Legal Ethics

  • June 12, 2024

    Prosecutor Drops Extortion Case Against Fla. Securities Atty

    A Florida state prosecutor on Wednesday dropped a felony extortion charge against a securities litigation attorney who was accused of threatening to expose an accuser's criminal past if she didn't resign from their condominium board, saying an investigation revealed that there wouldn't be a reasonable likelihood of conviction.

  • June 12, 2024

    School Says Declaration Bares Quinn Emanuel Lies In IP Feud

    Columbia University has told the Federal Circuit that a declaration from a former Norton Lifelock Inc. computer scientist shows that the company's former lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP are lying about his refusal to testify in the school's decade-long $600 million patent case in Virginia federal court.

  • June 12, 2024

    Doctor Says Lawyer, Insurer Agreed To Backdoor Settlement

    A Colorado neurosurgeon accused an attorney and an insurer of interfering with the legal services provided to him in defense of an underlying medical malpractice suit, telling a state court the underlying suit was settled without his consent, elevating the carrier and its insured's interests over his own.

  • June 12, 2024

    NY AG, Firms Beat Cuomo Subpoenas In Sex Harassment Suit

    Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo can't force Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Vladeck Raskin & Clark PC to produce information about an investigation into sexual misconduct accusations that forced him to resign, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, finding the firms were acting under the state attorney general's authority.

  • June 12, 2024

    House Votes To Hold AG Garland In Contempt

    The House voted 216-207 on Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for not turning over audio recordings of the president and his ghostwriter speaking with special counsel Robert Hur for his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.

  • June 12, 2024

    Transit Insurer Seeks To Limit Loss From $60M No-Fault Scam

    A taxi and livery insurer told a Brooklyn federal judge Wednesday that it is pursuing settlement in its effort to recoup $3.2 million lost in a massive, $60 million no-fault scam led by a former clinic operator now headed for prison.

  • June 12, 2024

    Atty Fights For Reinstatement In NC After Conviction

    Disbarred attorney Gregory Bartko pressed the North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday to give him a shot at reinstatement, arguing that his 2010 conviction for fraud and money laundering doesn't allow the state bar organization to outright reject his request for being licensed again.

  • June 12, 2024

    St. Louis Atty Urges Acquittal After Tax Avoidance Conviction

    A Missouri attorney who was found guilty of participating in a $4 million tax avoidance scheme alongside her father and a North Carolina insurance agent is looking to wipe out the verdict, arguing there wasn't enough evidence to convict.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Seat Winner Accused Of Fraud Over Residency

    An unsuccessful candidate for a Georgia Court of Appeals seat has launched a bid challenging the victory of a former state bar leader, arguing that he committed election fraud when he lied about living in Atlanta when he qualified as a candidate.

  • June 12, 2024

    Dershowitz Wants Jury To Decide Defamation Suit Against CNN

    An attorney for law scholar Alan Dershowitz told an Eleventh Circuit panel Wednesday the court should revive a $300 million defamation lawsuit against CNN, arguing that a jury should decide whether the news network is liable for intentionally omitting Dershowitz's statements in broadcasts over former President Donald Trump's 2020 impeachment trial.

  • June 12, 2024

    Associate Sues Kaufman Dolowich Alleging Disability Bias

    A former associate with national law firm Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP claims in a federal lawsuit that attorneys at the firm's Philadelphia office discriminated against him after he asked for accommodations for his hearing impairment.

  • June 12, 2024

    Judge Tells Embezzling Atty To Focus As Sentencing Looms

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday again denied a former attorney's bid for a new trial or pre-sentencing release after a jury convicted him of misappropriating a now-shuttered bank's embezzled funds, saying he should concentrate on his upcoming sentencing instead.

  • June 12, 2024

    Money Fight Between Trustee, Law Firm Goes To Mediation

    A money conflict between a Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee and an outside law firm is going to mediation, the parties announced in a court filing this week. It's the latest move in the saga of Litigation Practice Group, the failed California debt relief law firm that was secretly run by a disbarred lawyer.

  • June 12, 2024

    Pleading Flaw Sinks $1.5M Malpractice Award In Miami

    A Miami appeals court on Wednesday vacated a $1.5 million legal malpractice arbitration award against The Ferraro Law Firm, finding the arbitrator had not followed pleading guidelines fairly in awarding the seven-figure award to the firm's ex-client, Royal Merchant Holdings LLC.

  • June 12, 2024

    Mich. Atty Gets Life In Prison For Arranging Client's Murder

    A Michigan attorney convicted of plotting to kill a wealthy client to gain access to his trust was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the opportunity for parole, and a judge said the lawyer viewed those around him as merely opportunities to profit.

