Legal Ethics

  • 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.

  • December 09, 2025

    7th Circ. Denies Tax Evader's New Trial Over Disciplined Atty

    A man convicted of tax fraud will not get a new trial based on his lawyer's removal from the Seventh Circuit Bar two months after his conviction in an unrelated case, the appellate court ruled Tuesday, saying the discipline must relate to his own defense.

  • December 09, 2025

    Hagens Berman's Novel DOJ Referral May Have Chilling Effect

    A Pennsylvania federal judge's unusual decision to refer prominent plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman LLP to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation over its pursuit of claims related to morning sickness drug thalidomide could have a chilling effect on lawyers' advocacy, law professors and attorneys said.

  • December 09, 2025

    Trustee Says Winston & Strawn Is Liable For $1.7B Fintech Bust

    The trustee of the bankrupt self-styled "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi said Winston & Strawn LLP shouldn't be allowed to escape a malpractice lawsuit over the company's $1.7 billion failure, saying the firm was a knowing participant in the allegedly unlawful activities of its then-CEO.

  • December 09, 2025

    Ga. Justices Hint Willis' Testimony Will Moot Subpoena Fight

    The Georgia Supreme Court signaled Tuesday that it'll avoid deciding how far a state legislative committee can take its subpoena power against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis until it sees if she follows through on an agreement to testify before the committee later this month.

  • December 09, 2025

    Combs' Defamation Suit Unlikely To Be Tossed, Judge Says

    Sean "Diddy" Combs' $50 million defamation suit accusing a grand jury witness, a lawyer and Nexstar Media Inc. of spreading falsities is likely to survive the defendants' motion to dismiss, at least in part, a Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday.

  • December 09, 2025

    Judge Rejects Recusal Bid In UC Law SF Bias Suit

    A California federal judge rejected a request to recuse himself from a disability discrimination suit against the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, over his ties to the school, saying on Sunday that the former student's motion would still be legally insufficient even if it were timely.

  • December 09, 2025

    Florida Atty Says Sanctions For Fake Citations Go Too Far

    An attorney said a Florida federal judge went too far with her sanctions over fake citations following the possible use of artificial intelligence in his motion for a temporary restraining order, and asked her to reconsider the level of punishment.

  • December 09, 2025

    Democrats Push For $1.76B To Fix Defender Budget Shortfall

    Almost 50 Democratic lawmakers are urging congressional appropriators to fix the long-standing budget shortfall for federal defenders in the upcoming full-year budget.

  • December 08, 2025

    Ex-Archetype Capital Exec Hit With Trade Secret Injunction

    A Nevada federal court on Friday temporarily blocked the former executive of a litigation finance business from using its trade secrets, finding the evidence indicates that his new law firm employer leveraged its proprietary mass tort review system. 

  • December 08, 2025

    Ex-Josh Cellars President Fights Gibson Dunn Withdrawal Bid

    The former president of the company behind the Josh Cellars wine brand disputed Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's version of events around his allegedly unpaid legal bills, saying he has questions about the reasonableness of the firm's charges, which must be arbitrated per his contract with the firm.

  • December 08, 2025

    Habba Resigns As Acting US Atty After DQ Ruling At 3rd Circ.

    Alina Habba stepped down Monday as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey following a Third Circuit ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the position, with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiling that a trio of officials will take on her responsibilities.

  • December 08, 2025

    Carlton Fields Steps Aside In 'Irreconcilable' Miss America Case

    A Florida federal judge allowed Carlton Fields and its attorneys on Monday to withdraw from representing the plaintiffs in a dispute over the ownership of the Miss America pageant, after the firm said "irreconcilable differences" drew it to ask to step down.

  • December 08, 2025

    Litigation Funder Says Attys Hid Deal To Evade $1.5M Payout

    A Florida-based litigation funder has sued two California attorneys and a law firm, alleging they secretly settled a client's civil dispute and steered the money so they wouldn't have to repay over $1.5 million.

  • December 08, 2025

    Atty Tied To High-Profile Conn. Murder Case Gets Suspended

    A Connecticut attorney was suspended from practicing law for one year on Monday after formally pleading guilty to interfering with an officer investigating the high-profile disappearance and presumed death of Jennifer Farber Dulos, even though the lawyer maintained his innocence over the alleged conduct.

  • December 08, 2025

    Senators Kelly, Slotkin Set Up Legal Defense Funds

    After appearing in a video encouraging members of the military and intelligence community to not follow illegal orders, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have established legal defense funds.

  • December 08, 2025

    Ga. Judge Rejects Judicial Bias Claims In Katt Williams Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has declined to reconsider his ruling tossing a suit by four women against comedian Katt Williams, rejecting claims that judicial bias infected the ruling and defending his decision to refer their attorney to the state bar for filing a brief with numerous fake case citations generated by artificial intelligence.

  • December 08, 2025

    Paralegal Seeks Contempt Order Over Firm's Emails For OT

    A Texas law firm should face sanctions after it flouted a court's order to turn over emails that could determine how much overtime a former paralegal worked, the former employee told a federal court, saying the firm provided "unusable garbage."

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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