panel that addresses how judges confer with colleagues and consider amicus filings without violating the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct, according to a new advisory opinion by the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.
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May 22, 2024
DeSantis Ducks Voters' Suit Over Fla. Prosecutor Suspension
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday tossed voters' attempt to undo Gov. Ron DeSantis' suspension of elected prosecutor Monique Worrell, finding that the voters had not shown they were injured by the suspension.
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May 22, 2024
NJ Atty Faces Fla. Suspension Over Sale Of $1.6M Painting
An attorney suspended for one year in New Jersey last year for smuggling a $1.6 million painting out of his house to avoid an asset sale has agreed to a guilty plea accepting another yearlong suspension in Florida related to the scheme.
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May 22, 2024
Texas Attys Get Green Light To Charge Subscription Fees
An opinion recently issued by the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas gives Lone Star State lawyers the go-ahead to offer subscription-based legal services so long as the arrangement doesn't result in the charging of an "unconscionable fee."
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May 22, 2024
5 'Fat Leonard' Bribery Pleas Axed Over Misconduct
A California federal judge has agreed to toss felony plea deals for five former U.S. Navy officers who admitted they took bribes from the Malaysian defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard," after the government acknowledged prosecutorial missteps had tainted the high-profile case.
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May 22, 2024
LA Investor Sues Greenberg Glusker Over 'Appalling' Filings
A Los Angeles investor has filed a suit against Greenberg Glusker and two of its partners for allegedly bungling his defense in an underlying suit brought by his stepson, accusing the firm of sharing a draft complaint prior to filing and including inaccuracies and unnecessary personal attacks in another filing, while also pressuring him to accept a bad settlement.
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May 22, 2024
Oil Tanker Operators To Pay $2M For Dumping Oil From Ship
The operators of the motor tanker PS Dream pled guilty in Louisiana federal court as part of a $2 million plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice that includes four years of probation, after a whistleblower shared a video of oil being deliberately pumped overboard in January 2023.
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May 21, 2024
Toll Bros. Lobs Legal Malpractice Claims At Gordon Rees
Luxury home builder Toll Bros. Inc. has filed legal malpractice and breach of contract claims against Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, claiming that the California-based firm didn't comply with discovery obligations, among other failures while representing Toll Bros. in a dispute over a project in Washington state.
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May 21, 2024
LoanDepot's $3.5M Deal In IPO Disclosure Suit Gets Final OK
A California federal judge has granted final approval to LoanDepot's $3.5 million settlement in a suit alleging it misled investors leading up to the company's initial public offering, despite a shareholder's objection that the settlement is insufficient.
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May 21, 2024
X Corp., Hate Speech Watchdog Settle Atty Fees Bid
A California federal judge Tuesday signed off on an agreement that X Corp. and the Center for Countering Digital Hate reached to resolve the nonprofit organization's bid for $300,000 in attorney fees following a successful defense against the Elon Musk-led social media platform's claims that the center used improper tactics to write one of its articles.
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May 21, 2024
More Classified Docs Were Found After Mar-A-Lago Raid
Additional classified documents were found at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, including in Trump's bedroom, after the FBI's August 2022 search of the Florida property, according to a filing unsealed Tuesday in the criminal case accusing him of mishandling classified documents.
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May 21, 2024
High Court Ethics Bill In 'High Consideration,' Schumer Says
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Tuesday that a bill to institute an ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court was in "high consideration" to come before the full Senate for a vote, following the report last week that an upside-down flag, which has become a symbol for former President Donald Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen, was flown outside Justice Samuel Alito's house after the attack on the U.S. Capitol a month later.
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May 21, 2024
Ex-LA DA Sues State Farm Over Gun Incident Legal Fees
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey sued her insurer in California state court Tuesday, alleging State Farm cost her more than $2.1 million by failing to cover legal fees when she and her late husband were sued because he brandished a gun against protesters at their home.
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May 21, 2024
Conn. Atty Denies Involvement In $1.4M Transfer Scam
Connecticut attorney Carole W. Briggs has issued a sweeping, albeit untimely, denial of the allegations in a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey real estate developer in Connecticut federal court that accused her of playing a role in a business email compromise scam that stole $1.4 million.
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May 21, 2024
$93M Lipitor Antitrust Deal Sparks Dispute Over Fee Division
Attorneys representing a class of buyers in antitrust litigation against Pfizer over the cholesterol medication Lipitor are squabbling over how to divide up to $31 million in attorney fees before a New Jersey federal judge even approves the total, according to court documents.
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May 21, 2024
Disbarred Atty Gets 9 Years For $1.4M COVID Relief Fraud
A New York federal judge sentenced former attorney Douglas Arntsen to nine years in prison Tuesday for running a $1.4 million COVID-19 relief scheme, stating that the disbarred lawyer "has not gotten the message" that he should not steal from people despite his prior conviction for grand larceny.
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May 21, 2024
ABA Faces Racial Bias Complaint Over Diversity Programs
A conservative nonprofit on Tuesday hit the American Bar Association with a Title VI complaint, claiming a handful of "nefarious" ABA-led programs meant to connect minority law school students with judges are "racially discriminatory."
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May 21, 2024
Attys Accused Of Botching NC Suit By Missing Filing Deadline
The parents of two children who died in a car fire are suing their former attorneys in North Carolina federal court for malpractice, alleging they dropped the ball on filing the pair's wrongful death claims against a seat belt manufacturer before the deadline passed.
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May 21, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 16 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 ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from Tuesday, day 16 of the trial.
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May 21, 2024
Found Document Is Key To New Malpractice Dismissal Bid
The discovery of a crucial document has emerged as the linchpin of Nurick Law Group LLC's third attempt to argue that a former client's malpractice claim should be dismissed from New Jersey court.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Needs Regulating To Meet Ethics Standards
Third-party litigation funding can provide litigants with access to the legal system, but, as recent cases show, the funding agreements carry the potential for exploitation and may conflict with core aspects of the attorney-client relationship, making the need for a balanced regulation self-evident, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
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For Now, Generative AI Is Risky For Class Action Counsel
Although a recent survey showed most in-house counsel think that their outside counsel should be using generative artificial intelligence "in some way" in class action work, the technology is more a target for class actions than it is a tool to be used in practice at present, says Matthew Allen at Carlton Fields.
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When Your Client Insists On Testifying In A Criminal Case
Speculation that former President Donald Trump could take the stand in any of the four criminal cases he faces serves as a reminder for counsel to consider their ethical obligations when a client insists on testifying, including the attorney’s duty of candor to the court and the depth of their discussions with clients, says Marissa Kingman at Fox Rothschild.
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Why Preemption Args Wouldn't Stall Trump Hush-Money Case
With former President Donald Trump's New York hush-money criminal trial weeks away, some speculate that he may soon move to stay the case on preemption grounds, but under the Anti-Injunction Act and well-settled case law, that motion would likely be quickly denied, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.