Legal Ethics

  • December 11, 2025

    March Trial Date Set For Former NJ Judge's Pension Fight

    A trial date has been set in a former New Jersey Superior Court judge's challenge to the denial of her disability pension application, according to a Wednesday text order.

  • December 10, 2025

    VLSI, PQA Square Off Again Over Conspiracy Claims In Va.

    A Virginia state judge spent two hours Wednesday working through whether VLSI Technology LLC should be able to proceed with its claims that Patent Quality Assurance LLC violated state law during its successful challenge to a VLSI chip patent.

  • December 10, 2025

    Too Zealous? EscapeX Challenges Sanctions In Google Case

    EscapeX IP is asking the Federal Circuit to review en banc a decision upholding $255,000 in fees and sanctions for what a California federal judge found to be a frivolous patent suit against Google, arguing the decision contradicts precedent and raises questions for the whole legal profession.

  • December 10, 2025

    Boardwalk Pipeline Case Sees Partial Reversal

    The Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday partially revived long-running challenges to Loews Corp.'s 2018, $1.5 billion cash-out of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP, ruling that the Chancery Court misread the high court's 2022 guidance and prematurely shut down minority unitholder claims attacking the legal opinion that triggered the buyout.

  • December 10, 2025

    Disciplined Attys Want High Court's Take On Judge Criticism

    A father-daughter team of attorneys have brought a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging their suspensions for criticizing a Florida state judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of their client in a racial discrimination lawsuit, saying their comments are protected by the First Amendment. 

  • December 10, 2025

    Wells Fargo Says It Didn't Know Ex-Atty Stole From Clients

    Wells Fargo is seeking to shed claims in Texas federal court alleging it turned a blind eye to a convicted former attorney's misuse of client funds held in accounts at the bank, arguing that the victims of the lawyer's fraud failed to show it knew of the misconduct.

  • December 10, 2025

    11th Circ. Urged To Undo Atty Docs Disclosure In Peru Case

    Florida attorneys representing more than 1,000 Peruvian lead refinery workers in a toxic exposure action urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to overturn an order requiring the disclosure of documents related to former cocounsel in a foreign criminal proceeding, saying the files are protected by attorney-client privilege. 

  • December 10, 2025

    Retired Calif. Judge Censured For Case Delays

    A now-retired California state appeals court judge was publicly censured Wednesday, and he has agreed to "not serve in a judicial capacity in the future" as part of a stipulation he entered with the state's judicial ethics watchdog, following its investigation into whether the judge mismanaged cases and caused a yearlong backlog.

  • December 10, 2025

    Ga. Health Providers Say It's Too Late For Subpoena, Judge DQ

    A pair of Georgia healthcare providers asked a federal court to throw out a Florida couple's subpoenas for documents, arguing that their subpoenas and attempt to disqualify a Georgia federal judge are too late and not valid because they came after the dismissal of their medical malpractice suit was affirmed on appeal.

  • December 10, 2025

    Fla. Atty Faces Bar Referral Over 'Hallucinated' Case In Filing

    A Florida appeals court will refer an attorney to the state's Bar after she filed a brief that included a "hallucinated" case.

  • December 10, 2025

    Nonprofits Can't Sue Over Atty Exec's Disciplinary Case

    Two judicial reform-focused organizations whose main executive is facing attorney disciplinary proceedings over statements he allegedly made about two state court judges don't have standing to sue over the underlying action, an Illinois federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • December 10, 2025

    NJ Law Firm Accused Of Botching Investor Fraud Recovery

    New Jersey firm Beattie Padovano LLC has been sued in state court by a man accusing it of legal malpractice that led to his inability to reclaim nearly $800,000 he says he lost in an investor fraud scheme perpetrated by former frequent CNBC guest James Arthur McDonald Jr.

  • December 10, 2025

    Akerman Beats Healthcare Cos.' Bid To Escape Fee Suit

    Akerman LLP can continue its fees lawsuit against Rennova Health Inc. and other defendants after they lost their motion to dismiss the suit for being "facially time-barred, factually flawed and legally indefensible," a Florida state judge has ruled.

