Ƶ

Legal Ethics

  • May 22, 2025

    'Circular Firing Squad' Is Stalling Romance Case, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge told Jackson Walker LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP that they were stuck in a "circular firing squad" in a debate over whether the former CEO of a defunct barge company could sue the firms over a former bankruptcy judge's secret romance with an attorney.

  • May 22, 2025

    EscapeX Says No Further Sanctions Needed In Google Fight

    EscapeX IP has said a New York federal court shouldn't sanction the company and its law firm, Ramey LLP, under its inherent power in a voluntarily dismissed patent infringement lawsuit against Google.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ga. Attys Win Fight Over Lien Fees In Personal Injury Suit

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has upheld a nearly $500,000 attorney's lien order requiring a man to pay his former legal team attorney fees, finding Thursday that the attorneys had reasonable cause to withdraw from guiding him in a personal injury suit against Whole Foods after he rejected a $2 million settlement offer and the attorney-client relationship "deteriorated."

  • May 22, 2025

    Fox Rothschild, Litigation Funder Sued Over NJ Crash Loans

    A former client is suing a Perth Amboy, New Jersey, personal injury firm, a litigation funder and Fox Rothschild LLP for allegedly steering him into multiple loans during his car accident suit with exorbitant interest rates that left him owing more money than his settlement was worth.

  • May 22, 2025

    BigLaw Firms Insist Trump Deals Are Legal, Don't Alter Values

    Nine BigLaw firms including Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP have written to members of Congress defending controversial agreements they made with the Trump administration to avoid executive orders targeting the firms, according to letters obtained by Law360 on Thursday.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ex-Troutman Atty Drops Retaliation Suit Against Major Lindsey

    An associate attorney who sued Major Lindsey & Africa LLC alleging the legal recruiter refused to work with her due to her underlying race discrimination suit against Troutman Pepper permanently dropped her suit Thursday.

  • May 22, 2025

    Split NJ High Court OKs Atty Keyword Search With Disclaimer

    A split New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that attorneys in the state may buy the search results for other attorneys' names as keywords as long as they inform prospective clients about the practice in a decision resolving a years-long ethics dispute.

  • May 22, 2025

    Atlanta Strip Clubs Push To DQ Attys For Dancer And Manager

    Two Atlanta strip clubs facing allegations that they stiffed workers on their pay called for the employees' counsel to be disqualified on Wednesday, arguing that the attorneys can't simultaneously represent both a dancer and a supervisor who effectively operated as an employer and agent of the clubs.

  • May 22, 2025

    Boies Schiller Stays In Row Of Mass Tort Firms, Ex-Counsel

    Boies Schiller Flexner LLP was unable to convince a federal court that it does not belong in a suit between pharmaceutical mass tort firms and their former counsel, with a Miami federal judge on Thursday remanding the suit back to state court after finding allegations against Boies Schiller are viable.

  • May 22, 2025

    US Trustee, Jackson Walker Might Mediate Fee Case

    The U.S. Trustee's Office and Jackson Walker LLP told a Texas federal judge Thursday they are open to mediating the watchdog's bid to have the law firm forfeit fees from more than 30 cases overseen by a former bankruptcy judge who was romantically involved with a onetime firm partner.

  • May 21, 2025

    Tribes Push To Preserve Challenges To Okla. Prosecutions

    The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations are dialing up their opposition to two Oklahoma district attorneys' attempts to prosecute tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country, telling a federal court that prior case law makes it "readily apparent" that these state actions can't stand. 

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Warns Attys Using AI To 'Advocate — Not Hallucinate'

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday sanctioned two attorneys in a shipping contract dispute for filing a brief that included a nonexistent case citation added by artificial intelligence, warning lawyers that they must "carefully evaluate, elucidate and advocate — not hallucinate" in their legal briefs.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ga. Judge Tells Ethics Panel No Harm Meant In Family Cases

    An Atlanta trial judge facing allegations that she intervened on behalf of her uncle in a legal proceeding and had a woman locked in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing took the stand Wednesday before Georgia's judicial watchdog, saying she would have done things differently in hindsight.

