Legal Ethics

  • September 25, 2026

    AI Mishap Has Judge Questioning 'Our Collective Character'

    A California attorney was barred from representing the plaintiffs in a Massachusetts insurance coverage dispute and ordered to pay legal costs of up to $10,000 to opposing counsel, after a federal judge found he relied on "inaccurate and fictitious" case cites and holdings in three filings.

  • September 25, 2026

    Domino Foods Fights Paul Weiss DQ Bid In Price-Fixing MDL

    Domino Foods is pushing back on an attempt to disqualify its counsel from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in a sugar price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing Hershey, J.M. Smucker and other food makers filed the motion as a "strategic attempt to gain tactical advantage" at a critical point in the dispute.

  • September 25, 2026

    Possible Trial In Comey's '86 47' Case Delayed To 2027

    A federal judge in North Carolina on Friday granted a request from former FBI Director James Comey to delay his formal arraignment on charges related to an allegedly threatening photo of seashells he posted online, saying "the gravity of the charges, pending motions, and the need to provide defense counsel additional time to prepare for trial promote need for continuance."

  • September 25, 2026

    Mass. Man Can Try To Undo Plea Over DA Misstatements

    Massachusetts' intermediate appeals court on Friday gave a man a chance to withdraw his guilty plea to an alleged 1999 rape, citing evidence that a prosecutor gave his plea counsel a misleading summary of the DNA evidence.

  • September 25, 2026

    Calif. Justices Name New Top Judge For State Bar Court

    The Supreme Court of California has appointed a new presiding judge for the State Bar Court, selecting a jurist with experience reviewing high-profile attorney ethics matters like the disbarment of President Donald Trump's former attorney John Eastman.

  • September 25, 2026

    Tarter Krinsky Faces Suit After Disclosing Data Breach

    Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP maintained "intentional opacity" about a recently disclosed cybersecurity attack last year that may have compromised protected health information, a proposed class action alleged in New York federal court.

  • September 25, 2026

    Duane Morris To Settle Employee's Tax Withholding Claim

    Duane Morris LLP has agreed to private mediation to settle a proposed class action by an employee who alleged that the firm failed to withhold taxes for workers who were misclassified as partners, according to a notice.

  • September 24, 2026

    Game Publishers Eye Doc Request In Valve Antitrust Case

    Video-game publishers accusing Valve Corp. in a federal antitrust lawsuit of manipulating arbitration pacts with gaming customers have questioned the gamers' bid for access to the publishers' purportedly protected materials as the gamers fight a separate case against the digital content company.

  • September 24, 2026

    Split Texas Court Finds Counsel Failures In Fatal Crash Case

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday vacated the felony murder conviction of a man involved in a deadly police-pursuit crash, saying in a split habeas opinion that his trial counsel was ineffective.

  • September 24, 2026

    Seyfarth Failed To Guard Client Data From Hack, Suit Alleges

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP on Thursday was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing it of failing to protect its current and former clients' personal information after the Chicago-based law firm this month disclosed a recent data breach.

  • September 24, 2026

    Feds Fight Bid To DQ Top LA Prosecutor After 9th Circ. Ruling

    The top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California has asked a district judge to delay following a Ninth Circuit ruling against his Nevada counterpart that would bar him from overseeing criminal cases until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in.

  • September 24, 2026

    Fla. Judge Seeks Journo Docs In Death Penalty Ethics Case

    A Florida appellate judge on Thursday urged a state disciplinary commission chairman to overrule an investigative panel's objections to providing communications between lawyers and newspaper reporters in connection to allegations that she attempted to influence a lower court proceeding, saying the records are needed to fight her case. 

  • September 24, 2026

    Ex-Ill. Prosecutor Wants In On ICE Protest Sanctions Fight

    The former federal prosecutor at the center of alleged grand jury misconduct in a now-dismissed criminal conspiracy case against a group of anti-ICE protesters has said she should be heard in any sanctions proceeding or further contempt probe that may be ordered, as pending motions for both put her "professional conduct and integrity squarely before the court."

  • September 24, 2026

    Court Urged To Trim TM Claim From Fake Google Charger Suit

    An accessories company has asked for dismissal of part of a suit brought by Google accusing it of trademark infringement by selling counterfeit charging devices with an imitation of Google's logo, arguing that the registrations don't cover the types of cables at issue.

