Legal Ethics

  • September 17, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Block Eletson Doc Transfer In Shipping Row

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined Reed Smith LLP's emergency request to block the turnover of client files created amid its representation of Greece-based shipping company Eletson Holdings prior to an October 2024 reorganization, but agreed to refer the stay motion to a three-judge panel for consideration.

  • September 17, 2025

    Ex-Calif. Judge Gets 35 Years For Shooting Wife To Death

    Former California state court judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for shooting his wife to death at home in a drunken rage, with the presiding judge expressing sympathy for his "extraordinary" son who tried to save his mother's life.

  • September 17, 2025

    Fla. Judge's DQ Not Required Over Prior Sheriff's Office Work

    A Florida state judge who previously worked for a sheriff's office is not required to disqualify themself from a criminal case in which sheriff's deputies are witnesses, according to an opinion published by the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.

  • September 17, 2025

    Ga. City, Ex-Court Admin Seek Quick Wins In Retaliation Case

    A Georgia city and its former municipal court administrator have each asked a federal judge for wins in a whistleblower suit the administrator brought alleging she had been unlawfully fired in retaliation for reporting a city council member's attempt to pressure the court for a favor.

  • September 17, 2025

    Giuliani Must Pay Attys $1.4M After Missing Bills Claim Fails

    A New York state judge has awarded nearly $1.4 million to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP in its lawsuit accusing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of racking up unpaid legal bills for the firm's work in various criminal, civil and administrative matters.

  • September 17, 2025

    Del. High Court Probes Reviving Gellert Seitz Malpractice Case

    A Delaware justice took aim at an argument she seemed to suggest wasn't fleshed out enough in appellate filings as a homebuilder's attorney urged the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to undo Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown LLC's win in a legal malpractice case.

  • September 17, 2025

    Retired Judges Speak Out On 'Threats' To Constitution

    More than 40 retired federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties released an open letter Wednesday, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, saying they sought to underscore the importance of the rule of law at a time when the nation's ideals "are under historic strain."

  • September 16, 2025

    Ga. Justices Weigh Appropriate Sanction For Immigration Atty

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday considered whether an immigration attorney charged with abandoning multiple clients over a period of years should be suspended for up to a year or disbarred.

  • September 16, 2025

    Federal Court Reporter Beats Transcript Omission Claim

    A court reporter for an Illinois federal judge Tuesday defeated a lawsuit brought by a pro se plaintiff alleging she failed to transcribe part of a hearing and left out statements that would be damaging to the judge in an underlying employment dispute.

  • September 16, 2025

    Disbarment Of No-Show Lawyer Among Ga. Discipline Rulings

    A Georgia criminal defense attorney was disbarred Tuesday by the state's high court on charges that he pocketed $5,000 from a client's mother, no-showed for a series of hearings and delayed a trial for more than a year after not so much as speaking to the defendant he was representing.

  • September 16, 2025

    Mich. Judge Fights Allegations Of Lying In Ethics Case

    A Michigan state judge maintains that she is being falsely accused of intentionally lying under oath about a bike rental incident at a judicial conference on Mackinac Island, while the state's judicial watchdog claims that the judge has shown a pattern of untruthfulness and attempts to shift blame.

  • September 16, 2025

    Former Judge Aims To Escape Suit Over Secret Atty Romance

    Former Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones wants out of a lawsuit claiming his secret romance scandal infected the restructuring of life insurance bond seller GWG Holdings Inc., arguing that he's clearly protected by judicial immunity.

  • September 16, 2025

    Insurer Hits Hall Booth With $10M Suit Over Botched Defense

    A former client of Hall Booth Smith PC and its attorney allege the law firm botched its legal representation in an underlying suit related to a death at an indoor shooting range and caused the insurer $10.6 million in financial harm, according to a legal malpractice suit lodged in Georgia state court.

  • September 16, 2025

    NJ Justices Suspend Atty Over Bank Loan Scheme Conviction

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended an attorney and former director of the now-shuttered Park Avenue Bank after he was convicted for his role in a scheme to profit off of a loan using a straw borrower.

  • September 16, 2025

    Conn. Ethics Watchdog Wants Immigration Atty Disbarred

    Connecticut's attorney ethics watchdog wants an immigration lawyer disbarred in the state for eight years as reciprocal discipline after he was disbarred in Massachusetts following ethics accusations that he mishandled cases, overcharged clients and brought them to the attention of immigration authorities. 

