Legal Ethics

  • September 01, 2026

    Judge Backs Carlton Fields' Bid To Seek Miss America Fees

    A Florida federal magistrate judge on Tuesday recommended allowing Carlton Fields PA to intervene in a $500 million dispute over the ownership of the Miss America competition, one day after the company's CEO filed a new suit against its former counsel.

  • September 01, 2026

    Fla. Bar Tosses Complaint Over DHS GC's 'Worst' Judge Posts

    The Florida Bar has refused to investigate the general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for potential ethics violations over his recent series of social media posts attacking sitting judges, citing a potential conflict with the authority of the federal government.

  • September 01, 2026

    NC Bar Defends Discipline Of Former Judge To Top Court

    The North Carolina State Bar's decision to punish a former judge for actions he took while on the bench is not an attack on judicial independence, the bar argued in urging the state's top court not to take up an appeal challenging an order of discipline against him.

  • September 01, 2026

    Combies Hanson Accused Of Missing 2-Year Lawsuit Window

    Massachusetts personal injury firm Combies Hanson PC has been accused of missing Connecticut's two-year statute of limitations when filing an underlying lawsuit against Delta Air Lines on behalf of a man who alleges he was injured by an airplane's beverage cart.

  • September 01, 2026

    Eve Legal Says AI.Law Doc Drafting Patent Is Invalid

    California legal tech company Eve Legal wants out of a patent lawsuit brought by Ohio-based rival AI.Law, telling a San Francisco federal judge that the patent is insufficient, covering little more than using ordinary artificial intelligence tools to draft legal documents.

  • September 01, 2026

    Fla. Bar Seeks Protective Order Against Suspended Atty

    The Florida Bar has asked the state's highest court for a protective order to "substantially" limit a suspended lawyer's "unduly burdensome" and "excessive" initial request for production of documents in a protracted disciplinary proceeding.

  • August 31, 2026

    Valve's 15K Antitrust Arbitrations Will Stay On Ice, Judge Says

    Arbitrations between gaming giant Valve Corp. and nearly 15,000 gamers will remain paused as the Ninth Circuit weighs whether the antitrust disputes are eligible for arbitration under the company's updated subscriber terms, according to a bench ruling Monday from a Seattle federal judge.

  • August 31, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Rehear Eye Drop Antitrust Suit Despite Dissent

    A forceful dissent from a pair of Ninth Circuit judges wasn't enough to keep the full appellate court from letting stand a panel decision preserving wholesalers' district court win accusing the maker of Clear Eyes drops of illegal price discrimination favoring Costco.

  • August 31, 2026

    Defamation Litigation Roundup: NYT, J&J, Azerbaijan

    In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 details a jury verdict against The New York Times in a suit involving its reporting on a shooting in Alabama, and highlights a judge's decision to spare researchers from a suit by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary over their talc research.

  • August 31, 2026

    Calif. Bar Drops Disciplinary Action Against 4 DTLA Law Attys

    The California State Bar dismissed, without prejudice, disciplinary charges against four DTLA Law Group attorneys alleging they illegally practiced law outside the state as part of their work with the personal injury law firm, which is under investigation for its involvement in Los Angeles County's $4 billion sex abuse settlement.

  • August 31, 2026

    House Passes Bill To Curb Secret Prosecutor Orders

    The House passed a bipartisan bill via voice vote Monday afternoon to add transparency to prosecutors' use of nondisclosure orders for telephone service providers.

  • August 31, 2026

    Ex-Broncos Player Says Attys Flubbed Indecent Exposure Case

    A former professional football player is accusing his former attorneys of malpractice, claiming they ended his career by pressuring him into pleading guilty to crimes that labeled him a sex offender, restricted his travel and prevented him from contacting his younger brother and nieces, in a suit filed in Colorado state court.

  • August 31, 2026

    Lindberg Can't Oust Special Master From Restitution Fight

    A North Carolina federal court refused to disqualify the special master in charge of unraveling the assets of convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg or set aside a proposed $1.6 billion restitution order in his sweeping fraud case, finding that the special master's appointment was not unconstitutional.

  • August 31, 2026

    Ramey Wants Full Fed. Circ. To Reconsider $207K Sanctions

    William Ramey of Ramey LLP has urged the full Federal Circuit to review his liability for more than $207,000 in sanctions in a client's patent infringement suit against Volkswagen, arguing that his notices of appeal were faulty but still adequately identified him as a party.

  • August 31, 2026

    Nuvo's $9.75M D&O Deal Ends US-Israel Bankruptcy Clash

    Bankrupt pregnancy-technology firm Nuvo Group and an Israeli court-appointed trustee tasked with liquidating it reached an agreement that resolves their cross-border disputes by using a $9.75 million settlement payment from insurers of former executives.

