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Legal Ethics

  • August 05, 2025

    Disbarred North Carolina Atty Admits To Wire Fraud Scheme

    A disbarred lawyer in North Carolina has copped to criminal wire fraud charges stemming from the misuse of his trust account after federal prosecutors said he used escrow funds earmarked for the sale of personal protective equipment to pay back another company.

  • August 05, 2025

    Court Trims Most Of Contractors' Suit Against NJ Prosecutors

    A New Jersey federal judge has trimmed the majority of claims brought against the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office by two contractors alleging they were illegally targeted in a criminal investigation over a business rivalry with an assistant prosecutor, ruling that the agency is protected by sovereign immunity.

  • August 05, 2025

    Mass. Appellate Court Upholds Atty's $1M Fee Win

    An attorney's $1.17 million judgment against a former client for unpaid legal fees was affirmed Tuesday by a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court, which also found that the client had waited too long to lodge a legal malpractice claim.

  • August 05, 2025

    Law Firm, Ex-Client Want La. Malpractice Fight Moved To NJ

    A doctor pursuing malpractice claims against New Jersey firm Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC in New Orleans federal court has agreed to take the fight up north, with the two sides filing a joint motion to transfer the venue to the District of New Jersey.

  • August 04, 2025

    Roundup Judge Threatens Sanctions For Unpaid Plaintiff Fees

    The California federal judge presiding over multidistrict personal injury litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer has threatened to sanction 37 plaintiffs' firms that have not held back a percentage of their recovery fees for a common benefit fund.

  • August 04, 2025

    Inventor Sanctioned In Water Meter Patent Case

    A Delaware federal judge has sanctioned an attorney and president of a company that sued utility meter reading company Mueller Systems for patent infringement, blocking him from reading any material in the case designated for attorneys' eyes only.

  • August 04, 2025

    Judge Newman Contests Suspension Renewal At DC Circ.

    The Federal Circuit's recent recommendation to continue U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's suspension makes clear her colleagues are looking to permanently remove her, the judge's attorney told the D.C. Circuit Monday.

  • August 04, 2025

    NY Atty Found Guilty Of Duping Lender Who Backed Lien Biz

    A Manhattan federal jury on Monday convicted a former compliance lawyer of pilfering from a $20 million line of credit extended to his tax-lien business by a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank.

  • August 04, 2025

    Mississippi Judge Won't Explain TRO Errors In Suit Over DEI

    A Mississippi federal judge won't explain how his decision pausing enforcement of a state law barring diversity, equity and inclusion in public schools contained nonexistent allegations, wrongly identified plaintiffs and defendants and quoted terms that don't appear in the legislative text, ruling that the court isn't obligated to do so.

  • August 04, 2025

    Ga. Lawyer Sues Opposing Counsel For Insulting Email

    A Georgia lawyer has launched a defamation lawsuit in state court against opposing counsel in a passport dispute for sending an email that called him a liar and the "epitome of antiquated false male dominance."

  • August 04, 2025

    CFO Looks To Jettison Widow's Fight Over Founder's Assets

    The chief financial officer of a company behind a college athletics database has argued in an early exit bid that he has no connection to the state of North Carolina, where he's been accused in a civil lawsuit of driving the company's founder to take his own life amid allegations of embezzlement.

  • August 04, 2025

    DOJ Fights Md. Judges' Bid To Ax Suit Over Habeas Orders

    The Department of Justice is standing by its lawsuit challenging a standing order in the District of Maryland that temporarily blocks the deportation of detained noncitizens who file habeas petitions, saying a recent dismissal bid misses the mark because "even a small delay" is "irreparable harm to sovereign interests."

  • August 04, 2025

    Connecticut Justices Say Atty Due Extra $300K For ID Theft

    The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Monday that an attorney whose identity was stolen by scammers can receive punitive damages under the state's unfair trade practices statute in addition to a separate award of treble damages under a different law, holding that a lower court misjudged the allowable recovery.

  • August 04, 2025

    DuPont Inks $2.5B Deal With NJ Over PFAS Pollution

    E.I. du Pont de Nemours and New Jersey have reached a more than $2 billion landmark deal to remedy long-standing "forever chemical" contamination at the company's manufacturing sites across the Garden State, including a longtime facility in Salem County.

  • August 01, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: Midyear Highlights For Every Circuit

    In this special edition of Wheeling & Appealing, we're spotlighting key decisions and developments in every circuit court during the first half of 2025, while also previewing August's most intriguing oral arguments, including a remarkably "fierce" showdown between Edible Arrangements and 1-800-Flowers with millions of dollars in attorney fees on the line.

