Legal Ethics

  • September 04, 2024

    Election Year Surprise? GOP Judges Opening Seats For Biden

    Well ahead of fall elections that could flip the White House and U.S. Senate to Republicans, many GOP-appointed judges are retiring and giving Democrats opportunities to fill key seats before Republicans can capitalize on any wins at the polls, and several of the judges discussed the political backdrop with Law360.

  • September 04, 2024

    Fla. Judge Won't Delay Trial In Judge's Blackmail Suit

    A Florida judge refused Wednesday to hear a summary judgment motion from an attorney accused by a Palm Beach County judge of trying to blackmail her with nude photographs, calling it untimely because it would need to be heard on the first day of trial set for later this month.

  • September 04, 2024

    Atty Disbarred In Fla. Over Sexual Messages To Client

    The Florida Supreme Court has disbarred an Ohio attorney for sending inappropriate sexual text messages to a client, more than a year after the Buckeye State high court handed the lawyer a two-year suspension for the same misconduct.

  • September 04, 2024

    Immunity Can't Shield Ex-Judge In Romance Suit, Court Told

    The former head of a now-shuttered barge company is asking a Texas federal judge to keep alive his claims against a former bankruptcy judge over his undisclosed romantic relationship with an attorney on the company's Chapter 11 case, saying the onetime jurist isn't entitled to immunity for "decidedly non-judicial acts."

  • September 03, 2024

    Dave's Killer Bread Judge Rips Attys For 'Flooding' Docket

    A California federal judge admonished attorneys for both parties in a proposed class action alleging Dave's Killer "Good Seed" bread deceptively advertises the loafs as containing 5 grams of protein, slamming counsel for "flooding" the docket with "entirely unnecessary" motions and warning she'll sanction them if their conduct continues.

  • September 03, 2024

    Feds Abandon $12M Somali Fraud Case Against Atty

    The U.S. government has dropped its Maryland federal court case against a lawyer who was set for trial this year on charges of misappropriating over $12 million in Somali state assets, citing "pre-trial evidentiary rulings."

  • September 03, 2024

    5th Circ. Won't Revive BP Spill Malpractice Settlement

    The Fifth Circuit will not take another look at a proposed global settlement over accusations that attorneys botched Louisiana residents' claims following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, issuing an order on Tuesday denying residents' bids for an en banc hearing to revive the settlement that a Fifth Circuit panel overturned in August.

  • September 03, 2024

    Firm Can't Enforce Unexplained Arbitration Clause In Illinois

    A Missouri attorney accused of botching an injury lawsuit he helped pursue for a couple whose dry-cleaning business used allegedly toxic chemicals cannot arbitrate those allegations because he never explained the contractual arbitration provision in those clients' contract to them, an Illinois state appellate panel has found.

  • September 03, 2024

    Ex-Miami Atty's Countersuit Tossed Due To Litigation Privilege

    A Florida state judge has tossed an ex-Miami city attorney's countersuit against a constituent, saying her suit fighting real estate fraud allegations that she says led to her termination is barred by the state's litigation privilege doctrine in which absolute immunity protects certain statements made in court proceedings.

  • September 03, 2024

    Criminal Lawyers Group Backs YSL Atty In Contempt Appeal

    The American Board of Criminal Lawyers told the Georgia Supreme Court that one of its fellows, an attorney defending rapper Young Thug in a racketeering trial, shouldn't have been held in contempt for refusing to divulge to a state judge how he learned about the judge's improper meeting with prosecutors and a key witness.

  • September 03, 2024

    Ch. 11 Bankruptcy Trustee Says Firm Charged Excessive Fees

    The Chapter 11 trustee overseeing collapsed debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group has accused a New York law firm of charging excessive fees while defending the California firm from lawsuits from merchant cash advance companies.

  • September 03, 2024

    Former Partner Of Bankrupt NC Firm Settles With Trustee

    A former member of bankrupt North Carolina-based real estate law firm Washburn Law PLLC, which is being investigated by the FBI for millions of dollars in pilfered client money, has reached a settlement agreement with a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee.

  • September 03, 2024

    Duane Morris Wants Bulk Of Atty's Equal Pay Suit Tossed

    Duane Morris LLP is asking a California federal court to toss most of the claims in a proposed class action alleging the firm systemically underpaid female and nonwhite attorneys, saying the attorney who filed the complaint has been fairly treated and compensated and her claims lack validity.

  • September 03, 2024

    Fla. Judge Faces DQ Bid Over 'Hostility' In Ex-Law Prof's Case

    A former law professor at Florida A&M University wants the federal judge assigned to her retaliation lawsuit against the university to recuse himself, saying he has shown a "pattern of hostility" toward her in multiple court orders, according to a motion filed Tuesday.

