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Legal Ethics
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April 11, 2024
Conn. Attorney Accused Of Unreasonable Fees In VW Case
Connecticut's attorney disciplinary authority has accused an attorney of charging an unreasonable fee to a plaintiff in a 2022 defective product claim against Volkswagen of America and not providing documentation to support the fee, in violation of professional conduct rules.
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April 10, 2024
Nationwide Injunctions Spike Politicizes Judiciary, Study Says
Nationwide injunctions have dramatically increased in recent years, particularly during the Trump administration, a trend that has politicized the judiciary and risks further politicization without reforms, according to a study published in the Harvard Law Review on Wednesday.
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April 10, 2024
US News Fights Uphill To Block SF's 'Best Hospitals' Probe
A California federal judge indicated Wednesday he'll likely dismiss U.S. News & World Report's lawsuit challenging the San Francisco City Attorney's subpoenas seeking information about its methodology for ranking hospitals, saying the issue isn't ripe since the subpoenas aren't self-enforcing and the city hasn't yet sued for the information.
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April 10, 2024
DOJ's Apple Antitrust Suit Gets New Judge After Recusal
The New Jersey federal judge overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice's recent iPhone antitrust case against Apple recused himself from the litigation Wednesday, according to a text order posted to the docket reassigning the case.
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April 10, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Revive White And Williams Malpractice Suit
The Third Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a $30 million legal malpractice suit brought by a home improvement product manufacturer against White and Williams LLP, finding the claim should have been brought in an earlier action between the parties.
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April 10, 2024
Dems Introduce Bill To Codify Policy Barring Judge Shopping
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with 37 other Democratic and two independent senators, introduced legislation on Wednesday to codify the new Judicial Conference of the United States policy against judge shopping after pushback from Republicans and a Texas court.
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April 10, 2024
Chicago Man Wants New Judge In Facebook Defamation Suit
A Chicago-area resident suing Meta over allegedly false sexual misconduct accusations on an "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" Facebook page wants a different judge to handle his case, arguing his current judge's "extensive professional relationship" with Meta's counsel warrants her recusal.
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April 10, 2024
Deported Man Can't Undo Fraud Conviction After Feds' Error
A deported Nigerian national who confessed to fraud on promises that prosecutors would submit a letter to immigration authorities supporting his deportation defense couldn't convince the Eighth Circuit to toss his guilty plea after prosecutors mistakenly disavowed the letter.
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April 10, 2024
Wells Fargo Can't Bar Atty From Deposition, NC Judge Rules
Wells Fargo lost its bid to stop the lawyer of a fired investment director, who is accusing the bank of disability discrimination, from questioning his former supervisor, with a North Carolina federal judge saying the bank fell short of showing that the attorney's previous representation of the supervisor was related in any way to the current action.
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April 10, 2024
'Varsity Blues' Judge Won't Recuse From Bid For Plea Redo
The Boston federal judge overseeing the waning "Varsity Blues" college admissions case said Wednesday he should be the one to decide whether a parent who pled guilty in the scandal's early days should be able to have the conviction erased, calling her recusal bid "fraught with judge-shopping."
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April 10, 2024
Fla. Lawyer Seeks 'Compassion' After Loan Fraud Conviction
Fresh off a failed bid to have her wire fraud conspiracy conviction nixed, a Florida attorney found guilty of fraudulently obtaining federal COVID-19 relief loans asked a Georgia federal judge for leniency in her upcoming sentencing.
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April 10, 2024
Fla. Atty Gets 8 Years For Fraudulent Tax Shelter Scheme
A Florida attorney was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to tax evasion and defrauding the U.S. government through a tax shelter scheme he pitched to clients that involved making purported charitable contributions so his clients could claim millions of dollars in tax deductions they weren't qualified to receive.
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April 10, 2024
Trump Fails Again To Halt NY Trial Over Claim Judge Is Biased
Donald Trump on Wednesday tried and failed for the third time in as many days to delay his upcoming hush-money trial, after arguing the judge should be removed for supposed bias and that the judge's rules were preventing him from defending himself.
