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Legal Ethics
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July 29, 2025
Judge Breaks Up Review Of Challenge To New Jersey US Atty
The chief judge for Pennsylvania's Middle District, who is overseeing a drug trafficking case in New Jersey, on Tuesday evening issued a directive bifurcating a challenge to acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's authority in order to analyze whether the defendants are entitled to relief if she was illegally appointed.
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July 29, 2025
Ga. Senators Accuse DA Of 'Stonewalling' In Testimony Fight
A Georgia Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case told the state's Supreme Court that her bid to escape its subpoena for her to testify before the committee seeks "to reward her stonewalling" and "delay tactics."
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July 29, 2025
DOJ Says Wis. Judge Not Immune To Charges In ICE Incident
A Wisconsin state judge cannot duck criminal charges for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest in her courtroom, because judicial immunity applies only to civil suits and official judicial acts, the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge Tuesday.
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July 29, 2025
Mich. Judge Sanctions Attys For False Case Quotations
A Michigan federal judge on Monday ordered plaintiffs' attorneys in two cases against a robotics company to pay for the time opposing counsel took in filing an additional briefing because of false case quotations.
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July 29, 2025
Seeger Weiss Named Lead Negotiation Counsel In J&J MDL
A New Jersey federal judge overseeing long-running multidistrict federal litigation against Johnson & Johnson over its talcum powder products has appointed Christopher A. Seeger of Seeger Weiss LLP to lead a negotiation team to guide plaintiffs through settlement talks.
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July 29, 2025
Wash. Atty Disbarred In Del. For 'Pattern Of Misconduct'
Delaware's Supreme Court has barred a Washington attorney from practicing law in the First State, saying he "engaged in a pattern of misconduct" and "acted with a selfish or dishonest motive" by not informing a state court that granted him a temporary admission that there were pending disciplinary proceedings against him in another jurisdiction.
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July 29, 2025
Okla. Cannabis Attorney Sues State Bar Over Suspension
An Oklahoma-based attorney specializing in First Amendment and cannabis law is suing the state's bar association and Supreme Court, alleging that he was wrongfully suspended last year in retaliation for criticizing the bodies.
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July 29, 2025
NY Judge Faces Recusal Request Over Gilead Stock Holdings
A criminal defendant who admitted to taking part in a black market HIV drug scam has asked the Manhattan federal judge presiding over his case to step away after the judge disclosed brief ownership of nearly 9,000 shares of Gilead Sciences Inc., while the defendant was fighting her $2 million restitution order.
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July 29, 2025
Court Didn't Justify Seals In OneCoin Fraud, 2nd Circ. Says
A New York district court inadequately justified its decision to seal exhibits attached to a sentencing memorandum filed by an accomplice in the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme, the Second Circuit ruled in a published opinion, ordering the court to reconsider.
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July 28, 2025
Retired Judges Say DOJ Suit 'Threatens' Core Of Judicial Role
A group of retired federal judges on Monday threw their support behind Maryland federal judges targeted in a Trump administration lawsuit over their habeas petitions standing order, arguing that the suit "threatens the judicial role to its core" and is trying to block judges from employing "a commonplace docket-management technique."
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July 28, 2025
New Jersey US Atty Faces Authority Challenge In Drug Case
A New Jersey man facing federal drug and firearms charges is mounting what appears to be the first formal legal challenge to Alina Habba's continued role as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, arguing that her appointment is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of his prosecution.
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July 28, 2025
Bondi Says Judge Boasberg Hit With 'Misconduct Complaint'
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice filed a "misconduct complaint" against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the D.C. federal judge who found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for violating his order blocking deportations.
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July 28, 2025
Ex-Munchkin GC Sues Over 'War On Families' At Baby Co.
Munchkin Inc.'s former general counsel says he was fired for trying to sound the alarm about the baby products brand's "war on families" and culture of discrimination against working mothers and families, in a $10 million suit filed in California state court on Friday.
