Legal Ethics

  • April 22, 2024

    11 State AGs Urge Senate To Confirm Mangi For 3rd Circ.

    A group of 11 attorneys general is calling on the Senate to confirm Adeel Mangi, nominee for the Third Circuit, who would be the first federal Muslim appellate judge if confirmed, condemning allegations that he is antisemitic or anti-law enforcement.

  • April 22, 2024

    Trump Led Plot To Undermine 2016 Election, NY Jury Told

    A prosecutor told a Manhattan jury on Monday that Donald Trump was the head of a conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election through hush-money payments, kicking off the first criminal trial of a former president.

  • April 22, 2024

    Justices Skip How Mid-Litigation Changes Affect Standing

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left in place a Third Circuit ruling that plaintiffs must reestablish standing when defendants cause circumstances to change mid-litigation, ending a Pennsylvania attorney's challenge to the state's new anti-bias and harassment professional conduct rule.

  • April 22, 2024

    Coverage Recap: Day 1 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

    Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a full recap from day one.

  • April 19, 2024

    Trump On Verge Of Legal History As Full NY Jury Picked

    Jury selection wrapped up Friday in the hush money trial of Donald Trump, setting the stage for opening statements to begin on Monday after a New York appeals court denied a last-ditch bid by the former president to delay the unprecedented case.

  • April 19, 2024

    Ex-Lewis Brisbois Atty Accuses Firm Of Bias, Unethical Billing

    A former attorney for Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has sued the firm in Los Angeles court, alleging gender discrimination in pay and retaliation for raising concerns over its "unethical billing practices," marking the second discrimination suit filed against the firm since March.

  • April 19, 2024

    Ex-Gibson Dunn Partners Battle Firm Over Sealed Records

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is fighting anonymous ex-partners' bid to unseal a contractual arbitration award granted to a former co-chair of the firm's appellate practice, saying the documents contain trade secrets — such as details about the firm's compensation and partnership structure — that other top law firms could exploit to gain an advantage in a competitive recruitment market.

  • April 19, 2024

    Banking Boss Seeks First Bite In Lawyer-Linked Debt Services

    Connecticut's banking commissioner says a trial court judge misapplied case law by sidelining his authority to investigate complaints against a debt collection operation attached to a law firm, saying his office should be the first to decide whether he or the judicial branch has authority over the matter.

  • April 19, 2024

    Up Next At High Court: Abortions & Presidential Immunity

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the term's final week of oral arguments, during which it will consider several high-stakes disputes, including whether a federal healthcare law can preempt state abortion bans and whether former President Donald Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal charges related to official acts.

  • April 19, 2024

    Pa. Judges Duck Lawsuit From Atty Jailed For Contempt

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against two Allegheny County judges brought by an attorney whom they jailed for contempt of court, saying the judges had jurisdiction to carry out their actions and thus had absolute immunity.

  • April 19, 2024

    Trump's Trial Is Unprecedented. Attys On Juries? Not So Much

    With two BigLaw attorneys tapped for the jury box in Donald Trump's first-in-history criminal case, Law360 spoke to trial vets who said their own experience in this tables-turned situation shows lawyers can make for highly engaged jurors under the right circumstances.

  • April 19, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Faces Class Action Over Fla. Fee Agreements

    The wife of luxury home developer Nir Meir, who was charged with falsifying records and defrauding investors, is hoping to avoid paying more than $360,000 in attorney fees to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP in a proposed class action, saying her husband forged her signature on a fee agreement with the firm.

  • April 19, 2024

    Del. Justices Revive Margolis Edelstein Malpractice Suit

    Delaware's Supreme Court has reversed a lower-court decision that let Margolis Edelstein off the hook on claims that its incompetence caused GMG Insurance Agency to have to settle a case for $1.2 million, saying more consideration is needed to determine whether the firm was negligent.

  • April 19, 2024

    Gibbons Atty Won't Testify In Menendez Bribery Trial

    A Gibbons PC lawyer who is counsel for one of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's co-defendants in his federal bribery trial set to start next month will not be called to the witness stand after defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed Friday to a stipulation about the facts that would have been part of his testimony.

  • April 19, 2024

    Lawyer Too Late To Collect Fees From Aretha Franklin Estate

    Michigan appellate judges have upheld the denial of a bid for attorney fees for a lawyer who complained he was not properly paid for work he did for Aretha Franklin, with judges determining the claims were time-barred.

  • April 19, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Fights Sanctions Bid Over Musk Deposition

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has protested a move by a man suing Elon Musk for defamation to sanction partner Alex Spiro for his conduct during a deposition of Musk, telling a Texas state court Spiro was simply speaking up to protect Musk's interests and that the plaintiff was taking part in "school-yard antics."

  • April 19, 2024

    Ex-Defender Says High Court Ruling Backs Bias Claims

    A former assistant federal defender urged a North Carolina district court to consider a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in her sexual harassment lawsuit, arguing the high court's decision backs her claims for employment discrimination against the federal judiciary.

  • April 19, 2024

    Paxton Can't Duck Ethics Suit Over 2020 Election Challenge

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton must face the State Bar of Texas' ethics lawsuit over his attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election since the suit is against Paxton in his personal capacity and does not violate the separation of powers, a Texas appellate court has ruled.

