Legal Ethics

  • June 20, 2025

    Attys Face Sanctions For 'Sweeping' Copying Of Firm's Motion

    A California federal judge has ordered The Neil Jones Food Co.'s defense counsel to explain why she shouldn't sanction them for filing a dismissal motion that appears to plagiarize a losing motion filed by another firm in another case in the district, slamming the "sweeping copy and paste" conduct as "patently unacceptable."

  • June 20, 2025

    Wash. Municipal Judge Fights State Board's Removal Petition

    A suspended Washington municipal court judge has urged the state Supreme Court to reject a judicial board's recommendation that she be removed from the bench for allegedly mistreating staff and attorneys, saying she has been unfairly punished for her former attorney's actions "in a racially charged environment."

  • June 20, 2025

    Veterans Can't Stop Defendant's Outreach To Potential Class

    A group of veterans can't stop a consulting firm from contacting potential class members for help with the firm's defense in a lawsuit alleging it charged millions of dollars in illegal fees, a North Carolina federal magistrate judge has ruled from the bench.

  • June 20, 2025

    New Trial Ordered Over $25M Fee Split In Verizon Injury Case

    A New Jersey appellate panel has ordered a new jury trial to decide how to split a $25 million fee award stemming from a $125 million personal injury settlement with Verizon, finding several errors in a previous lower court bench trial.

  • June 20, 2025

    Florida Judge Barred From Keeping Police Credentials

    Florida's judicial ethics watchdog said a sitting judge who was formerly a police officer in the same county in which the judge presides may not recertify law enforcement credentials, saying it could affect the judge's impartiality.

  • June 20, 2025

    Conn. Atty Agrees To Suspension After Court No-Shows

    A Connecticut estates attorney has agreed to an interim suspension of her law license and will undergo a medical examination after failing to attend scheduled court dates four times in the last 60 days, records in her professional discipline case show.

  • June 20, 2025

    NJ Court Greenlights Beasley Allen Attys In Talc Litigation

    A New Jersey state judge will allow two Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys to represent a California couple in their suit accusing Johnson & Johnson of selling carcinogenic talc-based baby powder and appear pro hac vice despite the company's vehement opposition.

  • June 20, 2025

    Mich. Judge Won't Step Aside In Atty Voting Machine Case

    A Michigan state judge on Friday said he would not remove himself from overseeing criminal charges against an attorney who is accused of accessing voting machines after the 2020 presidential election, finding there was no evidence to support her claims that he is biased.

  • June 20, 2025

    Patent Suit Against Alibaba Dropped After Sanctions Bid

    Cooperative Entertainment Inc. has ended its patent lawsuit against Alibaba Cloud US LLC after the latter company sought to have the case thrown out earlier this month as a sanction for what it said was "extreme" conduct by opposing counsel.

  • June 20, 2025

    Boies Schiller Fights DQ Bid In Law Firms' Fee Dispute

    Boies Schiller Flexner LLP pushed back on a bid to disqualify the firm in a Florida state court case between pharmaceutical mass tort firms and their former counsel, in which Boies Schiller is both representing itself as a defendant and its co-defendants, arguing there is no conflict because all their defenses are the same.

  • June 20, 2025

    Wisconsin Judge Gets Court To Weigh Dismissal Before Trial

    A Wisconsin federal judge overseeing the government's prosecution of a state judge for allegedly helping an unauthorized immigrant evade arrest canceled a jury trial scheduled for July, saying he will rule on her motion to dismiss first.

  • June 18, 2025

    Toyota Says DOJ Has Closed Thai Bribery Probe

    Toyota said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice has closed a long-running Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation concerning allegations of bribery at its Thai subsidiary, the latest such probe to be dropped under the Trump administration.

  • June 18, 2025

    Nurse Staffing Exec Can't Nix Conviction, Sanctions Floated

    A Nevada federal court has refused a nurse staffing executive's bid to undo his conviction on wage-fixing and wire fraud charges, and threatened his attorneys with sanctions for allegedly making repeated misrepresentations to the court.