  • September 03, 2024

    Serial Litigator Fights To Keep Michigan FOIA Suits Coming

    A government critic and serial pro se litigant said Wayne County can't force him to jump through hoops before he files public records requests and lawsuits against the county, urging a Michigan judge to preserve his right to sue.

  • September 03, 2024

    Atty's Use Of AI Didn't Taint Rapper's Trial, Judge Says

    A D.C. federal judge has rejected a host of arguments by Fugees rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel seeking a new trial on charges of assisting a Malaysian billionaire in illegally diverting funds, including claims that he was prejudiced by his former attorney's use of generative artificial intelligence to craft his closing argument.

  • September 03, 2024

    Trump Loses Renewed Bid To Take Hush Money Case Federal

    A New York federal court on Tuesday denied former President Donald Trump's bid to move the state's hush money case against him to federal court, ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court's July holding laying out grounds for immunity did not sway his opinion that the payments were "unofficial acts."

  • September 01, 2024

    Jackson Sees No 'Reason' To Not Enforce High Court Ethics

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Sunday that she's seen no "persuasive reason" why members of the nation's highest court shouldn't be held to an enforceable code of conduct, becoming the second justice to publicly endorse proposed ethics reform following a year of heightened public scrutiny.

  • August 30, 2024

    Pa. County's Voting Machine Inspections Cost It $1M In Fees

    A Pennsylvania county whose commissioners violated a court order by allowing outside inspectors to access its voting machines should pay Dominion Voting Systems and the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth more than $1 million in legal fees as part of the state supreme court's sanctions, an appellate judge recommended Friday.

  • August 30, 2024

    Flint Water Firm Wants To Keep PR 'Sideshow' Out Of Trial

    One of the last remaining defendants in Flint water crisis litigation urged a Michigan federal judge to exclude from an upcoming bellwether trial evidence about its public relations efforts, which included an alleged smear campaign against the lawyer for Flint children that led to another attorney getting referred to the California bar.

  • August 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Appeals courts have awakened from summertime slumber and crammed their early autumn calendars with arguments of national significance, which Law360 previews in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. We're also recapping August's top appellate decisions, exploring new polling about U.S. Supreme Court opinions and testing your knowledge of Fifth Circuit history.

  • August 30, 2024

    Colo. Immigration Atty Disbarred After Hiding Her Suspension

    A Colorado immigration attorney was disbarred after she filed several documents with immigration authorities while suspended — claiming she was licensed in Nebraska — and appeared before an immigration judge without disclosing her suspension, according to a stipulation to discipline filed Thursday.

  • August 30, 2024

    Danish Gov't Pledges No Ponzi Analogies At $2.1B Tax Trial

    The Danish tax authority won't compare pension funds, investors and attorneys it has accused of defrauding Denmark in a $2.1 billion tax refund scheme to a Ponzi scheme or infamous perpetrator Bernie Madoff, it said Friday in New York federal court.

  • August 30, 2024

    Giuliani Pretends To Live In Fla. To Shield Condo, Suit Says

    The Georgia election workers who secured a $148 million judgment against former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in D.C. federal court hit him with a new lawsuit Friday, saying he is "pretending" to live in Florida in "a brazen attempt to shield his luxury Palm Beach condo" from them.

  • August 30, 2024

    Conn. Chief Justice Pick Has Already Shaped The Courts

    When Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he had selected state Supreme Court Justice Raheem L. Mullins, 46, to serve as chief justice, he highlighted Justice Mullins' seven years of service on the state high court and noted that his nominee has written about 70 majority opinions.

Expert Analysis

  • Surveying Legislative Trends As States Rush To Regulate AI

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    With Congress unlikely to pass comprehensive artificial intelligence legislation any time soon, just four months into 2024, nearly every state has introduced legislation aimed at the development and use of AI on subjects from algorithmic discrimination risk to generative AI disclosures, say David Kappos and Sasha Rosenthal-Larrea at Cravath.

  • How Duty Of Candor Figures In USPTO AI Ethics Guidance

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    The duty of candor and good faith is an important part of the artificial intelligence ethics guidance issued last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and serious consequences can visit patent and trademark applicants who violate that duty, not just their attorneys and agents, says Michael Cicero at Taylor English.

  • Series

    Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.

  • This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener

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    As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues

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    Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • Why Incorporating By Reference Is Rarely Good Practice

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    The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in Promptu Systems v. Comcast serves as a reminder that while incorporating by reference may seem efficient, it is generally prohibited by courts and can lead to sanctions when used to bypass a word count limit, says Cullen Seltzer at Sands Anderson.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    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.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    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.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    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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