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Legal Ethics
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June 17, 2024
McConnell Denounces Judicial Nominee For District Of Ore.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took to the Senate floor on Monday to criticize Magistrate Judge Mustafa Taher Kasubhai, a nominee for a district court judgeship in the District of Oregon whose confirmation vote is teed up for Tuesday.
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June 17, 2024
Feds Say Bannon Must Go To Prison During Appeals
The U.S. government on Monday urged the D.C. Circuit to reject Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon's bid to stave off his four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress, arguing that Bannon cannot show that the full D.C. Circuit or U.S. Supreme Court would take up his case.
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June 17, 2024
LA City Atty Accused Of Retaliating Against Criminal Chief
The former criminal chief of the Los Angeles city attorney's office is seeking more than $1 million over claims she faced a "barrage of retaliation" and was unfairly placed on leave after reporting the city attorney's alleged excessive on-the-job alcohol consumption, her refusal to prosecute certain companies and other purported misconduct.
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June 17, 2024
NYC Bar Blasts Judges' Columbia Boycott Letter
The New York City Bar Association on Monday questioned the impartiality of 13 federal judges who issued a letter last month publicly refusing to hire students from Columbia Law School as clerks because of campus political protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
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June 17, 2024
Attys Accused Of Judge Shopping Must Turn Over Q&A Doc
Attorneys accused of a coordinated effort to "judge shop" amid federal suits challenging an Alabama law banning certain medical procedures for transgender youth must supply a document the court believes displays the attorneys' preparations for a panel hearing in which one of the attorneys allegedly committed perjury.
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June 17, 2024
Ga. Judge Shuts Down Bond Bid From Convicted Fla. Atty
A Georgia federal judge has denied a Florida attorney's request to remain free on bond while she appeals her conviction and more than six-year prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining federal pandemic-relief loans meant for businesses, calling her request "the latest chapter in her attempt to dodge the consequences of her malevolence."
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June 17, 2024
Baldwin Prosecutors Push For 'Rust' Armorer's Testimony
New Mexico state prosecutors are seeking to force a convicted armorer to testify during "Rust" actor-producer Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial, telling a judge the "world is watching" how the court decides a potentially pivotal legal dispute in the high-profile case.
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June 17, 2024
Clients Say McGrath Kavinoky 'Bullied' Them Into Abuse Deal
California firm McGrath Kavinoky LLP, which inked more than $374 million in settlements for women who say they were sexually abused by a UCLA Health gynecologist, misled its clients and "bullied" them into accepting far smaller amounts than they were promised, according to a lawsuit in state court by two ex-clients.
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June 17, 2024
Texas Bar Proposes Limits On Services From In-House Attys
The State Bar of Texas said in-house lawyers working for companies owned by nonattorneys are barred from providing legal services to the businesses' customers unless the work meets specific criteria because otherwise, the companies run afoul of rules forbidding the unauthorized practice of law, according to a proposed ethics opinion.
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June 17, 2024
Biden: High Court 'Never Been As Out Of Kilter'
President Joe Biden said at a campaign event over the weekend that the U.S. Supreme Court "has never been as out of kilter as it is today."
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June 17, 2024
NJ Power Broker, Firm CEO Brother Accused Of Racketeering
Powerful New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III and his brother who is the chief executive officer of law firm Parker McCay have been criminally charged alongside others in a scheme to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden using threats of economic and reputational harm.
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June 14, 2024
Ozy Trial Gets Heated, Exec Tells Of Lies, Google CEO Pops In
Courtroom tempers flared, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai dropped by and a former Ozy Media executive on Friday told the jury weighing fraud charges against the startup's charismatic founder Carlos Watson of how they nearly conned Buzzfeed into buying the company by faking its financials.
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June 14, 2024
Mistrial Declared In Florida Student Debtor Lawsuit
A Florida federal judge on Friday declared a mistrial in the lawsuit against a Boca Raton-based law firm accused of falsely promising to eliminate student loan debts in exchange for a fee following testimony from a former client.
