Legal Ethics

  • September 23, 2024

    Smartmatic Can't Seek Punitive Damages In Newsmax Suit

    A Delaware Superior Court judge on Monday ruled that Smartmatic USA Corp. can't seek punitive damages in the defamation trial over unsubstantiated claims from Newsmax Media Inc. that the company's voting systems rigged the 2020 election, saying Smartmatic couldn't meet its burden to prove express malice.

  • September 23, 2024

    Med Mal Case Is Settled After Scuttled $111M Verdict in Minn.

    On the eve of a second trial, a Minnesota-based orthopedic center has settled a suit that previously ended in a $111 million verdict that was later vacated for being excessive, with federal court records indicating a deal has been reached in principle.

  • September 23, 2024

    Gordon Rees Gets Insurer's Wash. Malpractice Suit Trimmed

    A Washington judge issued a mixed order in a lawsuit brought by the insurer for a climbing equipment manufacturer over allegations that misconduct by a Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP attorney — coupled with another insurer's decision to yank coverage — forced the manufacturer into a settlement over a climber's fall.

  • September 23, 2024

    Nonprofit, Union Say Janus Doesn't Apply To NYC Dues Fight

    Two New York City public defenders cannot leverage the U.S. Supreme Court's Janus ruling to stop paying their union because the ruling only applies to public employees and they're technically employed by a nonprofit, argued their employer, union and the city in a motion to dismiss their lawsuit.

  • September 23, 2024

    Penn Law Professor Sanctioned For Discriminatory Remarks

    A professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School will be sanctioned for making "sweeping and derogatory generalizations about groups by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status," according to university documents made available Monday.

  • September 23, 2024

    What A Harris Administration Would Mean For The Courts

    Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is familiar with the courtroom.

  • September 23, 2024

    Judge Recuses Self After Opening Jackson Walker Ethics Probe

    U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur has asked a Texas federal court to investigate potential sanctions against Jackson Walker LLP for its failure to disclose a relationship between a firm partner and a federal judge, also telling the court he would recuse himself from any proceedings involving the ethics breach.

  • September 23, 2024

    NC Man Gets 100 Mos. For Fleecing Attys In 'Collection' Scam

    A North Carolina man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison after a Pennsylvania jury found him guilty on charges of mail, bank and wire fraud stemming from an international scheme to bilk attorneys out of millions of dollars.

  • September 23, 2024

    Feds Ask To File Up To 180-Page Brief On Trump Immunity

    Federal prosecutors are seeking permission from a D.C. federal judge to file a lengthy brief making the case that Donald Trump is not immune from charges of election interference, telling the court that the "substantially drafted" motion won't be longer than 180 pages.

  • September 23, 2024

    J&J Accuses Beasley Allen Of Casting Bogus Talc Ballots

    Johnson & Johnson has accused the Beasley Allen Law Firm of casting about two dozen false ballots against the company's latest talc bankruptcy plan without voters' consent and urged a New Jersey federal court to remove the firm from the plaintiff's steering committee as a consequence.

  • September 23, 2024

    Law Firm Accused Of 'Gamesmanship' In NJ Malpractice Suit

    A pair of siblings suing Chaitman LLP for malpractice in New Jersey told the state court that the firm is delaying the litigation with a discovery motion about the order in which depositions should be taken that "should never have been filed to begin with."

  • September 23, 2024

    Conn. Judge Rips 'Odd Lawyering' In Referral Fee Feud

    A Connecticut Superior Court judge on Monday slammed what he called "odd lawyering" at the summary judgment stage of an attorney fee feud in an underlying personal injury case, asking why affidavits failed to clarify the facts in dispute as the case heads toward trial.

  • September 23, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Police Chief Demands Atty Fees After Winning Suit

    The former chief of police in Newington, Connecticut, is demanding attorney fees after a state court judge dismissed him from a defamation lawsuit brought by the onetime town attorney and other ex-officials, which arose from ethics complaints that the plaintiffs say were full of lies.