  • April 19, 2024

    Law Firm Warns Mich. Justices Of Malpractice Fee Deluge

    A Michigan law firm has urged the state's Supreme Court not to lower the bar for seeking attorney fees as legal malpractice damages, saying doing so would invite clients to find reasons to sue their lawyers to recover fees even when they won the underlying case. 

  • April 19, 2024

    Sills Cummis Aims To Sink Atty Depo In Rock Musician Suit

    Sills Cummis & Gross PC fought back against a move to force the deposition of one of its partners in a malpractice suit this week, arguing the plaintiff, the former manager of musician Nile Rodgers, has "manufactured" the dispute by refusing to hold up his end of a deal to be deposed first.

  • April 19, 2024

    Atty In Tax Fraud Case Gets Supervised Release, $25K Fine

    A former Houston lawyer whose conviction in connection with an $18 million tax scheme was overturned told a federal judge Friday that not testifying in his 2019 trial was "one of the worst mistakes" of his life as he was sentenced to a year of supervised release as part of a plea deal.

  • April 19, 2024

    Antitrust Case Judge Reveals Husband's Ties With Apple

    A New Jersey federal magistrate judge assigned to the U.S. Department of Justice's recent iPhone antitrust case disclosed on Friday that her husband has ties to Apple, but told the parties she does not believe she needs to recuse herself.

  • April 19, 2024

    Hedge Fund Founder Fights Bid For Seward & Kissel Call Logs

    The billionaire founder of hedge fund Two Sigma Investments LP told a New Jersey state court it should quash a subpoena his wife served on his phone provider for records of his calls to attorneys at Seward & Kissel LLP in the wife's suit accusing the firm of helping cheat her out of marital assets when she filed for divorce.

  • April 19, 2024

    Cohen Seglias Suit Says DOD Must Unblock Its Web Domain

    Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC has sued a communications arm of the Department of Defense over claims a government software system mistakenly flagged the firm's web domain as malware, asking the agency to clear a "bureaucratic quagmire" and lift the block keeping DOD officials from contacting its lawyers.

  • April 19, 2024

    Self-Immolation Near Trump Trial Prompts Security Review

    The New York Police Department is reviewing security protocols for former President Donald Trump's first criminal trial after a fatal incident in which a man set himself on fire across the street from the Manhattan courthouse where the proceeding was taking place Friday, underscoring safety concerns.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Keys To A Productive Mediation

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Cortney Young at ADR Partners discusses factors that can help to foster success in mediation, including scheduling, preparation, managing client expectations and more.

  • Evaluating The Legal Ethics Of A ChatGPT-Authored Motion

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    Aimee Furness and Sam Mallick at Haynes Boone asked ChatGPT to draft a motion to dismiss, and then scrutinized the resulting work product in light of attorneys' ethical and professional responsibility obligations.

  • Jan. 6 Panel Transcripts Highlight Attorney Ethics Issues

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    Recently released transcripts of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee demonstrate that there is always a lurking conflict when someone other than the client is paying the fee, and that disclosure must therefore be painstaking and extensive, says Steven Lubet at Northwestern University.

  • 7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023

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    Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.

  • Series

    Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base

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    When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.

  • Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

  • 5 Gen X Characteristics That Can Boost Legal Leadership

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    As Generation X attorneys rise to fill top roles in law firms and corporations left by retiring baby boomers, they should embrace generational characteristics that will allow them to become better legal leaders, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.

  • 6 Questions For Boutique Firms Considering Mergers

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    To prepare for discussions with potential merger partners, boutique law firms should first consider the challenges they hope to address with a merger and the qualities they prioritize in possible partner firms, say Howard Cohl and Ron Nye at Major Lindsey.

  • Del. Justices' Reversal Of Boardwalk Award May Apply Widely

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent Boardwalk Pipeline v. Bandera Master Fund decision that a general partner wasn't liable for willful misconduct is likely to have wide applicability for noncorporate entities, which courts are unlikely to view as entitled to more protection than Boardwalk's public unit holders, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • 5 Tips For Adding Value To Legal Clients' Experience In 2023

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    Faced with a potential economic downturn this year, attorneys should look to strengthen client relationships now by focusing on key ways to improve the client experience, starting with a check-in call to discuss client needs and priorities for the coming year, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • 6 Ways To Avoid Compounding Errors When Practicing Law

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    For lawyers and law firms, inevitable human error can lead to claims of malpractice or ethical violations, but the key is to avoid exacerbating mistakes by adding communication failures, conflicts of interest or insurance coverage losses, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.

  • What Will Keep Legal Talent Professionals Up At Night In 2023

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    Hybrid work environments, high demand for lateral hires and a potential slowdown of the economy defined 2022 in the always-busy marketplace for legal talent, and as BigLaw looks at the year ahead, there are five major sources of concern for the teams charged with securing and retaining that talent, say advisers at Baretz+Brunelle.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

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    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from the "great resignation" to potential expansion of attorney-client privilege.

  • What 3 Legal Industry Trends From 2022 Mean For Next Year

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    Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey & Africa looks back on the year in legal recruiting, including practice areas that saw the most movement, which regions seemed most ripe for new office openings and who was promoted to partner, and makes some look-ahead predictions for 2023.

  • Learning From This Year's Legal Industry Discrimination Suits

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    To limit the risk of lawsuits and make the workplace a more welcoming environment for female attorneys, it is important to reflect on lawyers' recent discrimination and sexual harassment claims against law firms and public employers, says Hope Comisky at Griesing Law.

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