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April 10, 2024
Alston & Bird Pushes Arbitration Of COVID Vax Claims
Alston & Bird LLP urged a Georgia federal court to reject a former aide's objection to a magistrate judge's recommendation to force her to arbitrate her claims alleging she was fired after refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
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April 10, 2024
Fla. Judge Cops To Trimmed Charges Over Campaign Talk
A Florida county circuit court judge may face a shorter 25-day suspension over public statements he made favoring law enforcement during his 2022 campaign for his seat after the Florida Supreme Court rejected a 30-day suspension agreement because of an incorrect reading of the rules of conduct.
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April 10, 2024
Ex-Reed Smith Atty Can't DQ Judge In Bias Suit Against Firm
A former Reed Smith LLP attorney failed in her bid to have a New Jersey state judge disqualified from her gender discrimination suit against the firm, with the judge on Wednesday turning down her argument that he improperly reviewed a certification from the firm's general counsel.
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April 10, 2024
Major Lindsey Wins Bid To Have Sex Assault Suit Arbitrated
A former Major Lindsey & Africa LLC employee's sexual assault lawsuit against the legal recruiting giant must go to arbitration, a New York state judge has decided.
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April 10, 2024
Mich. Appellate Panel Won't Halt Election Case Against Atty
A Michigan appellate panel on Tuesday said it wouldn't pause criminal proceedings against an attorney accused of tampering with voting machines after the 2020 presidential election or consider her appeal of a trial court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for missing a hearing.
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April 10, 2024
Ex-Coupang Atty Fights Bid To Toss Whistleblower Suit
A former in-house attorney at South Korean conglomerate Coupang told a Washington federal judge this week that his whistleblower claims against the company are valid according to the terms of his employment contract.
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April 10, 2024
Ex-Judge Dropped From Harassment Suit After NJ Courts' Win
A New Jersey municipal court administrator has agreed to end a suit alleging she was sexually harassed by a former municipal court judge after a state superior court ruled she could not include the Administrative Office of the Courts as a defendant in the case.
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April 10, 2024
NJ Law Firm Not Covered In Malpractice Suit, Insurer Says
A law firm in Princeton, New Jersey, is not owed coverage of a malpractice action alleging one of its attorneys misappropriated the assets of a client's husband, the firm's insurer argued, telling a federal court the firm knew of the underlying legal claims before its policy's inception.
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April 10, 2024
Feds Cleared To Use Undercover Recording In Atty's Tax Trial
Federal prosecutors trying an attorney next week on charges he orchestrated a tax fraud scheme that spanned seven states will be allowed to play for the jury an audio recording made by an undercover agent, a North Carolina federal judge ruled.
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April 10, 2024
DA Says SEPTA Prosecutor Law Unfairly Singles Out Philly
An attorney for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told a Pennsylvania appellate court Wednesday that a law mandating a "special prosecutor" within the Attorney General's Office to handle crimes within the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority had unfairly and unconstitutionally singled out Philadelphia and his office.
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April 10, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty In OneCoin Scam A Flight Risk, Feds Say
A former Locke Lord LLP partner who was convicted of laundering proceeds from the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam has "every incentive" to flee the country, prosecutors told a New York federal judge, arguing he shouldn't be allowed to stay out on bail while his appeal is pending.
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April 10, 2024
Conn. Ethics Panel Finds 'No Reason' To Reinstate Atty Early
The Connecticut Statewide Grievance Committee, an arm of the state's judicial system tasked with ethics complaints, slammed a disbarred lawyer's reinstatement bid, stating that his application is 12 years early and that he still owes $146,031 in restitution for the embezzlement that got him disbarred.
Expert Analysis
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Alex Jones Cases Show It's Time To Rethink Zealous Advocacy
Though zealous advocacy has long been heralded as a foundational principle in the practice of law, the recent defamation trials of Infowars host Alex Jones demonstrate the practical limits of zeal in the courtroom, and attorneys would do well to consider alternative tactics for the modern era, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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How To Deal With Difficult Clients, Practically And Ethically
Meredith Stoma at Lewis Brisbois discusses common obstacles for counsel working with difficult clients and provides guidance on ethically managing or terminating these challenging relationships — as, for example, counsel for Ye have recently done.
