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Legal Ethics
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June 17, 2025
Justice Jackson Tops Royalties And Trip Disclosures In 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackon wasn't the only member of the high court to make a stage-related debut in the past year: Justice Sonia Sotomayor had a hand in helping a Missouri theater company create a musical adaptation of one of her children's books, according to financial disclosure forms released Tuesday.
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June 17, 2025
Ex-Stone Hilton Employee Adds Sexual Harassment Claim
A onetime executive assistant has expanded a federal lawsuit against her ex-employer Stone Hilton PLLC — founded by former top prosecutors in the Texas attorney general's office — to include a sexual harassment claim after the Texas Workforce Commission found there is reasonable cause.
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June 17, 2025
'Is Anybody Home?': Ex-Judge Faces Ethics Case Over Delays
A former California state appellate justice whose persistent backlog subjected hundreds of cases, including some involving juveniles, to delays of four, five, even eight years is now facing a state ethics proceeding alleging neglect of duty and willful misconduct in office.
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June 17, 2025
Gemini Says CFTC Enforcement Went 'Trophy-Hunting' In Suit
The crypto exchange Gemini on Tuesday slammed the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Enforcement Division and the attorneys who pursued a now-settled case against the firm, calling the division "out of control" and accusing its attorneys of engaging in "trophy-hunting lawfare."
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June 17, 2025
Hyundai Dealership Sues Snell & Wilmer Over 'Botched' Filing
A Los Angeles Hyundai dealership has hit Snell & Wilmer with a professional negligence lawsuit in California state court, accusing the firm and three attorneys of lying about an allegedly obviously "botched" arbitration motion in underlying litigation and then pursuing a meritless appeal costing Hyundai over $725,000 in unwarranted fees.
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June 17, 2025
Burford Blasts Interference Claim In Chicken Price-Fix Case
The Illinois federal judge handling consolidated price-fixing litigation against the nation's largest chicken producers should throw out the settlement interference counterclaim Tyson lodged alongside its answer in the case because it is no more than a speculation-based "fishing expedition," litigation funder Burford Capital argued.
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June 17, 2025
NJ Supreme Court Rejects Judicial Privacy Law Challenge
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a journalist's constitutional challenge to the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law, finding it serves "a state interest of the highest order" in seeking to keep certain public officials out of harm's way.
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June 17, 2025
Judge OKs Deal To End LeClairRyan Founder Tax Claims
A Virginia bankruptcy judge Tuesday approved a settlement striking LeClairRyan PLLC founder Gary LeClair from the list of owners of the defunct firm, relieving him of responsibility for a share of the firm's nearly $21 million in tax liabilities.
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June 16, 2025
Davis Wright Must Face Employment Atty's Defamation Claim
A Washington state judge refused to toss in their entirety an employment attorney's defamation claims against Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and other firm partners, finding Washington's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act shields the firm from some of the attorney's allegations, but not all.
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June 16, 2025
Telecoms Shareholder Gets Sanctions Lifted In Control Fight
A New York federal judge has vacated his order sanctioning an investor in telecommunications infrastructure firm Continental Towers LATAM Holdings Ltd. for ignoring arbitral awards issued in a bitter, yearslong dispute over control of the company, saying the man wasn't properly served.
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June 16, 2025
Canadian Atty Must Pay SEC $323K Over Stock Promotion
A Canadian securities attorney will pay over $323,000 to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that he drafted and executed sham consulting agreements at the heart of a scheme to conceal pay-for-play promotion of two so-called Regulation A offerings.
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June 16, 2025
TM Registration Co. Sanctioned Over Attorney Signatures
A Mumbai-based business that offers trademark registration services was blocked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from submitting any more trademark documents, after an investigation found it forged counsel signatures.
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June 16, 2025
Colo. Justices Allow Malicious Prosecution Case To Proceed
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled unanimously that a plaintiff may still have probable cause in a malicious prosecution case even if they were unable to win in the original case at summary judgment.
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June 16, 2025
Fla. Justices To Weigh 'Blindfolded' Jury Selection Procedure
The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a so-called blindfolded jury selection method was fair to a man serving a life sentence for a murder conviction.
