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Legal Ethics

  • August 14, 2025

    Boston Bomber Asks Full 1st Circ. To Weigh Judge DQ Bid

    The convicted Boston Marathon bomber on Thursday asked the full First Circuit to consider disqualifying his trial judge from leading an investigation into potential juror bias, arguing an appellate court panel failed to assess whether post-trial public comments tainted his impartiality.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Juror Misconduct Claim Stymied By 'Lack Of Diligence'

    A new trial ordered in an auto collision case was wrongly granted based on juror misconduct, a Florida appeals court has ruled, saying a juror's involvement in injury litigation was disclosed on his questionnaire but wasn't explored in court due to a "lack of diligence" by defense counsel.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Bar Fights Demand For Bondi Ethics Probe

    The Florida Bar has again pushed back on a request to investigate U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi for alleged unethical conduct, telling the Supreme Court of Florida that a group of complainants can't bulldoze past its policy of not investigating sitting government officials.

  • August 14, 2025

    Bipartisan Lawmaker Groups Lambaste Habba's Reappointment

    A bipartisan group of current and former members of Congress on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration's appointment of acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, saying doing it without congressional approval is unconstitutional.

  • August 14, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't DQ Judge From Church Mass Shooting Case

    Hearsay evidence and conclusory allegations of impartiality are not enough to cause the Fourth Circuit to remove the federal judge presiding over white supremacist mass shooter Dylann Roof's criminal case in South Carolina, a panel of out-of-circuit judges determined in a nonprecedential ruling.

  • August 14, 2025

    Ga. Court Secretary's Pregnancy Bias Suit Gets Dismissed

    A Georgia federal judge has dismissed a former secretary's pregnancy discrimination suit against a county and the chief judge of its juvenile court, adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation that found the secretary didn't prove that her pregnancy led to her being fired.

  • August 14, 2025

    Feds Urge Court Not To Toss Rep. Cuellar's Bribery Case

    Allowing U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, to escape bribery charges under the Constitution's speech and debate clause would "eviscerate" several precedents set under the provision, prosecutors told a federal judge on Thursday.

  • August 14, 2025

    Biz Rips Law Firm Over Arbitration Push After Filing Suit

    A former client of Herman Jones LLP urged a Georgia state appeals court to overturn a trial judge's decision to send a lawsuit over legal fees to arbitration, arguing that if the law firm wanted to stay out of court, it should have filed an arbitration demand, not a lawsuit.

  • August 14, 2025

    NC Lawmaker's Judicial Campaign Returns Lobbyists' Money

    A Republican state lawmaker in North Carolina has returned lobbyists' donations to her judicial campaign after the contributions came under scrutiny for potentially violating state campaign finance laws, her campaign adviser confirmed Thursday to Law360.

  • August 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Publicly Reprimands Ghosting NY Attorney

    The Second Circuit has rebuked a New York attorney who was removed from a case for disappearing on his client while appealing criminal migrant smuggling charges, and then failing to respond to a court order for years.

  • August 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms Sanctions In Abandoned Suit Against Dylan

    In a precedential ruling, the Second Circuit upheld limited fee sanctions imposed by a Manhattan federal judge against attorneys found to have violated a discovery order and committed other wrongs, despite having been warned, in a now-abandoned sexual assault suit against Bob Dylan.

  • August 13, 2025

    Fla. Detention Center Still Blocks Atty Access, Groups Say

    Civil rights groups Wednesday urged a Florida federal court to grant attorneys access to detainees located at an Everglades-based immigrant detention center in a proposed class action complaint, saying people confined at the facility aren't able to petition for their release.

  • August 13, 2025

    Va. Judge Dismisses VLSI Suit Over PTAB Conduct

    Patent Quality Assurance took home another win against semiconductor patent company VLSI Technology on Wednesday, as a Virginia state court dismissed the abuse of process and conspiracy claims VLSI brought against PQA after the latter got VLSI's microchip patent invalidated at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • August 13, 2025

    Ex-NJ Judge Seeks To Shield 'Inflammatory' Info In Firing Suit

    A former New Jersey workers' compensation judge doubled down Wednesday on a bid to quash state subpoenas in her suit over her removal from the bench, seeking a protective order to limit discovery in her lawsuit against Gov. Phil Murphy and several top officials in the state's Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

  • August 13, 2025

    NJ US Atty Defends Status, Says She Is 'Validly Serving'

    Acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba has hit back against criminal defendants who claim her contentious appointment violates the U.S. Constitution, saying everything is above board and a "lengthy period of acting service is not unusual."