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Fed. Circ. Rulings That Gave Patent Law A New Spin In 2022
Keith Grady at Tucker Ellis looks at critical 2022 Federal Circuit rulings and their impact on patent law, including the February Caltech v. Broadcom decision expanding estoppel rules relating to inter partes review practices and the June Centripetal Networks v. Cisco Systems clarification on blind trusts.
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Opinion
Federal Courts Should Adopt Supreme Court's Amicus Stance
The federal courts of appeals should adopt the U.S. Supreme Court's new approach to amicus curiae briefs, which allows the friend-of-the-court submissions to be filed without consent from the court or the parties, says Lawrence Ebner at Atlantic Legal Foundation.
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3 Pricing Trends In Law Firm Use Of Litigation Funding
As BigLaw firms increasingly include litigation funding as a financing option for clients, internal pricing groups are taking the lead on standardizing and centralizing firm processes, and aggregating risk budgets, says Brendan Dyer at Woodsford Group.
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Safeguarding Attorneys' Greatest Asset: Our Mental Health
Attorneys who understand that mental fitness is their most valuable characteristic should prioritize mental health care accordingly, including with certain activities they may not realize qualify as self-care, says Wendy Robbins at Holland & Knight.
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Opinion
Law Schools Are Right To Steer Clear Of US News Rankings
By opting out of participating in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings, law schools abandon a profoundly flawed system and free up their resources to adapt to the tsunami of changes overtaking the profession, says Nicholas Allard at Jacksonville University College of Law.
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Opinion
Litigation Funders Seek Transparency In Disclosure Debate
Litigation funders want to correct the record on calls for funding disclosure in the name of transparency, as this purported justification obscures the disclosure's adverse effects — prejudicing plaintiffs' cases and discouraging the assertion of meritorious legal claims, say Dai Wai Chin Feman and William Weisman at Parabellum Capital.
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5 Principles For Better Professional Development Programs
The pandemic and ensuing "great resignation" have resulted in a more transient legal work force, but law firms can use effective professional development programs to bridge a cultural gap with new associates and stem associate attrition, says Matthew Woods at Robins Kaplan.
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Series
My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned To Practice With Passion
First Circuit Judge Gustavo Gelpí recalls how Suffolk University Law School's Joseph Glannon taught the importance of the law as both a tool and a profession, and that those who wish to practice law successfully must do so with love, enthusiasm and passion.
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Questions To Ask Before Making A Lateral Move As Partner
Law firm partners considering lateral moves should diligently interview prospects — going beyond standard questions about compensation to inquire about culture, associate retention and other areas that can provide a more comprehensive view, says Lauren Wu at VOYLegal.
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Series
My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned To Argue Open-Mindedly
Queens College President Frank Wu reflects on how Yale Kamisar’s teaching and guidance at the University of Michigan Law School emphasized a capacity to engage with alternative worldviews and the importance of the ability to argue for both sides of a debate.
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ABA's No-Contact Rule Advice Raises Questions For Lawyers
The American Bar Association's ethics committee recently issued two opinions concerning the no-contact rule — one creates an intuitive and practical default for electronic communications, while the other sets a potential trap for pro se lawyers, say Lauren Snyder and Deepika Ravi at HWG.
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4 Key Skills For An Effective Attorney Coaching Conversation
As BigLaw firms are increasingly offering internal coaching as one of many talent strategies to stem ongoing lawyer attrition, Stacey Schwartz at Katten discusses how coaches can help attorneys achieve their goals.
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Perspectives
How Civilian Attorneys Can Help Veterans
With legal aid topping the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' annual list of unmet needs of veterans facing housing insecurity, nonmilitary volunteer attorneys can provide some of the most effective legal services to military and veteran clients, say Anna Richardson at Veterans Legal Services and Nicholas Hasenfus at Holland & Knight.