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Legal Ethics
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May 30, 2024
Judge Rejects 'Audacity' Of Suspended Jurist's Reelection Bid
A Michigan state judge said Thursday he was surprised election officials hadn't already disqualified a suspended Detroit judge who had the "audacity" to run again despite being barred from the bench for six years, saying he intended to end her candidacy.
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May 30, 2024
Here's What Comes Next After Trump's Conviction
Donald Trump's forthcoming appeal of his historic conviction Thursday in the New York hush money case could include challenges to the state's evidence and jury instructions, but it's unlikely the case will be resolved before Election Day.
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May 30, 2024
Donald Trump Convicted Of All 34 Counts In NY Trial
Former President Donald Trump was convicted by a Manhattan jury Thursday of 34 felonies over a plot to illegally sway the 2016 presidential election in his favor by concealing hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
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May 30, 2024
Troutman Pepper Fights Kwok Trustee's $2M Clawback Claim
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP has defended its legal work for three entities connected to Ho Wan Kwok, saying the Chinese exile and alleged criminal fraudster's Chapter 11 trustee cannot avoid $2 million in payments to the firm because it earned its fees in good faith.
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May 30, 2024
NJ Atty Gets 5½ Years For $2M Theft, Impersonating Counsel
A New Jersey federal judge sentenced Garden State attorney James Lisa to 66 months in prison Thursday for bilking clients out of more than $2 million and then impersonating his own defense counsel in the course of pursuing a loan while he was out on pretrial release.
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May 30, 2024
The 'Not-Postings' Of A Delaware Chancery Court Judge
Close observers of Delaware's Court of Chancery have recently gotten a new window into the First State's preeminent court of equity: Delaware Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, one of seven judges on the court's bench, has recently rejoined LinkedIn.
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May 30, 2024
Ga. Aims To Sink Challenge To Prosecutor Discipline Panel
The state of Georgia says a bipartisan group of district attorneys has no standing to pursue its lawsuits against the state and its Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission members, arguing that the injuries that the attorneys claim are just hypothetical.
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May 30, 2024
Mich. Judge Refers Atty To Calif. Bar Over Flint PR Stunt
A Michigan federal judge overseeing contaminated drinking water litigation in Flint, Michigan, referred a California attorney to that state's bar on Thursday after the lawyer refused to provide more details, or submit to the court's jurisdiction, over her involvement in an alleged smear campaign targeting a lawyer for Flint children.
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May 30, 2024
NYU Law Review Beats Bias Claims Over Diversity Efforts
A New York federal court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from a self-described straight white male, first-year law student at New York University claiming the NYU Law Review is discriminatory.
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May 30, 2024
Ballard Spahr Faces Claim It Fired Worker Over Sick Husband
A former legal assistant at Ballard Spahr LLP claims the firm fired her in retaliation for using the Family and Medical Leave Act to take time away from work to care for her cancer-stricken husband, according to a complaint filed in Pennsylvania federal court.
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May 30, 2024
Atty Who Missed Depo Amid Eclipse Trip Slams AAA's Fee Bid
A lawyer sanctioned for missing a client's deposition in Florida when the attorney was viewing the solar eclipse in Arkansas has slammed the AAA organization's related fees request as "hyperinflated" and cited a popular job-hunting website to back up his argument.
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May 30, 2024
Ga. Lawyer Wants Atty Brother Held In Contempt
One half of a disbanded partnership between two attorney brothers asked a Georgia business judge Thursday to hold his brother in contempt for reportedly refusing to hand over control of their old firm's social media accounts to a court-appointed receiver.
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May 30, 2024
Chief Justice Roberts Declines Senate Democrats Meeting
Chief Justice John Roberts declined the invitation from two top Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the high court's ethics in light of the controversy surrounding the flags flown outside Justice Samuel Alito's homes.
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May 30, 2024
Ex-Fox Rothschild Corporate Chief Accuses Firm Of Age Bias
The former head of Fox Rothschild LLP's corporate department sued the firm for age discrimination Wednesday in New Jersey state court, saying it slashed his pay to below that of a first-year associate and then forced him out after nearly 30 years of employment there.
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May 30, 2024
Morgan & Morgan Settles Ex-Paralegal's FMLA Suit
Morgan & Morgan PA reached a deal with a former paralegal ending her suit accusing the firm of interference and retaliation when she was unlawfully fired, she said, after requesting time off afforded by the Family and Medical Leave Act, the firm told a Florida federal judge Thursday.