  • June 12, 2024

    Saul Ewing, Atty Allowed 'Unconscionable' Lease, Suit Says

    A former Saul Ewing LLP client who is considered a vulnerable adult is suing the firm and one of its partners, claiming the lawyer failed to negotiate the "unconscionable terms" of a lease that required the client to take out a $400,000 loan and allowed his stepbrother tenant to pay rent one-seventieth the property's market value.

  • June 12, 2024

    FBI Told OneTaste Witness To Delete Evidence, Ex-Execs Say

    Two former executives of sexual wellness company OneTaste Inc. said they uncovered "shocking" evidence that an FBI agent told a former employee of the business and key government witness to delete an old email account, allegedly destroying exculpatory evidence in a forced-labor conspiracy case.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ga. Attys Fight Sanctions In Police Racial Profiling, Death Suit

    Peach State attorneys representing a mother who sued the city of Wrens Police Department for allegedly racially profiling and fatally shooting her son responded to the city's attempt to sanction them and their client for pursuing her claims in Georgia federal court, calling the move "premature, vexatious and oppressive." 

  • June 12, 2024

    Bannon Looks To Avoid Prison Amid Contempt Appeals

    Donald Trump ally Stephen Bannon wants the D.C. Circuit to put off his four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress while he continues to challenge the conviction, contending that the case is likely to pique the interest of the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • June 12, 2024

    Pashman Stein Asks NJ Court To Toss Malpractice Countersuit

    Pashman Stein has asked a New Jersey state court to throw out a malpractice counterclaim in its fee suit against an attorney over unpaid bills for the firm's work on an underlying matter, painting the counterclaims as merely "revisionist history" combined with an "outright deceptive narrative" in an attempt to escape the debt collection.

  • June 12, 2024

    Texas Firm Accused Of Misclassifying Paralegal As Contractor

    A Texas personal injury law firm misclassified a paralegal as an independent contractor and its director constantly changed the paralegal's time sheets, resulting in unpaid wages, she told a Texas federal court.

  • June 11, 2024

    Attys Bias Case 'Harmed' Connecticut Judiciary, Court Told

    A Connecticut agency's fight on behalf of a formerly suspended civil rights attorney who made bias claims is a "grave interference" with court functions, state Attorney General William Tong's office told a state judge during a hearing Tuesday.

  • June 11, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Swapped Sides For X Suit, Data Co. Says

    Israeli data collector Bright Data Ltd. asked a California federal judge on Tuesday to disqualify law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from representing social media company X Corp., which is suing Bright Data over its data-scraping practices, accusing the firm, which was once contracted by the data company for advice in a similar matter, of switching sides.

  • June 11, 2024

    Senate Dems To Bring Supreme Court Ethics Bill Up For Vote

    U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., plans to bring his U.S. Supreme Court ethics reform bill up for a vote Wednesday in a move Republican lawmakers have already vowed to block.

  • June 11, 2024

    Baldwin Urges Court To Block 'Rust' Armorer's Testimony

    Alec Baldwin's legal team has urged a New Mexico state judge to prevent prosecutors from calling a convicted "Rust" film armorer to testify against the actor-producer during his upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial in the on-set shooting death of a cinematographer.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • The Fed. Circ. In February: A Reminder On Procedure Rule 28

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    Because the Federal Circuit does not often issue a sua sponte precedential order emphasizing an important rule of practice, it is useful to look at how the court applied the restrictions of appellate procedure Rule 28 in Promptu v. Comcast last month, and in cases that preceded it, say Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray at Knobbe Martens.

  • Opinion

    DOJ Press Office Is Not Fulfilling Its Stated Mission

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    The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs’ apparent practice of issuing press releases when someone is indicted or convicted, but not when a defendant prevails, undermines its stated mission to disseminate “current, complete and accurate” information, and has negative real-world ramifications, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Needs Regulating To Meet Ethics Standards

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    Third-party litigation funding can provide litigants with access to the legal system, but, as recent cases show, the funding agreements carry the potential for exploitation and may conflict with core aspects of the attorney-client relationship, making the need for a balanced regulation self-evident, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • For Now, Generative AI Is Risky For Class Action Counsel

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    Although a recent survey showed most in-house counsel think that their outside counsel should be using generative artificial intelligence "in some way" in class action work, the technology is more a target for class actions than it is a tool to be used in practice at present, says Matthew Allen at Carlton Fields.

  • When Your Client Insists On Testifying In A Criminal Case

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    Speculation that former President Donald Trump could take the stand in any of the four criminal cases he faces serves as a reminder for counsel to consider their ethical obligations when a client insists on testifying, including the attorney’s duty of candor to the court and the depth of their discussions with clients, says Marissa Kingman at Fox Rothschild.

  • Why Preemption Args Wouldn't Stall Trump Hush-Money Case

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    With former President Donald Trump's New York hush-money criminal trial weeks away, some speculate that he may soon move to stay the case on preemption grounds, but under the Anti-Injunction Act and well-settled case law, that motion would likely be quickly denied, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

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