ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵ

Legal Ethics

  • June 02, 2025

    Ga. Appeals Court To Review Arbitration Of Firm Fee Fight

    The Georgia state court of appeals on Monday agreed to consider whether a law firm's lawsuit against its former client over legal fees should move forward in the trial court that ordered the case to arbitration, with both sides accusing the other of "gamesmanship."

  • June 02, 2025

    Judicial Clerk Boycott May Be Unethical, Circ. Judge Says

    A North Dakota federal judge's pledge not to hire law clerks from Columbia University because of the school's response to campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza may "cross an important line," the Eighth Circuit's chief judge said, even as he dismissed an ethics complaint stemming from the boycott.

  • June 02, 2025

    Retired Judges Call Wis. Judge's Prosecution 'Dangerous'

    The Trump administration's prosecution of a Wisconsin state judge who refused to help federal agents arrest an immigrant is an "extraordinary and direct assault on the independence of the entire judicial system," according to a bipartisan group of 138 former state and federal judges.

  • June 02, 2025

    J&J Again Seeks To Block Beasley Allen In NJ Talc Litigation

    Johnson & Johnson has opposed a New Jersey talc claimant's motion for the pro hac vice admission of two attorneys from The Beasley Allen Law Firm, claiming the partners' conduct in its talc unit's bankruptcy proceedings warrants denial of the application.

  • June 02, 2025

    Womble Bond Atty Asks 4th Circ. To Undo Contempt Order

    A series of federal court errors led to a Womble Bond Dickinson partner being wrongly held in contempt over a $28 million trademark dispute between a Dutch technology company and its former U.S. partner, the lawyer told the Fourth Circuit in a brief Friday, urging the appeals panel to reverse the order.

  • June 02, 2025

    MSG Tries Again To Have Ex-Knick's Assault Suit Tossed

    Madison Square Garden has returned fire against former New York Knicks icon Charles Oakley in their battle in New York federal court over his 2017 ejection from a game, demanding summary judgment in an assault suit he brought against it and asking for sanctions against Oakley six weeks after he requested sanctions against the organization.

  • June 02, 2025

    Union Loses Atty DQ Bid In NJ Wrongful Termination Dispute

    A longshoremen's union has lost its bid to disqualify an attorney from representing a former member in a wrongful termination suit in New Jersey federal court that alleges the union gave him bad advice that prevented him from properly fighting claims that led to his termination.

  • June 02, 2025

    Immunity Shields Mich. AG From Flint Water Prosecution Suit

    A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a wrongful prosecution lawsuit brought by a former aide to ex-Gov. Rick Snyder against the Michigan attorney general and Wayne County prosecutors, ruling that immunity shields the prosecutors from liability over their handling of charges against officials in the aftermath of the Flint water crisis.

  • June 02, 2025

    Schumer Pledges To Fight GOP's Limits On Court Power

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has vowed to challenge a provision in House Republicans' budget reconciliation package that would curtail courts' ability to issue contempt citations.

  • May 30, 2025

    No Sanctions For Stamford In Zoning Fight Over Gyms

    A Connecticut judge declined to sanction the Stamford Board of Representatives after a real estate company accused it of withholding and destroying documents relevant to their zoning fight, ruling that "the evidence of withheld discovery was equivocal at best."

  • May 30, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Saying that June's circuit court calendars include important arguments in all practice areas would be hyperbolic — but just slightly. That's because significant showdowns are imminent involving appellate procedure principles, "click-to-cancel" rules, government procurement protests, judiciary employment protections and litigation risk insurance — as well as President Donald Trump's felony convictions and extraordinary deportation measures.

  • May 30, 2025

    Texas Panel Keeps Intact Judge's LGBTQ+ Wedding Challenge

    A Texas appeals court, in a Friday opinion, kept intact a judge's lawsuit against the state judicial ethics commission over sanctions for her refusal to officiate same-sex marriages, but left the issue of merits for the trial court to hash out.

  • May 30, 2025

    Ace Says Ga. Insureds Wrongly Added Atty To Coverage Fight

    Ace Property and Casualty Insurance Co. has launched a sanctions bid in Georgia federal court against two policyholders and their counsel in a coverage suit, alleging they abused the judicial process by adding outside counsel as a defendant just to defeat diversity jurisdiction and remand the case to state court.

  • May 30, 2025

    Banks, Class Action Admins Ran Kickback Scheme, Suit Says

    A group of class action settlement administrators and banks conspired to rip off settlement class members by offering lower bank interest rates in exchange for kickbacks, according to three identical lawsuits filed in three states.