  • August 01, 2025

    Defamation Litigation Roundup: Epstein, Macron, Lindell

    In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 reviews U.S. President Donald Trump's suit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his connections to deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as a Second Circuit decision about the potential unsealing of documents in a since-settled, Epstein-related defamation suit.

  • August 01, 2025

    NJ Court Will Mull Legality Of Habba's US Atty Appointment

    If Alina Habba was illegally appointed acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, a pair of defendants in a drug trafficking case are not entitled to dismissal of the indictment, but it "appears appropriate" that Habba would be barred from prosecuting them, a federal judge ruled Friday.

  • August 01, 2025

    Investors Fight Sanctions Over Telecom Arbitration Dispute

    Minority shareholders in telecommunications infrastructure firm Continental Towers LATAM Holding say they are not the ones stopping an arbitral award from being enforced, and have tried to comply with the court's orders but are "caught in the cross-hairs of a personal vendetta."

  • August 01, 2025

    Conn. Firm Seeks Pause Amid Firm Breakup Arbitration

    In the latest legal skirmish between former law partners Andrew Garza and Ryan McKeen following the dissolution of Connecticut Trial Firm LLC, Garza's new firm on Friday asked a Connecticut state court to pause unfair trade practices claims brought against it by McKeen's new firm, arguing that the complaint is an attempt to circumvent arbitration stays.

  • August 01, 2025

    Mass. Judge Can't Dismiss Assault Case Via Sanction

    A Massachusetts appeals court has determined that a trial court judge abused her discretion in dismissing an assault and battery case with prejudice as the result of a sanction on the prosecution for dragging its feet in discovery.

  • August 01, 2025

    Atty Seeks To End Malpractice Suit Over SEC Fraud Case

    A New York lawyer is seeking a quick win on malpractice claims brought in Florida federal court by a former client who says she improperly advised him to sign a consent decree with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that resulted in a $12.1 million disgorgement judgment, arguing the client's subsequent guilty plea defeats the claims.

  • August 01, 2025

    NY Law Mandating Judicial Fine Declared Unconstitutional

    A New York state appeals court has declared unconstitutional a statute that mandates a judge forfeit $1,000 to a plaintiff if the judge refuses to issue a writ of habeas corpus.

  • August 01, 2025

    Politics And Privacy Laws Collide 5 Years After Salas Shooting

    Five years after a disgruntled litigant killed a New Jersey federal judge's son at their home, experts and judges disagree over whether the judicial privacy laws enacted following the shooting are doing much to protect jurists, while political leaders' heated rhetoric makes for an even more dangerous landscape for judges.

  • August 01, 2025

    NC Atty Says Ex-Wife Has No Claim To Firm's Future Earnings

    An intellectual property lawyer in North Carolina told the state's top court that his ex-wife isn't entitled to half the value of his law firm in their divorce, arguing that whatever he earns from the firm's goodwill in the future can't be divvied up as part of the marital estate.

  • August 01, 2025

    OptumRx Moves To DQ Motley Rice In Utah Opioid Case

    Pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx has moved to disqualify Motley Rice LLC from representing the state of Utah in an opioid crisis lawsuit, claiming the firm clearly violated ethical rules by investigating OptumRx on behalf of government entities, then suing OptumRx in a private capacity.

Expert Analysis

  • DOJ Atty Firing Highlights Tension Between 2 Ethical Duties

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent firing of a prosecutor-turned-whistleblower involved in the Abrego Garcia v. Noem case illustrates the tricky balancing act between zealous client advocacy and a lawyer’s duty of candor to the court, which many clients fail to appreciate, says David Atkins at Yale Law School.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

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    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

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    New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Explicit Pic Takedown Law Casts A Wide Net

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    With a surprisingly broad range of online platforms potentially subject to the new Take It Down Act’s process for removing revenge porn or explicit deepfakes, all services that allow user interaction or content hosting should proactively evaluate their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, say attorneys at Goodwin, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

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    If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

  • Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

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    The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Spoliation Of Evidence Is A Risky And Shortsighted Strategy

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    Destroying self-incriminating evidence to avoid a large judgment may seem like an attractive option to some defendants, but it is a shortsighted strategy that affords the nonspoliating party potentially case-terminating remedies, and support for a direct assault on the spoliator’s credibility, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable

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    The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

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