  • June 18, 2025

    Ex-Drug Exec Must Testify, But Keeps 5th Amendment Rights

    Sandoz, Teva, Actavis and Taro can again subpoena the deposition testimony of a former Actavis and Teva executive, but a Pennsylvania federal judge is still allowing the witness to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, even though the Justice Department dropped the criminal charges against him.

  • June 18, 2025

    Pa. Injury Atty With 'No Idea Who He Is Suing' Faces Discipline

    A Pennsylvania federal judge reprimanded Simon & Simon attorneys Tuesday for letting paralegals file a "cookie-cutter" slip-and-fall lawsuit against Walmart without a presuit investigation and adding store managers as a ploy to beat federal jurisdiction, criticizing counsel for racing through courts "wearing blinders" with "no idea who he is suing."

  • June 18, 2025

    Atty Accused Of Forgery, Stealing Client's Settlement

    An attorney and his firm have been accused by a former client in Colorado state court of negotiating a settlement without his knowledge, forging his signature on the deal and keeping the money for himself.

  • June 18, 2025

    Judge Warns Overeager Samsung, ZTE Attys Not To Bug Staff

    A California federal judge has issued a short, stern warning to counsel in Samsung's antitrust fight against ZTE over its standard essential patents' licensing practices, telling counsel not to contact court staff again about the status of their pending stipulation and noting "future improper communications to court staff may result in sanctions."

  • June 18, 2025

    FTC, Amazon Trade Blows Over Attempts To End Prime Case

    The Federal Trade Commission and Amazon have slammed one another in federal court filings over their competing bids to win regulators' case targeting Prime subscription enrollment practices, continuing to spar over the applicability of a consumer protection law shielding online shoppers.

  • June 18, 2025

    NJ Justices Take On Shielding Atty ID In Public Records Case

    The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed this week to weigh in on whether a municipal prosecutor must turn over the identity of a third-party attorney who provided her with collegial legal advice in a traffic infraction case under public records access laws.

  • June 18, 2025

    Atty Told To Fix AI 'Train Wreck' In Multiple Fla. Courts

    A Florida federal judge expressed outrage toward an attorney's reliance on artificial intelligence to draft filings with fake legal citations, ordering counsel in a fight over a $5 million Canadian judgment to submit supplemental briefs in order to fix a "train wreck" that spans several cases in multiple courts.

  • June 18, 2025

    California Bar Exam Woes Latest Chapter In Ongoing Scrutiny

    Recent headline-grabbing blunders with the February California bar exam represent a stumbling block in a yearslong effort to reshape the exam, with an eye toward equity and accessibility for the more than 10,000 applicants who sit for the exam each year.

  • June 18, 2025

    Jeanine Pirro Faring Better Than Earlier Pick For DC US Atty

    President Donald Trump's second pick for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, former judge and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, seems to be having an easier time than the previous contender, Ed Martin.

  • June 18, 2025

    Trump Organization Taps DLA Piper Atty As Ethics Adviser

    President Donald Trump's family business said Wednesday that it has named a leader of DLA Piper's government affairs and public policy practice as its outside ethics adviser.

  • June 18, 2025

    Firm Can't Keep Atty's Fla. Whistleblower Suit​ In Federal Court

    A Florida judge sent a whistleblower's lawsuit against her former law firm Matthiesen Wickert & Lehrer SC to state court, finding that the firm failed to prove the amount in controversy exceeded a $75,000 threshold to stay in federal court.

  • June 18, 2025

    NJ Judiciary Hit With Pregnancy Bias Suit From Court Exec

    A court executive has claimed that the New Jersey judiciary is guilty of retaliating and discriminating against her by allegedly reducing her pay raise because she went on maternity leave, according to a new state complaint.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    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.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

    Author Photo

    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

    Author Photo

    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

    Author Photo

    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

    Author Photo

    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

    Author Photo

    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

    Author Photo

    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

    Author Photo

    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

    Author Photo

    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

    Author Photo

    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

    Author Photo

    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

    Author Photo

    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Legal Ethics archive.