  • May 30, 2025

    Wash. Judge Doubts Valve's Suit Alleging Arbitration Scheme

    A Washington state appellate judge pushed back Friday against Valve Corp.'s stance that it could sue an attorney over an alleged scheme to manipulate arbitration pacts between the gaming giant and its customers, suggesting the company opened the door for such conduct by previously forcing gamers to arbitrate antitrust claims individually.

  • May 30, 2025

    AI Video Pushes Boundaries Of Victim Impact Statements

    At the beginning of May, an Arizona state court judge permitted an artificial intelligence-generated victim impact statement of a deceased victim at a sentencing hearing, leaving some attorneys concerned about how admitting these types of videos might affect sentencing in other cases.

  • May 30, 2025

    $28M Jury Verdict Shows The Power Of The Monell Doctrine

    A federal jury awarded $28 million to John Walker Jr., a man wrongfully convicted of murder nearly 50 years ago, after finding that prosecutors in Erie County, New York, systematically ignored criminal defendants' constitutional rights. The verdict hinged on the Monell doctrine, a hard-to-prove legal theory that allows civil rights plaintiffs to hold governments liable for constitutional violations stemming from official policy, custom, or widespread failure to supervise public officials.

  • May 30, 2025

    DC Circ. Keeps Block On Texas AG's Media Matters Probe

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday upheld an order barring the Texas attorney general from demanding internal records from Media Matters about the left-leaning media watchdog's reporting on the social media platform X.

  • May 30, 2025

    Workplace Bullying Can't Be A Rite Of Passage For Attys

    As more than half of young lawyers cite workplace toxicity as the reason they left their jobs, a panel of attorneys said that many of the professionals they've listened to aren't willing to dismiss bullying as a rite of passage.

  • May 30, 2025

    Texas Review Panel Trims Ethics Claims Against Judge

    A review panel this week nixed all but one charge of misconduct by a Texas trial court judge and said the judge should receive a private reprimand rather than the public admonition ordered by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct in December.

  • May 30, 2025

    AI Not Slowing Down Despite Ethical Risks, Experts Say

    Following its rapid evolution in the past half-year alone, McDermott Will & Emery LLP Chief Information Officer Michael Shea predicted during a panel conversation Friday that artificial intelligence tools would see "pretty significant changes" over the next 12 months despite the challenges of putting guardrails around them.

  • May 30, 2025

    Insurer Seeks Win In Margolis Edelstein Malpractice Dispute

    Margolis Edelstein should not be allowed to escape GMG Insurance Agency's legal malpractice suit, the agency told a Delaware Superior Court, saying the law firm admitted that it was not competent to handle an underlying noncompete dispute that resulted in a $1.2 million settlement.

  • May 30, 2025

    Ex-NJ Councilman Cops To Taking Bribe From Town Atty

    A former member of a New Jersey borough council pled guilty to pocketing a $7,000 bribe to help grease the wheels for an attorney's reappointment as municipal counsel, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability announced Friday.

  • May 30, 2025

    Diaz Reus Sued For Fraud, Conflict In Failed Miami Water Park

    A Florida consultant has sued law firm Diaz Reus & Targ LLP over allegations it created an adverse conflict of interest in ownership over a failed Miami water park when the firm's managing partner and his brother, another firm member, attempted to "strong-arm" him into reducing his interest in the venture.

  • May 30, 2025

    Texas Law Firm Beats Atty's Suit Over Stock Redemption

    A Texas state appeals court has upheld Friedman Suder & Cooke PC's win in its decade-long dispute with a former shareholder over the redemption of his shares when he was let go, affirming a trial court ruling declaring the redemption "effective and operative."

Expert Analysis

  • Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence

    Author Photo

    As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

    Author Photo

    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

    Author Photo

    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

    Author Photo

    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

    Author Photo

    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

    Author Photo

    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

    Author Photo

    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

    Author Photo

    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

    Author Photo

    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

    Author Photo

    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • Opinion

    NY Should Pass Litigation Funding Bill To Protect Plaintiffs

    Author Photo

    New York state should embrace the regulatory framework proposed in the Consumer Litigation Funding Act, which would suppress the unregulated predatory lenders that currently prey on vulnerable litigants but preserve a funding option that helps personal injury plaintiffs stand up to deep-pocketed corporate defendants, says Alan Ripka at Alan Ripka & Associates.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

    Author Photo

    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

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.