Legal Ethics

  • September 04, 2026

    'Bad Faith' Subpoenas On Apple Execs Spur Fee Sanctions

    A California federal magistrate judge imposed sanctions Thursday on Joseph M. Alioto of Alioto Law Firm for repeatedly trying to depose senior Apple executives, including then-CEO Tim Cook, in an attempt to drag the iPhone-maker back into consumer antitrust litigation accusing Google of shutting out rival search engines.

  • September 04, 2026

    Conn. AG, DOJ Rebuked For Bad Citations, Misquote In Filings

    A Connecticut federal judge has cautioned attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General to clean up their work after they submitted notices fixing bad case citations and a misquotation in their litigation over a state law.

  • September 04, 2026

    Chrisleys Fight Balch & Bingham's Bid To Ax Malpractice Suit

    Reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley asked a Georgia federal judge on Friday to reject an attempt by their former attorneys to dismiss a legal malpractice lawsuit that claims a critical pretrial mistake allowed evidence obtained through an unlawful search to be used against them at their criminal trial.

  • September 04, 2026

    Court Slams 'Half-Hearted Compliance' In Crab Price-Fix Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge has given a seafood company until Sept. 11 to meet the discovery obligations it has repeatedly fallen short of in a proposed class action accusing it of fixing prices for Dungeness crabs.

  • September 04, 2026

    DC Panel's Rare Rebuke Over AI Errors Flags Rules Gap

    A D.C. appellate court panel issued a rare sua sponte sanctions order on Thursday after finding nonexistent case citations in a brief filed by a McCabe Weisberg & Conway LLC attorney representing Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. in a foreclosure action, noting an apparent gap in the rules governing the court's sanctions authority.

  • September 04, 2026

    Quinn Emanuel DQ'd In Defamation Case Over Stock Reports

    A Texas federal court on Friday booted Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from representing a Hong Kong manufacturing company in its defamation lawsuit against investment research service Muddy Waters LLC after finding that the law firm had received relevant confidential information when it represented Muddy Waters in a related government probe.

  • September 04, 2026

    Skadden, Kirkland Fined $2M Over Ga. Case Cover-Up

    A Georgia federal judge has ordered a $2 million sanction against defense attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in a fraud case, calling their actions "a widespread, long-running cover-up" in which they were found to have repeatedly hidden evidence unfavorable to their client.

  • September 04, 2026

    3rd Circ. Revives Malpractice Claim Against Kirkland Atty

    A New Jersey divorcee may once again pursue a legal malpractice claim against a Kirkland & Ellis LLP attorney who she said lost her millions by mishandling estate documents, after the Third Circuit found it could be possible to link her alleged damages to the lawyer's work.

  • September 04, 2026

    Fla. Judge Retires, Avoids Sanctions For Political Donations

    A judge in Orlando, Florida, stepped off the bench on Friday rather than face discipline for violating a judicial ethics rule by making nearly $30,000 in political donations.

  • September 04, 2026

    Retired Partner Stole $348K From Firm, Ill. Watchdog Alleges

    The since-retired name partner of a suburban Chicago law firm is accused of using the firm's operating account to pay for nearly $350,000 in personal expenses including Disney World vacations, liquor and axe throwing, according to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

  • September 03, 2026

    MDL Attys Want Special Master To Vet Meta Privilege Claims

    Personal injury plaintiffs' counsel asked a California federal judge Wednesday to appoint a special master to review Meta's attorney-client privilege designations in social media addiction multidistrict litigation, arguing that Meta can't be trusted to review them in light of the judge's recent rulings that certain Meta trial-exhibit redactions were "entirely inappropriate."

  • September 03, 2026

    Dutch Software Co. Asks Justices To Halt TM Trial

    A Dutch software company has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a rapidly approaching trial in a trademark dispute with an American rival while it petitions for review of an injunction and contempt order that it said threaten to taint the entire proceedings.

  • September 03, 2026

    Leon Black Says 'Intrusive' Epstein Subpoenas Are Invalid

    Rather than appear for a deposition about his connection to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black sued the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its chairman in Washington, D.C., federal court Thursday, saying subpoenas seeking private nondisclosure agreements exceed the committee's authority.

  • September 03, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Judge's Post-Decision Recusal Won't Lead To Redo

    U.S. Circuit Judge Richard G. Taranto's decision to recuse himself from a case based on newly inherited Amazon stock is not enough to justify reconsidering the opinion he'd already issued, the Federal Circuit has ruled.

  • September 03, 2026

    NJ Judge Strikes Experts In Faegre Drinker Malpractice Suit

    A New Jersey state judge has struck the expert reports in a legal malpractice suit against Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, barring the experts from testifying unless the Sept. 14 trial over a real estate deal gone awry is postponed.

  • September 03, 2026

    Ga. City, Ex-Court Admin To Mediate Retaliation Dispute

    A federal judge has stayed a former court administrator's suit alleging the city of East Point, Georgia, fired her for complaining about a city council member's attempt to have a relative's court fine withdrawn, saying the parties intend to mediate.