  • August 31, 2026

    New Report Rings Alarm On Threats To Judicial Independence

    Verbal attacks on judges, disinformation about the courts and the defiance of court orders are undermining the independence of the federal judiciary and significantly affecting individual judges' ability to do their jobs, a report out Monday says.

  • August 31, 2026

    Meyer Unkovic Discovery Bid Partly Granted

    A Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge partly granted Meyer Unkovic & Scott LLP's bid for discovery in a malpractice suit over a $3.3 million default judgment that was later thrown out, ruling the firm can obtain documents about defenses raised in the underlying landlord-tenant case.

  • August 31, 2026

    NJ Legal Malpractice Suit Revived Over Expert Rulings

    A New Jersey state appellate court on Monday revived a legal malpractice suit over an underlying medical malpractice action, saying a trial court was wrong to exclude the plaintiffs' legal expert and subsequently dismiss the case for lack of expert testimony.

  • August 31, 2026

    Law Firm's Calif. Claims Stayed Over AI Comms Co.'s NY Suit

    A California federal judge ruled that AI communications company Connex One cannot escape claims brought by a personal injury law firm alleging it faced harassment and threats of litigation after it declined to renew their contract, saying the case will be stayed until a New York lawsuit brought by Connex against the firm runs its course.

  • August 31, 2026

    6th Circ. Backs $450K Punitive Award For Mich. Farmworkers

    A Sixth Circuit panel has upheld a $450,000 punitive damages award for five Guatemalan farmworkers who accused a West Michigan agricultural labor contractor and its owners of trafficking-related and wage law abuses, ruling that the award was constitutionally permissible despite the jury awarding only economic compensatory damages.

  • August 31, 2026

    'Kentucky Hammer' Pushes To Duck Antitrust Suit

    A Kentucky personal injury firm led by litigator Darryl "The Hammer" Isaacs is looking to duck an antitrust suit filed by a former firm lawyer, arguing the suit fails to state a plausible claim for any allegations leveled against it.

  • August 31, 2026

    Smoke Shop Owners Say NY Tribe Can't Seek $662K In Fees

    A pair of cannabis shop owners are urging a New York federal court to reject a bid by the Cayuga Nation for more than $662,000 in attorney fees following a net-zero verdict in its racketeering case, saying the nation was not a prevailing party and thus isn't entitled to fees.

  • August 28, 2026

    'Troubled' 7th Circ. Finds No Harm From Benesch Atty Conflict

    While "troubled" by an ex-Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP partner's decision to take on a client's trade secrets suit while negotiating a move from Benesch to the defendant company's outside counsel, the Seventh Circuit agreed Friday that the displeased client cannot pursue her legal malpractice claim.

  • August 28, 2026

    Texas AG Disqualified In Ivermectin Malpractice Suit

    A Texas state court judge this week disqualified Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office from representing a doctor who tried to treat a COVID-19 patient with ivermectin, siding with the Texas Medical Board and striking a brief the attorney general had filed on the physician's behalf.

  • August 28, 2026

    Rachael Rollins Pitches Scandal As Asset In Comeback Bid

    Rachael Rollins rode a progressive wave to become Suffolk County's district attorney in 2019. After a scandal derailed her stint as Massachusetts U.S. attorney, she's trying to win her old DA post back, and leaning into her alleged ethical missteps as a resume boost.

Expert Analysis

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

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    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • Trader Joe's Ruling Highlights Trademark Infringement Trends

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Trader Joe's Co. v. Trader Joe's United explores the legal boundaries between a union's right to advocate for workers and the protection of a brand's intellectual property, and illustrates a growing trend of courts disfavoring early dismissal of trademark infringement claims in the context of expressive speech, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Arbitrator's Conviction Upheld

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    The Supreme Court of Spain recently upheld the criminal conviction of arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa for grave disobedience to judicial authority, rejecting the proposition that an arbitrator's independence can prevail over a court order retroactively disabling the very judicial act conferring arbitral jurisdiction, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • In NY, Long COVID (Tolling) Still Applies

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    A series of pandemic-era executive orders in New York tolling state statutes of limitations for 228 days mean that many causes of action that appear time-barred on their face may continue to apply, including in federal practice, for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Reel Justice: 'One Battle After Another' And The Limits Of Zeal

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    The political thriller “One Battle After Another,” following a former revolutionary who became a recluse, offers a potent metaphor for attorneys on diligence and the ethical boundaries of zealous advocacy, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • 6th Circ. FirstEnergy Ruling Protects Key Legal Privileges

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    The Sixth Circuit’s recent grant of mandamus relief in In re: First Energy Corp. confirms that the attorney-client privilege and work-product protections apply to internal investigation materials, ultimately advancing the public interest, say attorneys at Cooley.

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