Legal Ethics

  • September 08, 2025

    Grassley Blocked On Quick US Attorney Confirmations

    Senate Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, tried Monday to quickly confirm 10 nominees for U.S. attorneys, but was blocked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

  • September 08, 2025

    Atty Tells Disciplinary Panel $250K Demand Wasn't Blackmail

    A Pennsylvania attorney facing discipline for allegedly threatening to blackmail a client's debtor was rightfully trying to collect on a long-standing, highly litigated debt, a state disciplinary hearing panel heard Monday.

  • September 08, 2025

    Exotic Dancers Too Early With Quick Win Bid In Wage Suit

    A former exotic dancer for an Illinois club cannot snag a partial win in a lawsuit claiming she and her coworkers were misclassified as independent contractors and faced illegal kickbacks, a federal judge ruled Monday, saying she "put the cart before the horse."

  • September 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Trump Donor's Tax, Foreign Agent Convictions

    A venture capitalist whose 12-year prison term for evading taxes and making illegal campaign contributions through foreign clients was commuted by President Donald Trump did not plead guilty to the crimes involuntarily, the Ninth Circuit found in affirming his convictions, rejecting his claim that his attorney hid information from him.

  • September 08, 2025

    Watchdog Wants Discipline For Atty Ensnared In Murder Case

    Connecticut's legal ethics watchdog is targeting an attorney who was convicted of interfering with an officer in a high-profile murder case, saying in a court filing that he's "guilty of misconduct" and should face discipline from the state.

  • September 08, 2025

    Attys Accused Of Filing Fake Docs In Miss America Dispute

    A real estate developer, his associates and his current and past attorneys submitted fake contracts as evidence of their ownership of the company that runs the Miss America pageant in a $500 million lawsuit and should face sanctions, the plaintiffs — who allege they're the rightful owners — told a Florida federal judge Saturday.

  • September 08, 2025

    Conn. Tax Atty Wants Full Appeals Court To Rethink Her Firing

    Connecticut's former tax legal director has asked the full Connecticut Appellate Court to reconsider an appellate panel's ruling that found her firing was proper after she used her work computer to send unauthorized draft legislation to a lobbyist, arguing that as a case of first impression it is important for the full court to weigh in.

  • September 08, 2025

    Appeal Limited To NJ US Atty DQ Ruling, 3rd Circ. Told

    The federal government and defense counsel have agreed that the scope of a Third Circuit appeal is limited to the disqualification of New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from overseeing two cases.

  • September 08, 2025

    Dems Again Ask NY Ethics Body To Investigate Bove

    Two Democratic senators filed an updated ethics complaint with the New York State Courts' attorney ethics body against recently confirmed Third Circuit Judge Emil Bove, citing what they called his "quid pro quo deal" to drop criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other alleged ethical violations.

  • September 08, 2025

    NC High Court Snapshot: Pot Smell Test, Atty's Divorce Feud

    North Carolina's top court will return from its summer hiatus in September to address whether law enforcement can rely on the smell of marijuana alone in the age of legalized hemp to justify a warrantless search. Here are some highlights of the high court's September lineup.

  • September 08, 2025

    Mass. Justices Asked To Find Atty Had Duty To Seek Plea Deal

    A man who has spent more than four decades in prison for a 1983 murder asked Massachusetts' high court Monday to find that his defense attorney's failure to pursue a plea bargain with prosecutors entitles him to a new trial, in a case that could alter the standard for finding a lawyer's work was ineffective.

  • September 08, 2025

    Timeshare Biz Fights Law Firm's Arbitration Bid In Fee Fight

    Timeshares Direct Inc. urged a Florida federal court to reject an arbitration bid from Watstein Terepka LLP in a dispute over approximately $25,000 in legal fees because the company claimed the firm "flip-flopped" on its stance on arbitration.

  • September 08, 2025

    Texas Couple Fights Firm's Sanctions Bid In Crash Data Suit

    A Houston couple who accused a law firm and a since-dismissed Progressive unit of conspiring to share car crash victims' private information told a Texas federal court that their suit is "neither frivolous, unreasonable, nor improper" as they pushed back against the law firm's sanctions request. 

  • September 08, 2025

    Ex-Judge Says Wash. DA, Court Sabotaged Election Bid

    A Washington state attorney and former pro tem judge in Seattle has filed a lawsuit alleging she was racially discriminated against when a county prosecutor's office had her disqualified from hearing cases due to rulings she made from the bench.

