Legal Ethics

  • July 16, 2025

    Biz Seeks To Drive Ga. Law Firm Fee Fight Out Of Arbitration

    A former client of Herman Jones LLP urged a Georgia state appeals court to overturn a trial judge's decision to send a lawsuit over legal fees to arbitration, arguing that the law firm waived arbitration and the trial court should have decided a pending anti-SLAPP motion before ruling on the firm's bid to arbitrate.

  • July 16, 2025

    WilmerHale Can't Stay As Verizon's Attys In Texas Patent Trial

    A federal judge in Texas has sided with a magistrate judge who found that a pair of WilmerHale lawyers representing Verizon in a dispute with Headwater Research LLC should be disqualified because the firm previously represented the owner of the patents at issue.

  • July 15, 2025

    Jackson Walker, US Trustee Tell Court 'There's No Deal'

    Jackson Walker LLP and the federal government's bankruptcy watchdog told a Texas federal judge Tuesday that they have not reached an agreement to resolve a fee dispute stemming from a former bankruptcy judge's previously undisclosed romantic relationship with a onetime partner of the firm.

  • July 15, 2025

    Ex-NY Attorney Pleads Guilty To Stealing $4.7M From Clients

    A former New York lawyer admitted to stealing millions from clients, including draining more than $4.4 million from the attorney escrow account of a company seeking to buy 500,000 boxes of hard-to-find latex gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr., announced Tuesday.

  • July 15, 2025

    Former IP Partners' Names Worth $52K, Expert Testifies

    The names of two deceased law partners are worth between $28,000 and $52,000 per year to a Connecticut intellectual property boutique, an expert testified Tuesday during a federal court hearing in a valuation dispute between two of the late lawyers' colleagues.

  • July 15, 2025

    Judge Denies Early Win For Family Of Atty Seeking 9/11 Fees

    A D.C. federal judge denied an early win for the estate of a 9/11 families attorney suing the firm that contracted him over fees Tuesday, lambasting the contracts at the center of the litigation for their lack of clarity and suggesting that a trial might be the only way to discern their meaning.

  • July 15, 2025

    FDIC Says Farella Braun Can't Get Fees In First Republic Suit

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has asked a California federal court to toss a more than $50,000 legal fee claim tied to First Republic Bank's collapse, arguing that Farella Braun, the law firm behind the claim, failed to submit a valid written agreement or itemized invoices and its claim is legally insufficient.

  • July 15, 2025

    Modoc Nation Suit Against Computer Co. On Hold For Appeal

    An Oklahoma federal judge has paused the Modoc Nation's $14.6 million lawsuit against a computer management company while a former attorney general for the tribe appeals his entitlement to sovereign immunity, ruling that the case will be stayed until the interlocutory appeal is resolved.

  • July 15, 2025

    Patent Owner Wants Google Sanctioned For Discovery Tactics

    The owner of a location tracking patent has asked a New York federal judge to sanction Google in an infringement case, claiming the company dumped massive amounts of documents on him before depositions were set to begin and then refused to respond to a proper request for more information.

  • July 15, 2025

    Internet Provider Can't Duck Conn. Atty's ID Theft Probe

    Connecticut Trial Firm LLC co-founder Andrew Garza may pursue a bill of discovery against internet service provider NetSpeed LLC as he tries to unmask the person he says stole his identity to open a bank account, a Connecticut state judge has ruled.

  • July 15, 2025

    Tax Court Warns Attys In Denying $20M Easement Deduction

    The U.S. Tax Court threatened Tuesday to force attorneys for a Georgia partnership to personally pay court costs after they had argued at trial for a $20 million tax deduction for a conservation easement donation, an amount the court said was over 100 times the land's value.

  • July 15, 2025

    Grassley Rejects Dems' Push For 2nd Hearing On Emil Bove

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday rebuffed the request from Democrats on his committee for the whistleblower who made claims regarding Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove to testify and said the committee will proceed with the vote on Bove's nomination Thursday.

  • July 15, 2025

    Wisconsin Judge Says Actions Were Part Of Judicial Duties

    The Wisconsin state judge accused of helping an immigrant living in the country illegally avoid arrest objected to a federal judge's recommendation not to have her indictment dismissed, arguing Tuesday that her actions were lawful and that accepting the recommendation would set a dangerous precedent.

  • July 15, 2025

    J&J Demands Sanctions Over Atty's 'Frivolous' Bias Suit In NJ

    Johnson & Johnson has blasted a former in-house data privacy attorney's discrimination suit against the company as "baseless and defamatory" and demanded sanctions against the ex-employee in New Jersey federal court.