  • December 10, 2025

    Calif. Bar Exam Proctor Fights To Dismiss Class Claims

    The company that proctored the fraught California Bar Exam in February wants to end a proposed class action brought by test-takers claiming they are owed monetary relief for funds they spent on the exam, which was rife with technical errors, though both sides have indicated they are open to a settlement agreement.

  • December 10, 2025

    Judge Bove Faces Complaint Over Trump Rally Attendance

    U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove, who previously served as President Donald Trump's personal defense attorney and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, has been hit with a judicial misconduct complaint for his appearance at a Trump event on Tuesday night.

  • December 10, 2025

    Stone Hilton Says Paxton Deputies Can't Duck Subpoenas

    Stone Hilton PLLC attorneys facing a sexual harassment suit from a former employee defended their move to subpoena two high-ranking members of the Texas Office of the Attorney General this week, saying their "hands are tied" by the ex-staffer's use of an email related to the purported misconduct.

  • December 09, 2025

    Uber May Win Sanctions On Atty Who Disclosed MDL Docs

    A California federal judge said Tuesday it appeared an attorney for plaintiffs claiming Uber failed to protect passengers from sexual assault "acted in a cavalier manner" with a protective order in the multidistrict litigation, but didn't rule on Uber's requests for monetary sanctions nor its bid to kick the attorney off the plaintiff steering committee.

  • December 09, 2025

    Judge Won't Nix Alleged AI-Tainted Award In Gaming Fight

    A California federal judge on Tuesday dismissed on technical grounds a closely watched case in which a consumer sought to vacate an arbitral award favoring Valve Corp., the company behind the PC game marketplace Steam, over the arbitrator's "outsourcing" of his adjudicative role to artificial intelligence.

  • December 09, 2025

    DOJ Says It Could Indict Comey Again

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday said it may once again seek charges against ex-FBI Director James Comey, asking a D.C. federal judge to dissolve a temporary restraining order that bars prosecutors from using evidence seized from Comey's former attorney.

  • December 09, 2025

    OFAC Inks $1M Russian Sanctions Deal With Ex-Gov't Official

    The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Tuesday that an unidentified attorney and former government official has agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle allegations the individual violated Russian sanctions by acting as a fiduciary for the family trust of a blocked Russian oligarch.

  • December 09, 2025

    NJ Slams Town's Bid To 'Unilaterally Rewrite' PFAS Deal

    New Jersey has slammed a bid by Carneys Point Township to intervene in the state's federal suit against Chemours and other companies over PFAS contamination, saying the township shouldn't be allowed to "rewrite" the terms of the deal.

  • December 09, 2025

    Consulting Co. Says Law Firms' Malpractice Cost It $10M

    A Colorado consulting company told a state court that an Am Law 200 firm and a now-dissolved law firm committed legal malpractice that cost the company $10 million in a lending transaction. 

  • December 09, 2025

    FTC Wants Watchdog Retaliation Suits Before Different Judges

    The Federal Trade Commission urged a D.C. federal judge Tuesday to unassign herself from an antidisinformation nonprofit's lawsuit challenging a subpoena allegedly served in retribution for listing conservative outlets as top disinformation risks, arguing the case has nothing to do with a similar one the judge is already presiding over.

  • December 09, 2025

    Pa. Justices Affirm County's Loss Over Election Inspections

    Pennsylvania's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that the state's top election official could order voting machines to be yanked from service, closing one chapter on the tome of litigation that followed Fulton County's third-party inspection of its Dominion Voting Systems machines after the 2020 election.

  • December 09, 2025

    Ga. Atty Quits Law, Avoiding Client Cash Misuse Charges

    The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's surrender of her law license Tuesday after she admitted she overdrew her client trust account and improperly mingled funds to cover personal and business expenses.

Expert Analysis

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • DOJ Faces Potential Discovery Pitfalls In Comey Prosecution

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    The unusual circumstances surrounding the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey increase the odds of a discovery misstep for the U.S. Department of Justice, offering important reminders for defense counsel on how to ensure the government fulfills its obligations, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • 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.

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