  • August 13, 2025

    Texas Malpractice Case Over Atty's Nixed Conviction Revived

    A Texas state appellate court on Wednesday revived a malpractice case filed by a now-deceased attorney whose forgery conviction was vacated, saying the trial court must determine whether she was actually innocent before deciding whether her malpractice claim against her criminal defense lawyer can proceed.

  • August 13, 2025

    Kelley Drye Hit With Class Action Over Client Data Leak

    Poor security measures and inadequately trained employees at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP contributed to a data breach that exposed the personal information of clients earlier this year, according to a complaint filed in New York state court seeking to form a class action.

  • August 13, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Allowing Biased Jury Strikes Can Be Strategic

    A unanimous Second Circuit panel found Wednesday that a Black man sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempted murder and other crimes cannot win release by arguing his lawyer failed to adequately object to the dismissal of Black potential jurors, saying the attorney may have been acting "strategically."

  • August 13, 2025

    Former Probate Judge Gives Up Conn. Law License After DUIs

    A onetime Connecticut probate judge convicted of multiple counts of driving while intoxicated has agreed to permanently hand over his license to practice law in the state.

  • August 12, 2025

    Fanatics Loses Bid For Bar On Boies Schiller In Antitrust Row

    A New York federal judge Tuesday overruled Fanatics Inc.'s objection to an order requiring the sports collectibles company to turn over unredacted versions of licensing agreements to rival Panini America Inc., rejecting Fanatics' bid to place limits on Boies Schiller Flexner LLP attorneys who access the agreements.

  • August 12, 2025

    Mich. Judge Says Racism Pervades Ethics Probe Into Bike Row

    A Michigan state judge facing allegations she escalated an interaction with a bike shop owner at a judicial conference and lied about the exchange urged a special master overseeing her case to dismiss the claims, while disciplinary counsel said the judge must be held accountable for her "abuse of authority."

  • August 12, 2025

    Ex-Mich. Cop Wins $58M In Malicious Prosecution Suit

    A Michigan federal jury Tuesday awarded over $58 million to a former police officer who filed a malicious prosecution suit against a state trooper and since-disbarred assistant attorney general for pursuing charges based on discredited allegations he sexually assaulted his daughter, which were later dropped by the state attorney general.

  • August 12, 2025

    Title Co. Hits Atty With Malpractice Suit Over $2.5M Refi

    Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. on Monday filed suit in state court against a Connecticut attorney, alleging his oversight when issuing a loan policy of title insurance for a $2.5 million refinancing cost Fidelity $920,000.

  • August 12, 2025

    Ex-Paralegal Sues Rueb Stoller For Race Bias

    A Georgia law firm was sued in federal court by a Black former civil litigation paralegal who alleged she faced a "pattern of marginalization" due to her race before eventually resigning after a co-worker "hurled" a racial slur at her.

  • August 12, 2025

    NJ Judge Denies Thwarting Ethics Probe Into DWI Arrest

    A New Jersey municipal judge admitted that he was charged with driving while intoxicated in a 2024 incident but denied that he was dishonest and uncooperative during a disciplinary investigation, according to a response to the complaint made public Tuesday. 

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Opinion

    More Guidance Needed On Appellate Amicus Recusals

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    Instead of eliminating the right for amici to file briefs on consent, as per the recently proposed Federal Appellate Rules amendment, the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Judicial Conduct should issue guidance on situations in which amicus filings should lead to circuit judge recusals, says Alan Morrison at George Washington University Law School.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • The Ethics of Using Generative AI In Environmental Law

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    The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools is challenging environmental lawyers, consultants and government agencies to determine when and how these tools can be responsibly, ethically and productively integrated into their practices to streamline research, predictive analytics and regulatory compliance, say Ahlia Bethea and Pamela Esterman at Sive Paget.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

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