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Legal Ethics

  • September 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Allows NY AG To Curb Nonprofit's Debtor Coaching

    The Second Circuit vacated a lower court order that prevented New York Attorney General Letitia James from stopping a bankruptcy education nonprofit from advising low-income debtors Tuesday, saying that while the state's unauthorized practice of law statutes regulate speech, they are content neutral and should be reviewed under intermediate scrutiny.

  • September 09, 2025

    'Whiz Honor' Judge Accused Of Trying To Sway Sentencing

    A Philadelphia judge under investigation for ethics violations related to the promotion of his wife's cheesesteak shop faces new disciplinary charges over allegations that he attempted to influence a fellow judge's sentencing decision for an associate of rapper Meek Mill.

  • September 09, 2025

    US Atty Habba Seeks To Nix NJ Mayor's False Arrest Suit

    New Jersey's acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba told a federal judge Tuesday that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka's lawsuit over his arrest outside an immigration detention center should be tossed since both the government and Habba are immune from suit, and the court cannot impose a damages remedy under U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • September 08, 2025

    Litigation Funder Says Ex-GC Stole Secrets To Launch Rival

    A Houston-based litigation funding company has hauled its former general counsel into Texas state court, accusing him of diverting its business opportunities and using confidential business information when secretly forming a new rival litigation funder.

  • September 08, 2025

    Split Colo. Justices Back DA's Disbarment Over Judge Probe

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled to uphold a disciplinary board's disbarment of former 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley in a split 4-2 decision that found the issue of whether the presiding disciplinary judge should have recused himself a "close call."

  • September 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Axes Ruling Trader Joe's 'Weaponized Legal System'

    A California federal judge hastily found that Trader Joe's cooked up borderline-frivolous theories of trademark infringement to punish union organizers, the Ninth Circuit held Monday, finding that union merchandise looks "strikingly similar" to the grocer's well-known logo.

  • September 08, 2025

    Calif. Judge Convicted Of Murdering Wife Seeks Trial Do-Over

    A California judge convicted of murdering his wife earlier this year moved for a new trial, arguing the court's denial of his request to postpone the retrial was a "miscarriage of justice" because it limited his expert witness testimony and violated his right to present his defense that the shooting was accidental.

  • September 08, 2025

    VLSI Argues PQA Was Formed Illegally In Renewed Fraud Suit

    VLSI Technology LLC is once again trying to persuade a Virginia state judge that Patent Quality Assurance LLC owes it more than $3 million for misconduct at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, raising a new argument Monday that PQA's existence as a limited liability company was never legal.

  • September 08, 2025

    Atty In Judge Newman Suspension Feud Moves To DOJ

    An attorney who has been representing Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman in the legal battle over her suspension has jumped from the New Civil Liberties Alliance to work at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • September 08, 2025

    FDIC Bests Farella Braun In Dispute Over SVB Legal Fees

    A California federal judge has sided with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in a dispute over $48,800 in unpaid legal bills that Farella Braun & Martel LLP sought for work it did before Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, finding the firm's invoices lacked key details like hours and billing rates.

  • September 08, 2025

    FisherBroyles Can't Nix Stem Cell Patent Malpractice Claim

    A California judge on Monday denied FisherBroyles LLP's motion to toss a claim in a $10 million malpractice suit brought against it by a stem cell treatment center, ruling the firm missed a deadline to file the motion. 

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Reel Justice: 'Oh, Hi!' Teaches Attys To Return To The Statute

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    The new dark comedy film “Oh, Hi!” — depicting a romantic vacation that turns into an inadvertent kidnapping — should remind criminal practitioners to always reread the statute to avoid assumptions, meet their ethical duties and finesse their trial strategy, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

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    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

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    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Opinion

    Prosecutors' Duty To Justice Sometimes Demands Mea Culpa

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    Two recent cases — U.S. v. Lucas and U.S. v. Echavarria — demonstrate that prosecutors’ special ethical duty to seek justice can sometimes be in tension with other obligations and incentives, but it nonetheless requires them to concede their mistakes in the interests of justice, say Eastern District of Texas law clerk Ian Stephens and Texas A&M University law professor Jemila Lea.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

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    Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • How Patent Attys Can Carefully Integrate LLMs Into Workflows

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    With artificial intelligence-powered tools now being developed specifically for the intellectual property domain, patent practitioners should monitor evolving considerations to ensure that their capabilities are enhanced — rather than diminished — by these resources, say attorneys at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

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