  • September 03, 2026

    Federal Judge Warns Threats Imperil Judicial Independence

    U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida told Law360 that judges and members of the bar need to educate the public on the judiciary's important role in American democracy to combat increasing threats, speaking following the release of two reports this week that warn of safety concerns for judges and that defiance of court orders is undermining the federal judiciary's independence.

  • September 03, 2026

    Law Firm, Closing Agents Faulted For Not Flagging Fraud

    A Pittsburgh-area real estate settlement company wrongfully released the money from a divorcing couple's property sale to a fraudster, and the law firm that was supposed to get the money didn't notice until nearly a month later, the couple claim in a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court.

  • September 03, 2026

    Pirro Urges House Ethics Panel To Refer Crime Claims To DOJ

    U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has told the House Ethics Committee that as cases involving criminal misconduct come before it, her office should be involved too.

  • September 03, 2026

    Whistleblower Says She Wasn't Going Around Hospital Attys

    Attorneys representing a western Pennsylvania hospital misconstrued a conversation a whistleblower nurse had with another employee, the nurse told a Pennsylvania federal court on Wednesday in opposing the hospital's motion for a protective order preventing her from speaking with her co-workers about the lawsuit.

  • September 03, 2026

    Philly Firm Says Recent Discovery Dooms Uber's RICO Suit

    Philadelphia personal injury firm Simon & Simon PC has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss Uber's complaint accusing it of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to inflate settlements, claiming it learned through discovery that the company has not been damaged by the payouts.

  • September 03, 2026

    Fox Rothschild Says Adult Day Care Suit Rehashes Claims

    Fox Rothschild LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to toss claims against the firm and one of its attorneys in a complaint related to the firm's prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm.

  • September 03, 2026

    Husch Blackwell Gets Early Win In Ex-Partner's 401(k) Suit

    A Missouri federal court granted Husch Blackwell LLP an early win over a former employee's proposed class action alleging the firm illegally withheld retirement contributions and mismanaged its employee 401(k) plan, finding the ex-partner couldn't prove violations of federal benefits law.

  • September 03, 2026

    Ex-IRL App CEO Says Prosecutors Ignored Ethics Breaches

    The co-founder of defunct social app IRL is fighting fraud charges by claiming that the U.S. attorney's office prosecuting him is conflicted because an attorney who formerly defended IRL in an SEC investigation and is now with the office pushed for him to be charged — and he is disputing prosecutors' denial of impropriety. 

  • September 03, 2026

    Former Girardi Keese CFO Drops Appeal Of 5-Year Fraud Term

    The Seventh Circuit has granted onetime Girardi Keese financial chief Christopher Kamon's request to drop the appeal he lodged fighting an Illinois federal judge's order adding five concurrent years onto the 10 he is already serving for his role helping Tom Girardi, the head of the firm, steal millions from plane crash clients who settled cases in Chicago.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: Examining Administrative, Organizational Uses

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    U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas examines how artificial intelligence could transform a court's ability to deal with administrative work and organize materials when preparing for hearings or drafting opinions, thereby affording judges more time to resolve contested issues.

  • Series

    Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

  • JPMorgan Ruling Shows Courts' Limited Role In Fee Fights

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    The Delaware Chancery Court's recent decision that JPMorgan Chase must cover more than $21 million in disputed legal fees for two former executives of the startup Frank illustrates the reality that companies, not the courts, are responsible for ongoing supervision of legal spending, says Theodore Edelman at GCE Advisors.

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • 'Tiger King' Funeral Clip Ruling Offers Fair Use Road Map

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    The Tenth Circuit's decision in Whyte Monkee v. Netflix that the streaming service's use of another party's funeral footage in the docuseries "Tiger King" constituted fair use lays out a framework for producers to apply the four statutory fair use factors to their own projects, says Frank D’Angelo at Loeb & Loeb.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

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    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • Leveraging AI In MDL Discovery And Case Management

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    Generative and agentic artificial intelligence tools can help teams organize and digest the vast volume of documents inherent to multidistrict litigation, but workflows must be designed to maximize the tools' strengths and maintain human control of key operational and ethical factors, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

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    Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

  • Ill. Law Firm MSO Bill Clashes With Court Power, Ethics Rules

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    An Illinois bill prohibiting law firms from certain business arrangements with management service organizations, sent to the governor for signature last week, encroaches upon the courts' constitutional powers and goes beyond the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct in regulating investment in law-related services, says Matthew O’Hara at Smith Gambrell.

  • Opinion

    State Courts Must Be Gatekeepers Of Expert Testimony

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    Based on my experience in the state judiciary, emulating federal courts' role as gatekeepers of expert witness testimony would help state court judges maintain the appearance of impartiality and assist juries, thus enhancing the overall confidence people have in their justice system, says Lorie Gildea at Greenberg Traurig.

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