  • May 21, 2025

    Army Contract Protest Dismissed Over Filing Violations

    Multiple missed filing deadlines and public filings containing confidential information, despite repeated warnings, provided grounds to dismiss a Virginia company's challenge of a U.S. Army contract award for information technology services, a Court of Federal Claims Judge said Wednesday.

  • May 21, 2025

    Atty's Silence Dooms FMLA Claims Against Va. City

    A Virginia city is off the hook in an attorney's lawsuit claiming he was fired after requesting leave to care for his mother, a federal court ruled Wednesday, finding the attorney's failure to respond to the city's filings requires his claims be dismissed.

  • May 21, 2025

    Atty, Firm Sanctioned For Losing Info In RICO, Defamation Suits

    An Alabama federal judge granted Drummond Co. Inc.'s request for sanctions over missing emails and other information in litigation accusing Conrad & Scherer LLP and one of its former managing partners of defamation and RICO violations.

  • May 21, 2025

    Girardi's Son-In-Law Was No 'Babe In The Woods,' Feds Say

    The Chicago federal judge presiding over a summer client theft trial against Girardi Keese founder Tom Girardi's son-in-law should not limit the government's case based on positions it took during Girardi's California trial because its positions are consistent, and the cases are charged differently, prosecutors argued Wednesday.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ex-Atty's Cooperation Deal OK'd In Calif. Debt Firm's Ch. 11

    A California bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved a deal allowing a disbarred attorney accused of operating a fraudulent debt relief law firm to admit wrongdoing and provide information about the firm's collapse to a court-appointed trustee in an effort to recoup money for creditors.

  • May 21, 2025

    Solvay Wants Sanctions For 3 Firms Over Confidential Info

    Lawyers at three plaintiffs law firms were hit Wednesday with a bid for sanctions by a polymer company that claims the attorneys used confidential discovery in federal multidistrict litigation in New Jersey to file a new action.

  • May 21, 2025

    SF Law Firms' Ex-CFO Gets 3 Years For Embezzling $1.3M

    A former chief financial officer of two San Francisco law firms was sentenced to just over three years in prison Wednesday for stealing more than $1.3 million from the firms and others, after one firm's founder said the defendant appeared to enjoy "stabbing us all in the back."

  • May 21, 2025

    Ford Hits Calif. Firms With RICO Suit Over Lemon Law Billing

    The Ford Motor Co. sued several California-based law firms and lawyers in Los Angeles federal court Wednesday, accusing them of conspiring to overcharge clients and defraud major automotive manufacturers by more than $100 million by submitting falsely inflated time sheets in thousands of consumer protection cases.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ex-Atty For Slain Journalist Khashoggi Admits Tax Crime

    An attorney who once represented the slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi pled guilty to filing a false tax return, admitting that he withheld $355,000 from the Internal Revenue Service.

  • May 21, 2025

    Distiller Says Ex-Partner, Attys Used RICO Suit To Ruin Him

    A Pennsylvania distiller claims his erstwhile partner in Pittsburgh's Kingfly Spirits launched years of litigation against him designed to ruin his reputation and career, saying in a complaint of his own that the ex-collaborator texted him "game on" before beginning his abusive legal campaign.

  • May 21, 2025

    Apple Lets Fortnite Back In App Store As Appeal Pends

    Apple has allowed Epic Games to put its popular Fortnite video game back in the App Store, while the sides await a ruling on Apple's bid to pause an injunction mandating additional changes to its policies issued after the court found it had violated a previous order.

  • May 21, 2025

    Appliance Co. Says Sanctions Bid Unjust After EEOC Missteps

    An appliance retailer has told a Colorado federal judge that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shouldn't be granted sanctions over unredacted medical records that were publicly filed, arguing that the agency has repeatedly made the same mistake in the disability bias lawsuit.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

    Author Photo

    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

    Author Photo

    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

    Author Photo

    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

    Author Photo

    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

    Author Photo

    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • 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.

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.