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Legal Ethics

  • July 25, 2025

    NJ Judge Hit With Ethics Complaint After DWI Arrest

    The New Jersey Supreme Court's judicial ethics advisory committee has filed amended charges against a municipal judge it says violated conduct rules in connection with an investigation related to his 2024 arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

  • July 25, 2025

    Paxton Deputies Seek To Toss Ex-Colleagues' Conspiracy Suit

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's first assistant penned an email alleging sexual misconduct by a former deputy because he genuinely feared for his safety, according to a bid to dismiss a civil rights complaint filed by two former deputies who claim a conspiracy among officials in the Texas Office of the Attorney General to retaliate against them.

  • July 25, 2025

    11th Circ. Calls Dismissal Of Ga. Bar Bias Suit 'Indefensible'

    An Eleventh Circuit panel appeared all but certain Friday that it would revive a Georgia attorney's race bias suit against the state's bar association, calling a federal district court's dismissal of her claims that the bar has a two-tiered disciplinary system "indefensible."

  • July 25, 2025

    Former Jan. 6 Prosecutor, 2 Other Ex-DOJ Employees File Suit

    A former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has filed a federal lawsuit along with two other ex-Department of Justice employees alleging they were unlawfully fired.

  • July 25, 2025

    Boston Atty To Cop To Stealing $2M From Clients

    A Boston lawyer will plead guilty to stealing more than $2 million from clients and may face more than four years in prison per the terms of his plea deal, Massachusetts federal prosecutors announced.

  • July 25, 2025

    Will Tom Girardi's Wardrobe Mishap Help His Appeal?

    When legendary attorney Tom Girardi's pants fell down as he finished testifying in his defense, the judge had to decide: Was this a desperate bid to feign incompetence and avoid prison for stealing client funds, or just an accident by an 86-year-old man with dementia? And if it really was an accident, does it now give Girardi a shot at winning his appeal and overturning his sentence?

  • July 25, 2025

    Calif. Court Axes Deported Man's Drug Plea Over Atty Advice

    A California appeals court has vacated the drug conviction of a Mexican national and U.S. resident and has told the lower court to set a trial on the charge, finding he wasn't properly told by his lawyer that pleading guilty would lead to deportation.

  • July 24, 2025

    NJ Atty To Pay SEC Fine Over Alleged Prime Bank Fraud Role

    A New Jersey attorney and a California man will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a total of $134,000 as part of agreements to resolve the regulator's allegations they helped bilk an older couple out of over $150,000 through a so-called prime bank scheme. 

  • July 24, 2025

    Alina Habba Says She Is Now Acting US Atty In NJ

    Alina Habba posted on social media Thursday that she is now the acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, two days after the federal district court declined to extend her tenure in the interim position.

  • July 24, 2025

    Shipowner Settles Longshoreman's Personal Injury Claims

    A Georgia longshoreman and a cargo ship owner have settled a federal lawsuit accusing the company of negligence after a gangway handrail collapse that injured the worker, according to a judge's order dismissing the case.

  • July 29, 2025

    CORRECTED: Nonprofit Attys Get OK To Appear In Yale Defamation Suit

    The Connecticut Appellate Court on July 23 allowed six out-of-state attorneys representing special interest groups to appear in an appeal questioning whether an unapproved amicus brief in a separate case defamed an acquitted ex-Yale student.

  • July 24, 2025

    NJ Attys Warn RICO Case Revival Would 'Chill' Lawyering

    The New Jersey State Bar Association told a Garden State appellate court that lawyers across the state will be chilled from zealously advocating for their clients if it revives the state's racketeering indictment against two politically connected attorneys, making it the second attorney advocacy group to file a proposed amicus curiae brief in the case.

  • July 24, 2025

    Akerman Faces $45M Malpractice Suit From Health Biz In Fla.

    Akerman LLP and one of its attorneys have been hit with a $45 million malpractice lawsuit in Florida state court from a former client who develops healthcare facilities and claims the firm botched a commercial lease form.