  • September 16, 2025

    Seward & Kissel, Ex-Client At Odds Over NJ Malpractice Docs

    Seward & Kissel LLP has been accused of orchestrating a "ruse" to avoid discovery obligations in a New Jersey state court malpractice suit, according to a letter filed by the wife of hedge fund Two Sigma Investments LP's founder.

  • September 16, 2025

    Guo Ch. 11 Trustee Reveals $70K Deal With NY Law Firm

    The Chapter 11 trustee overseeing Chinese exile Miles Guo's Connecticut bankruptcy estate settled a $115,600 clawback action against a New York immigration firm for $70,000, new court records show.

  • September 16, 2025

    Ga. Justices Won't Reinstate DA Willis To Trump Election Case

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a lower court's ruling disqualifying Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the 2020 Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

  • September 15, 2025

    Tom Goldstein Can't Pay Attys With 'Tainted Funds,' DOJ Says

    Indicted appellate luminary Tom Goldstein cannot cover his legal bills by selling his multimillion-dollar home, because it's a "tainted asset" worth "far less" than his attorney fees, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a blistering court filing, adding that Goldstein may flee the country as his reputation and marriage collapse.

  • September 15, 2025

    Zenith Challenges $130M Tunisia Award Over Conflicts

    Canadian oil and gas company Zenith Energy Ltd. will look to revive its $130 million claim against Tunisia over a nixed oilfield concession, saying it intends to argue in annulment proceedings in Switzerland that, among other things, certain members of the tribunal improperly concealed their ties to the North African country.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ousted Public Defender's Bias Suit Meets Skeptical Judge

    A Connecticut judge on Monday seemed skeptical of a former chief state public defender's challenge to her ouster, questioning whether the lawyer could support her claim that the Public Defender Services Commission should have called live witnesses to testify during an administrative hearing that led to her termination.

  • September 15, 2025

    3 Law Firms Want Ford's 'Thermonuclear' RICO Suit Snuffed

    Knight Law Group LLP, the Altman Law Group and Wirtz Law APC have urged a California federal judge to dismantle Ford Motor Co.'s racketeering lawsuit accusing the firms of overzealous billing and conspiring to dupe unsuspecting clients in product liability and personal injury cases against automakers.

  • September 15, 2025

    Calif. Court Issues AI Hallucinations 'Warning,' Sanctions Atty

    A California appeals court has issued a published opinion "as a warning" to Golden State attorneys to personally review case law quotations made by generative artificial intelligence, and imposed a $10,000 monetary sanction on plaintiff's counsel in an otherwise straightforward appeal in an employment case.

  • September 15, 2025

    Tainted Evidence Sank Atty's Tax Court Case, 6th Circ. Told

    The U.S. Tax Court relied on tainted evidence from the IRS when it affirmed the agency's denial of an Ohio attorney's attempt to deduct a theft loss and related legal expenses, he told the Sixth Circuit, urging it to reverse the lower court's ruling.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ill. Court Backs Sanction Over 'Smoking Gun' Email In Buyout

    An Illinois state appeals court has affirmed sanctions against an export company and its counsel, citing their failure to disclose a "smoking gun" email that undermined claims the company relied on a financial summary prepared by its accounting firm and ultimately paid too much to buy out a co-owner.

Expert Analysis

  • Mitigating Defamation Liability Risks Of AI-Generated Content

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    Until Congress and the courts provide clear guidance about defamation liability stemming from generative artificial intelligence tools, companies should begin building controls to prevent the creation of defamatory content, says Michael Gerrity at Accenture.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records

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    Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • Opinion

    Why States Should Adopt ABA's 'Duty To Inquire'

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    State bars should codify the American Bar Association's proposed rule on a lawyer's duty to scrutinize each representation as it provides guardrails for lawyers, supports self-regulation of the profession, and helps avert money laundering and other crimes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • Trump Faces Uphill Battle If He Tries To Target Prosecutors

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    On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to go after the state and federal prosecutors who had investigated and prosecuted him, but few criminal statutes would be applicable — to say nothing of the evidence required to substantiate any charges against prosecutors, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

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