  • September 24, 2026

    Fla. Surgeon Found Guilty Of Killing Atty Who Went Missing

    A Florida state court judge convicted a plastic surgeon for the murder of an attorney who disappeared after walking into the restroom at his law offices and was then killed, although a body was never recovered. 

  • September 24, 2026

    Western Pa. Attorney Accused Of Stealing From Client

    A family law attorney in Western Pennsylvania has been arrested and charged with three felonies over accusations she stole nearly $100,000 from a client.

  • September 24, 2026

    Fla. Judge To Get Reprimand For Remark On Shooting Attys

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a public reprimand of a state district court judge for "intemperate and caustic" comments about shooting attorneys during a hearing.

  • September 24, 2026

    Sen. Hyde-Smith's Opponent Seeks Blue-Slip Transparency

    Four years ago, Scott Colom — the son of the first African American elected to the chancery bench in her region of Mississippi — was nominated for a federal judgeship. Now he's running for Senate against the senator who blocked his confirmation.

  • September 24, 2026

    Ed. Dept. Committee Sidesteps ABA Accreditation Issue

    A key U.S. Department of Education committee on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether an American Bar Association council should remain a federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a day after the panel deadlocked on different proposals over the hot-button issue.

  • September 24, 2026

    NOLA Law Firm Withheld Fees From Settlements, Atty Says

    A New Orleans-based law firm refused to honor a fee agreement with another attorney who was promised a 10% cut of attorney fees for his role in two multidistrict class action settlements totaling nearly $500 million, according to a new complaint in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • September 23, 2026

    Goldstein Not Leaving Prison Any Time Soon, 4th Circ. Rules

    The Fourth Circuit balked late Wednesday at freeing Tom Goldstein from prison as he fights felony convictions, and it rejected fast-track review of the renowned appellate advocate's trial, indicating he'll likely spend substantial time behind bars even if his appeal succeeds.

  • September 23, 2026

    Newman's Roadblocks Guide Judicial Conduct Reform Bill

    The Judicial Conduct and Disability Act has worked well in allowing the judicial branch to govern itself for nearly 50 years, but the ongoing suspension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has exposed gaps that could be addressed with newly introduced legislation, attorneys say.

  • September 23, 2026

    'I'm Tired Of This': Judge Scolds Atty In Romantasy Suit

    A New York federal judge has reprimanded counsel for a writer in a failed copyright infringement lawsuit over the "Crave" book series, insisting the plaintiff answer all questions in a deposition over attorney fees and writing that she was "tired of this" and "indeed being jerked around."

  • September 23, 2026

    DOJ Partially Backs Apple In Epic High Court Contempt Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice told the U.S. Supreme Court in an amicus brief that the Ninth Circuit wrongly faulted Apple for charging a 27% commission on transactions linked out from apps, but it backed other parts of the California federal court's contempt order won by Epic Games.

  • September 23, 2026

    Attorneys Say Unpaid Sanction No Basis To End Antitrust Suit

    Attorneys representing a shuttered soccer league say an unpaid $24,000 sanction that a Puerto Rico federal judge imposed on them for error-riddled court filings is no reason to dismiss the league's antitrust suit against FIFA and two affiliates.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Presidential Pardon Brokering Can Create Risks For Attys

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    The emergence of an apparent “pardon shopping” marketplace, in which attorneys treat presidential pardons as a market product, may invite investigative scrutiny of counsel and potential criminal charges grounded in bribery, wire fraud and other statutes, says David Klasing at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • Prisoners' Access To Health Info Should Have No Bars

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    To safeguard against unnecessary deaths in custody, courts and policymakers should clarify that incarcerated individuals’ constitutional right to medical care also includes access to sufficient information about their medical conditions, lifting current restrictions that can lead to crucial information being withheld, says Jaehyun Oh at Jacob Fuchsberg Law.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

  • Navigating Privilege Law Patchwork In Dual-Purpose Comms

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    Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to resolve a circuit split in In re: Grand Jury, federal courts remain split as to when attorney-client privilege applies to dual-purpose legal and business communications, and understanding the fragmented landscape is essential for managing risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Considerations In Building Guardrails For AI Use In Arbitration

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    A recent California federal court case involving allegations of artificial intelligence ghostwriting an arbitration award, prior analogous practice on tribunal delegation, and emerging generative AI recommendations all support building a forward-looking framework for arbitration rules to minimize the risk of AI-based challenges, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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