  • September 23, 2024

    Legal Malpractice Suit Over Med Mal Case In Ga. Revived

    A Georgia state appellate court on Monday revived a legal malpractice lawsuit over a former attorney's handling of a medical malpractice case, saying a trial court improperly granted a dismissal motion after disqualifying the lawyer who filed it.

  • September 23, 2024

    Fabiani Cohen Says Equity Partner Can't File Employee Claim

    Fabiani Cohen & Hall LLP told a New York federal judge on Friday that its equity partner's employment suit is motivated by her desire to increase her profit share of the firm, arguing that her status as an equity owner means she can't be considered an employee for the purposes of her claims.

  • September 23, 2024

    FEMA Looks To Escape Atty's Bias And Retaliation Suit

    The U.S. government has asked a federal judge to toss a suit alleging two agencies pushed out an Asian American attorney following her complaints that a male colleague harassed her, arguing she failed to state a claim in her "behemoth," 190-page complaint.

  • September 20, 2024

    Litigation Funding Firm Likely Out Of Hurricane Ad Class Action

    A Texas federal judge said Thursday that a funding company that lent $20 million to a law firm accused in a proposed class action of conspiring to deceptively solicit hurricane victims should be dropped as a defendant.

  • September 20, 2024

    NY Judge Resigns Amid Ethics Charges of Corruption, Abuse

    A New York state judge in Westchester County has agreed to resign from the bench after the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct charged him last month with multiple counts of judicial misconduct, including dismissing traffic tickets for friends, sexually harassing a newly appointed judge, and berating court staffers and attorneys.

  • September 20, 2024

    Eviction Law Firm Says Tenant's Fee Class Action Untimely

    An eviction law firm pushed a Colorado federal court to toss a proposed class action filed by tenants who claim the firm illegally charged them attorney fees before their eviction proceedings were resolved.

  • September 20, 2024

    Veteran High Court Litigator Warns Of Ethics Debate's Impact

    Accusations that U.S. Supreme Court justices are corrupt or nothing more than politicians in robes are unwarranted, tremendously dangerous and threaten to irreparably harm the institution's legitimacy, veteran high court litigator Kannon Shanmugam warns.

  • September 20, 2024

    Plaintiffs Firms Battle Over Proposed $9B Deal In J&J Talc Suit

    Two leading plaintiffs law firms in the multibillion-dollar litigation over Johnson & Johnson's tainted talcum powder are now warring among themselves, with Smith Law Firm PLLC suing Beasley Allen Law Firm for defamation after Beasley Allen accused the former of selling out clients to pay off litigation funders.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ex-Healthcare Exec Can't Sue GC Over Probe Advice

    A former Baxter International treasurer who was fired amid an investigation into improper foreign exchange transactions was correctly blocked from pursuing claims against the healthcare company and its general counsel over advice he received on navigating the probe, an Illinois appellate panel said Friday.

  • September 20, 2024

    Insurer Off Hook For Late-Reported Malpractice Claim

    An insurance carrier had no obligation to defend or indemnify a Massachusetts attorney who failed to report a malpractice lawsuit for more than a year, the First Circuit said, affirming a lower court's decision to vacate a $1.1 million jury verdict against the insurer.

  • September 20, 2024

    Jenner & Block Seeks Exit From Plane Crash Fees Suit

    Jenner & Block LLP wants out of a lawsuit brought by Kenyan law firm Arwa & Change Advocates LLP related to a 2019 Boeing aircraft crash that killed all passengers on board, arguing that it can't be sued for providing legal advice to a client.

  • September 20, 2024

    What A Second Trump Term Could Mean For The Courts

    During his speech in Milwaukee in July accepting the Republican nomination for president, former President Donald Trump called Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida a "highly respected federal judge" and touted her ruling a few days earlier throwing out the "fake" case against him involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Expert Analysis

  • Corporate Legal Strategy Must Consider Risk Of PR Snafus

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

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    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • The Ethics of Using Generative AI In Environmental Law

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    The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools is challenging environmental lawyers, consultants and government agencies to determine when and how these tools can be responsibly, ethically and productively integrated into their practices to streamline research, predictive analytics and regulatory compliance, say Ahlia Bethea and Pamela Esterman at Sive Paget.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

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