  • September 05, 2025

    OnlyFans Users May Face Sanctions Over AI 'Misuse'

    OnlyFans users who have alleged the site employs professional "chatters" to impersonate content creators are facing possible sanctions in their case, as a California federal judge ordered their attorneys to appear in court for filing briefs with nonexistent citations and quotations generated by an AI chatbot.

  • September 05, 2025

    Munchkin Says 'Unhinged' GC Was Fired For Good Reason

    Munchkin Inc. says it had multiple legitimate reasons to terminate the baby company's general counsel for cause after he launched a "retaliatory and vindictive campaign" against another executive, calling him "unhinged" and slamming his suit against the company as "harassing," according to a filing in California state court.

  • September 05, 2025

    DOJ Pushes To DQ Attorney Over Conflict In Fraud Case

    Federal prosecutors in Georgia are seeking to disqualify an attorney from representing a defendant accused of making false statements in relation to a criminal fraud investigation of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals Inc., arguing the lawyer was previously disqualified from representing the company's CEO for a conflict and that "the same is true now."

  • September 05, 2025

    Judge Awards Over $6M In Atty Fees In Bluetooth Co.'s IP Suit

    A Colorado federal judge has awarded the attorneys representing a Bluetooth technology company more than $6 million after the company won on the bulk of its claims at trial last year in its trade secrets and breach of confidentiality case against a Massachusetts display technology company.

  • September 05, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sinks Inventor's Bid To Escape $214K In Sanctions

    The Federal Circuit on Friday denied efforts by the inventor of a patent covering a type of marking tape to escape a nearly $214,000 sanctions order from a lower court, saying it had previously upheld the award for bad faith litigation and won't alter it now.

  • September 05, 2025

    Judicial Nominee Expands On Testimony About Ky. Pardons

    A judicial nominee for the Eastern District of Kentucky continues to distance himself from the controversial pardons issued by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, for whom he was counsel.

  • September 05, 2025

    Fla. Bar Moves To Suspend Atty Accused Of Widespread Scam

    The Florida Bar filed a petition Friday seeking the emergency suspension of a lawyer accused of scamming dozens of clients, failing to pay associates and paralegals who worked at his firm and repeatedly violating court orders.

  • September 05, 2025

    Solicitor Can Argue As Amicus In Right-To-Counsel Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted the U.S. solicitor general time to argue as an amicus in the Sixth Amendment case of a criminal defendant who was denied the opportunity to consult fully with his lawyer during an overnight break in his testimony.

  • September 05, 2025

    Motley Rice Fights OptumRx DQ Bid In Utah Opioid Suit

    Pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx cannot disqualify Motley Rice LLC from representing Utah in a lawsuit over the opioid crisis, since any information the firm obtained during its involvement in earlier government investigations is available to all other parties in the multidistrict litigation and so isn't confidential, the state has told a federal court.

  • September 05, 2025

    Judges Warn ICE Is Turning Courts Into Deportation Traps

    As Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers violently arrest unauthorized immigrants in court buildings' hallways, former and current judges warn that the Trump administration is using courts as a dragnet, arresting people indiscriminately and expelling them with little to no due process in a bid to fulfill President Donald Trump’s goal of mass deportations.

  • September 05, 2025

    Atty Can't Duck ID Theft Conviction Over High Court Ruling

    A 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling narrowing the definition of aggravated identity theft may not be used to vacate a former attorney's prison sentence for a mortgage fraud scheme, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday, denying a request to throw out his plea deal and order a new trial.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Defense Lessons From Prosecutors' Recent Evidence Flubs

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    The recent dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charges, and the filing of an ethics complaint against a former D.C. prosecutor, both provide takeaways for white collar defense counsel who suspect that prosecutors may be withholding or misrepresenting evidence, say Anden Chow at MoloLamken and Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

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    A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Unpacking Executive Privilege, Contempt In Recent Cases

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    The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is the latest example in a growing trend of executive privilege disputes, and serves as a warning to private citizens and corporate leaders who are in communication with the president, says Kristina Moore at Womble Bond.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

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    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings

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    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's recent bribery conviction included obstruction charges based on his former lawyer's preindictment presentation to prosecutors, highlighting valuable lessons on the legal ethics rules implicated in these kinds of defense presentations, say Steve Miller and Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

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