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June 16, 2025
Winery Can't Overcome Ex-Atty's 'Negligence' In Noise Suit
The Pennsylvania Superior Court held in a precedential ruling that the negligence of a winery's former counsel in failing to communicate with the winery during litigation over operating in a neighborhood isn't a good enough reason to reverse an order shutting it down.
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June 16, 2025
Convict's Outbursts Didn't Warrant DQ, Conn. Justices Rule
A Connecticut trial court judge acted within his power to consider and then add three criminal contempt sentences to a murder convict's prison term after the defendant hurled a series of racial and profane attacks at the court when a habeas corpus hearing concluded, the state's highest court ruled Monday.
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June 16, 2025
Ga. Judge Won't Revive Attorney's Lien On Former Client
The former attorney of a onetime Georgia county auditor cannot recover attorney fees from her earlier representation of the auditor in a whistleblower suit, a federal judge has ruled, finding she failed to prove she was prevented from fully and fairly litigating her case.
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June 16, 2025
NJ Atty Disciplined For Private Law Work On GC Role Time
A former general counsel for a New Jersey public agency previously fined for ethics breaches has now been censured, with the state Supreme Court issuing the discipline after finding he operated a private law practice out of his office at the agency.
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June 16, 2025
Firm Slams Insurer's Bid To Exit Malpractice Coverage Suit
A Berkshire Hathaway unit can't use misdirection to duck a negligence suit claiming the insurer's failure to defend a negligence lawsuit against a Georgia personal injury law firm led to a $2.6 million default judgment against the firm, according to a recent filing in Georgia federal court.
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June 16, 2025
Calif. Bar Panel Upholds Recommending Eastman Disbarment
A panel of the California State Bar Court's Review Department has affirmed the March 2024 recommended disbarment of President Donald Trump's former attorney, John Eastman, over attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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June 16, 2025
Fake NY Lawyer Admits To Stealing Over $290K From Clients
A New York man admitted Monday that he posed as a lawyer to steal over $290,000 from people who thought he was doing class action, discrimination and other legal work, copping to larceny and fraud charges in state court.
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June 16, 2025
Biz Seller Seeks Atty Fees After Win In 'Frivolous' Fraud Case
The former owner of a North Carolina concrete company is seeking attorney fees after defeating a buyer's fraud suit in a rare midtrial victory, saying her opponent should have to cover her legal costs for bringing claims to trial that were both "frivolous" and "malicious."
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June 16, 2025
Fla. Judge Denies Ethics Breach Over Fake Recording
A judge in Broward County, Florida, pushed back on ethics charges accusing her of publicly sharing a fabricated recording of a chief judge disparaging another judge in her 2024 election campaign, saying her actions did not violate the Code of Judicial Conduct.
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June 16, 2025
Texas Bar Limits Attorney Nondisparagement Clauses
In a formal ethics opinion this month, the State Bar of Texas said nondisparagement clauses dealing with the practice of law cannot apply to lawyers licensed in the state, but attorneys could be subject to provisions involving their personal speech.
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June 13, 2025
Wash. Judge Tosses IUD Suit Against Bayer For Good
Bayer has beat a negligence lawsuit filed by a woman who claims its Mirena IUD perforated her uterus and migrated after the patient failed to oppose the company's motion to dismiss, a Washington federal judge ruled.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence
Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.
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Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises
“No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.
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How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work
Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.
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Series
Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.
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Opinion
Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice
A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.
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In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege
Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.
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Applying ABA Atty Role Guidance To White Collar Matters
The American Bar Association’s recently published guidance, clarifying the duties outside counsel owes to both organizational clients and those organizations' constituents, provides best practices that attorneys representing companies in white collar and other investigative matters should heed, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.
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Opinion
Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.
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Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example
Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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Perspectives
Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines
KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.
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AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex
Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.
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When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law
In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering
Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.
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Disciplinary Rule Updates Every Texas Lawyer Needs To Know
Sweeping amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that recently went into effect provide essential clarity and modernity to rules governing conflicts of interest, client confidentiality and duties to prospective clients, says Robert Tobey at Johnston Tobey.