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June 14, 2024
Hunter Biden Axes Data Privacy Suit Against Giuliani, For Now
Hunter Biden has tentatively agreed to drop a federal computer fraud and digital privacy suit against Rudy Giuliani and various other defendants relating to alleged data theft from his infamous laptop, after the case was partially stalled due to Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings Giuliani commenced in December.
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June 14, 2024
Defense Atty Group Backs Law Firm In Guo Trustee Clawback
The New York Council of Defense Lawyers has slammed a Chapter 11 trustee's attempt to claw back legal fees from an Empire State law firm that represented three nondebtor entities associated with bankrupt Chinese exile Miles Guo, saying it "burdens the Sixth Amendment" right to counsel.
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June 14, 2024
Burford Bound To Sysco And Pilgrim's Unsigned Chicken Deal
An Illinois federal judge on Friday rejected a Burford subsidiary's bid to block a global protein price-fixing settlement that Pilgrim's Pride and Sysco memorialized through email but never signed on paper, saying it's clear the parties reached a material agreement.
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June 14, 2024
Pa. Court Allows 'Special Prosecutor' For Philly Transit
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner cannot stop the Pennsylvania Legislature and the state attorney general from appointing a "special prosecutor" to handle crimes within the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, according to a split state appellate court Friday.
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June 14, 2024
DOJ Declines To Prosecute AG Garland For Contempt
The U.S. Department of Justice is declining to prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland after the House voted earlier this week to hold him in contempt for not turning over audio recordings of the president and his ghostwriter speaking with special counsel Robert Hur for his investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents.
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June 14, 2024
Fla. Bar, State High Court Beat Atty's Racketeering Suit
A Florida attorney who faces disbarment for "brandishing a dangerous weapon" was not wrongfully prevented from changing his status to "permanent retirement" instead, a federal judge has ruled, dismissing the disgruntled attorney's lengthy racketeering lawsuit against the Supreme Court of Florida and the Florida Bar.
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June 14, 2024
NJ Chief Justice Depo 'Redundant' In Pension Fight, Court Told
The New Jersey judiciary urged the state court to deny a bid to depose Chief Justice Stuart Rabner in a suit brought by a former Superior Court judge over the denial of her disability pension application, arguing she can't meet the heightened burden required to depose a high-ranking official and that the chief justice's testimony is privileged.
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June 14, 2024
Florida Attorney, Philly Firm Settle Pay Dispute
A Florida-based attorney who ran a side business as a litigation fee expert while also working for a Philadelphia-based personal injury law firm has settled her allegations that the firm stiffed her on a referral fee.
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June 14, 2024
Littler Aims To End Theft Suit After $1M Deal With Ex-Firm Atty
Littler Mendelson PC this week moved to drop a lawsuit accusing a former associate of stealing confidential documents following a settlement in which the firm agreed to pay her nearly $1 million, though a separate, newer case in which the lawyer accuses Littler of violating that deal remains open.
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June 14, 2024
Texas Justices To Weigh Ethics Claims Against Paxton Deputy
The Texas Supreme Court agreed Friday to review a lower court's decision to revive an ethics charge against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's first assistant over a failed lawsuit challenging the results of the 2020 election.
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June 14, 2024
Senate Passes Bill For State, Local Judge Security
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill unanimously to better protect state and local judges from threats amid "unacceptable attacks" on the judiciary.
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June 14, 2024
Update On Ex-George Mason Prof's Suits Over Sex Allegations
After two women came forward last August accusing former BigLaw partner, FTC commissioner and George Mason University law professor Joshua D. Wright of sexual improprieties with students and direct reports, a number of additional accusations and lawsuits followed. Here are updates on the litigation and everything else surrounding the allegations.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea
Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
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As Arbitrator Bias Claims Rise, Disclosure Standards Evolve
The growth in post-award challenges based on arbitrators' alleged conflicts of interest has led to the release of new guidance and new case law on the topic — both supporting the view that professional familiarity alone does not translate to a lack of impartiality, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.