  • July 15, 2025

    Advocates Turn To Florida High Court For Bondi Ethics Probe

    A group of attorneys, law professors and former judges asked the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday to order the Florida Bar to investigate U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for alleged unethical conduct.

  • July 15, 2025

    Keesal Young Accuses Stradley Ronon Of Unfair Poaching

    Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young has been hit with allegations from California firm Keesal Young & Logan that it unfairly poached both shareholders and associates from the firm, allegedly conspiring with the departing attorneys to violate their agreements with the firm and costing Keesal Young $2.5 million in annual profits.

  • July 15, 2025

    Funding 'Crisis' Jeopardizes Indigent Defense, Judiciary Says

    The judiciary rang the alarm on Tuesday that funding has been exhausted for the private attorneys who represent indigent federal criminal defendants, and this predicament is expected to last for three months.

  • July 15, 2025

    Atty Suspended In Fla. After Conviction In Fatal Texas Crash

    The Florida Supreme Court has suspended a Texas-based attorney who was also admitted to practice in the Sunshine State after he struck and killed two people while driving to a city council meeting in November 2021.

  • July 15, 2025

    Reed Smith Says Docs Slipped Through Stay In Eletson Row

    Reed Smith has asked the Second Circuit to again step in and block new owners of reorganized Greece-based international shipping company Eletson from viewing communications between the firm and the company's prior owners, saying that, despite a stay already in place, the new owners were allowed to acquire some files.

  • July 14, 2025

    BCBS Defends $2.8B Provider Antitrust Deal Amid Objections

    Blue Cross Blue Shield asked an Alabama federal judge on Friday to approve a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement with hospitals and other healthcare providers over its territorial policies, arguing that recent objections to the deal's release provision are meritless and the settlement preserves "key, procompetitive features" of the insurance system.

  • July 14, 2025

    WilmerHale DQed From Representing Verizon In Patent Row

    A federal magistrate judge in Texas has disqualified WilmerHale from representing Verizon on the eve of a trial over allegations that the telecommunications company infringed wireless communications patents owned by Headwater Research.

  • July 14, 2025

    Mich. Judge Claims Watchdog's Process Violates Due Process

    A Michigan judge accused by the state's judicial watchdog of creating a "climate of fear" among court staff is fighting the accusations, saying interpersonal issues were related to her "desire for accurate records, professionalism and respect" and calling the commission's pursuit of charges "misdirected and unfair."

  • July 14, 2025

    Fla. Landlord Accuses Akerman Of Botching Lease Language

    Real estate investor Turner Healthcare Facilities Fund LP on Monday accused its former Akerman LLP counsel in a south Florida state court of having committed a $45 million "mistake" by approving unenforceable clauses in leases on properties the investor owned.

  • July 14, 2025

    Girardi Keese CFO Gets 5 Concurrent Years For Aiding Theft

    Girardi Keese's former accounting head should serve more than five years alongside the 10 he's already logging for his role in helping Tom Girardi steal millions from plane crash clients who'd settled their cases in Chicago, an Illinois federal judge said Monday.

  • July 14, 2025

    Ga. Judge Calls Atty 'Unworthy Of Belief' As Ethics Case Ends

    A Georgia superior court judge facing ethics charges on Monday urged the state's judicial watchdog to either privately reprimand or suspend her for no more than 30 days if it decides punishment is needed in the case brought against her by the state's Judicial Qualifications Commission. 

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

    Author Photo

    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

    Author Photo

    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

    Author Photo

    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

    Author Photo

    New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Explicit Pic Takedown Law Casts A Wide Net

    Author Photo

    With a surprisingly broad range of online platforms potentially subject to the new Take It Down Act’s process for removing revenge porn or explicit deepfakes, all services that allow user interaction or content hosting should proactively evaluate their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, say attorneys at Goodwin, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

    Author Photo

    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

    Author Photo

    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

    Author Photo

    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

    Author Photo

    If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

  • Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

    Author Photo

    The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Spoliation Of Evidence Is A Risky And Shortsighted Strategy

    Author Photo

    Destroying self-incriminating evidence to avoid a large judgment may seem like an attractive option to some defendants, but it is a shortsighted strategy that affords the nonspoliating party potentially case-terminating remedies, and support for a direct assault on the spoliator’s credibility, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable

    Author Photo

    The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity

    Author Photo

    As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Legal Ethics archive.