  • July 24, 2025

    Jay-Z Defends Extortion Claims Against Buzbee, Other Attys

    Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter is urging an Alabama federal court to send toward trial his extortion lawsuit against attorney Tony Buzbee and his firm, a New York City lawyer and her firm, and a client of theirs who accused him of rape and then dropped her case.

  • July 24, 2025

    Ex-Calif. Judge Says 'Trying To Do Too Much' Led To Backlog

    A former California state appellate justice said health problems and a strong work ethic harmed his ability to handle his caseload quickly, leading to delays in hundreds of cases that precipitated ethics charges, telling a watchdog he "can only be faulted for trying to do too much under the circumstances."

  • July 24, 2025

    Butler Snow Attys DQ'd For Fake AI Citations In Prisoner Case

    Three Butler Snow LLP attorneys have been publicly reprimanded and removed from representing the former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections in an incarcerated man's federal civil rights case, after a judge found they had filed motions including "hallucinations" generated by ChatGPT.

  • July 24, 2025

    Bets On Atty's Lien Biz Lost Millions, Investor Tells Jury

    A seasoned investor told a Manhattan federal jury Thursday that he heavily backed a tax-lien fund controlled by a lawyer now accused of fraud, ultimately losing $2.9 million in supposedly low-risk bets where such losses were "not supposed to be possible."

  • July 24, 2025

    Buzbee Gets Ex-Client's Fraud Claims Moved To Arbitration

    A Louisiana federal court has granted Houston personal injury attorney Tony Buzbee's request for arbitration in a lawsuit by an injured seaman who claims the Texas lawyer and his firm bilked him out of settlement funds in a Jones Act lawsuit.

  • July 24, 2025

    Chamberlain Hrdlicka Wins Bid To Arbitrate Malpractice Claim

    Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Autry PC won a Texas state appellate decision Thursday forcing a former client to arbitrate his claims that the firm's alleged malpractice over a business restructuring ultimately cost him millions in a divorce.

  • July 23, 2025

    NJ Fed. Judge Pulls Opinion Flagged With Nonexistent Quotes

    A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday withdrew his decision declining to dismiss a securities class action against CorMedix Inc. after an attorney for the biopharmaceutical firm pointed out the opinion contained "a series of errors," including nonexistent quotes and misstated decisions.

  • July 23, 2025

    Hinshaw Must Face Malpractice Suit, Fla. Panel Says

    A Florida appeals panel overturned Wednesday a lower court decision favoring Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in a malpractice claim brought by a pilot safety training company, ruling that the company didn't abandon its claims by settling an underlying arbitration.

  • July 23, 2025

    Oakley Penalized For Failing To Preserve Texts In MSG Spat

    A New York federal judge Wednesday declined to dismiss the assault and battery lawsuit launched by former New York Knicks player Charles Oakley against Madison Square Garden and said it will not impose monetary sanctions, related to destroyed text messages, against two law firms representing him.

  • July 23, 2025

    Ex-Cannabis Co. CFO OK'd To Argue Good Faith In SEC Case

    A former executive of cannabis company Acreage Holdings Inc., accused of falsifying the company's financials, will be permitted to argue that he was acting in good faith, a Manhattan federal judge said Wednesday, finding it was too early to know whether attorney-client privilege would block his defense.

  • July 23, 2025

    ACLU's Brief Rejected In Ex-Yale Student's Defamation Suit 

    The ACLU's Connecticut litigation arm and five other legal advocacy groups cannot file friend-of-the-court briefs in former Yale University student Saifullah Khan's defamation case against 16 others that filed a rejected amici brief in a separate state Supreme Court matter, a state appeals court has ruled.

  • July 23, 2025

    Sen. Collins Opposes Bove For 3rd Circ. Over Bias Concerns

    Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will oppose the confirmation of Emil Bove to the Third Circuit, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also indicated her likely opposition.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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