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July 28, 2025
SEC Pushes $630K Penalty Against Atty In Stock Fraud Suit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission renewed its motion Monday for a more than $630,000 civil penalty and final judgment against securities attorney Henry Sargent, after years of litigation in Massachusetts federal court alleging he orchestrated a sham merger, saying Sargent "has never recognized the wrongfulness of his conduct."
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July 28, 2025
Texas Judge 'Perplexed' By 5th Circ. Sanction Reversal
A Texas federal judge said he was "perplexed" by a Fifth Circuit panel's decision to reverse his sanction order against an attorney, saying in a Monday opinion that the attorney seemingly flouted the case governing litigation conduct by opposing a bid for an extension to reply.
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July 28, 2025
Mich. Justices Revive Ex-Prosecutor's Whistleblower Suit
The Michigan Supreme Court has reinstated a lawsuit brought by a former Saginaw County assistant prosecutor who says she was retaliated against for fighting an unlawful plea agreement, with the justices finding the county must face the suit because it is an employer under the Whistleblowers' Protection Act.
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July 28, 2025
Qui Tam Relator's Atty Admits Fake Citations In DC FCA Suit
An attorney representing the estate of a Washington, D.C.-based construction company's former director in a False Claims Act suit launched against the contractor has withdrawn from the suit due to "recent failure to provide adequate representation" after his co-counsel alleged that the attorney used AI to file a brief "riddled with citation errors."
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July 28, 2025
Firms Rip Ford's 'Retaliatory' RICO Suit Over Lemon Law Bills
Knight Law Group LLP and other firms urged a California federal judge Friday to toss The Ford Motor Co.'s allegations they conspired to dupe clients and defraud automakers by inflating billing, arguing that the racketeering claims are "retaliatory," insufficient and time-barred, and the firms are shielded under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine.
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July 28, 2025
Fed. Circ. Panel Calls For Extending Newman's Suspension
A three-judge Federal Circuit panel recommended Monday that U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman remain suspended, saying her refusal to undergo medical tests by doctors chosen by the court is a "serious form of continuing misconduct" that is hindering an investigation into her health.
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July 28, 2025
Fla. Firm Must Pay $320K Sanction For Not Probing IP Claims
Peter Ticktin and Ticktin Law Group PA have been ordered by a Florida federal judge to pay roughly $321,000 in attorney fees as a sanction for "flagrant conduct" involving their failure to properly investigate patent infringement claims filed on behalf of a client related to smart glass technology.
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July 28, 2025
Remand 'Futile' In Atty Contempt Case, Mich. Justices Find
A Michigan attorney accused of making disrespectful comments "in direct view of" a judge has ducked a second criminal contempt trial, with a split state Supreme Court ruling that, as order had been restored, there was no pathway to continue to pursue the claim.
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July 28, 2025
Jackson Walker Settles Judge Romance Claims For $485K
Jackson Walker LLP has reached a $485,000 settlement with two former bankruptcy clients to resolve a dispute related to the concealed romance of a former partner and former Texas bankruptcy judge David R. Jones, according to a motion filed Friday.
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July 28, 2025
Firm Can't Escape Atty's Whistleblower Suit​ In Fla.
A Florida state judge has rejected Matthiesen Wickert & Lehrer SC's bid to dismiss a whistleblower case by the former leader of its Jacksonville office.
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July 28, 2025
J&J Loses Bid To Probe Beasley Allen Talc Litigation Funding
A special master found Monday there is no reason to believe third-party funders are influencing Beasley Allen Law Firm's decisions in a massive talc litigation in New Jersey, defeating a subpoena from Johnson & Johnson digging into alleged third-party litigation funding.
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July 28, 2025
State Justices' Financial Disclosures 'Didn't Get Worse' In '24
Several states are making information about their Supreme Court justices' finances and potential financial conflicts somewhat more accessible, according to a new report.
Expert Analysis
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
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.
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Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings
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.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
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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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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Lawyers Must Be Careful When Using Listservs
The American Bar Association's formal opinion from May correctly states that attorneys must obtain clients' consent before posing related questions to listservs, but potential risks and drawbacks of using listservs go beyond those highlighted by the ABA, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Opinion
A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.