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May 30, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Fights 10-Year Sentence In OneCoin Case
A former Locke Lord LLP partner urged the Second Circuit Wednesday to ax his 10-year prison sentence and conviction for laundering around $400 million in proceeds from the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, saying the case was contaminated by perjury and errors at the trial court level.
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May 30, 2024
Calif. Judge Censured For Mid-Trial Text To Prosecutor
A Los Angeles judge has received a severe public censure for sending a text message to a prosecutor during a murder retrial in order to influence her decision to call a rebuttal witness, then trying to minimize the ex parte communication by making misleading statements after the fact.
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May 30, 2024
What The Trump Verdict Was Like From Inside The Courtroom
Law360 reporters were providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as a jury found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records. Here's a blow-by-blow of the historic verdict.
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May 30, 2024
Conn. Atty Avoids Default In $1.4M Transfer Scam Suit
A Connecticut attorney has won the right to defend herself against accusations she knowingly participated in an email transfer scam that stole more than $1.4 million from a New Jersey-based real estate development company last year.
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May 29, 2024
Foley & Lardner Sued For Axing Pro-Palestinian Atty's Offer
A former Foley & Lardner LLP summer associate on Wednesday lodged discrimination claims against the firm for pulling its job offer after she made comments supporting Palestine, alleging that the firm let her go because of her religion and ethnicity, according to the suit lodged in Illinois federal court.
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May 29, 2024
Meta's Policy On Threats List 'Sounds Nefarious,' Judge Says
The California federal judge overseeing claims Meta blacklists certain adult performers questioned the social media giant's practice of keeping its list of dangerous organizations and individuals as a "living document" that changes constantly and isn't archived, saying the policy appears to destroy evidence and "sounds nefarious."
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May 29, 2024
Malaysia Plans Suits Over $14.9B Award To Sulu Claimants
Units of Malaysia's national natural gas company are planning to file litigation in Europe against claimants awarded $14.9 billion and their litigation funder following a high-stakes arbitration with the Southeast Asian country over a 19th-century land deal, according to newly filed documents in New York.
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May 29, 2024
Carhartt Heiress Atty Says He Wanted To Pay Back $15M Loan
A Michigan attorney accused of exploiting his wealthy Carhartt heiress client as trustee testified Wednesday that he intended to repay the roughly $15 million he had loaned himself from her trust, as he took the stand during the second week of a jury trial.
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May 29, 2024
NY Jury Eyes Trump Tower 'Conspiracy' As Deliberations Start
Jurors in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial ended their first day of deliberations Wednesday without a verdict, as the panel appeared to home in on testimony about a key 2015 meeting where the alleged scheme was hatched.
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May 29, 2024
9th Circ. Rejects Objections To $23M Monsanto Roundup Deal
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a district court's approval of a $23 million MDL settlement to resolve claims that Monsanto failed to warn buyers of the carcinogens in its Roundup weed killer, finding there was no indication of collusion as argued by Missouri-based objectors.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice
The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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Case Law Is Mixed On D&O Coverage For Gov't Investigations
As the Fourth Circuit’s recent decision in Brown Goldstein v. Federal Insurance Co. demonstrates, federal appeals courts take different approaches to determine whether government investigations are covered by directors and officers liability insurance, so companies and individuals must review their policy language, say Chloe Law, Jan Larson and Caroline Meneau at Jenner & Block.
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How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Indemnification In Exec Separation Deals: Read The Fine Print
The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision denying the former CEO of space infrastructure company Momentus the advancement of legal fees highlights the importance of considering post-employment indemnification and advancement rights in executive separation agreements, says Daniel Morgan at Blank Rome.
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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The Crucial Privilege Exception At Play In Trump Indictment
Following Donald Trump’s recent indictment for retaining classified documents, Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG explains how his attorney’s notes of their conversations became admissible in the case, what it means for the attorney's representation of Trump, and what obligations lawyers have in similar circumstances.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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What To Know About Recent Trends In PTAB Sanctions
Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG discusses recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board trends in sanctioning and how to handle a discipline complaint from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the wake of the PTAB's recent cancellation of multiple biological specimen collection patents.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.