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Legal Ethics
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August 08, 2025
Injured Woman Owes Ex-Attys More Than She Won At Trial
A Texas appeals court has affirmed a $150,000 arbitration award for a law firm sued over the contingency fees owed by a former client in a personal injury suit that ended in a post-trial settlement of about $130,000, rejecting the woman's bid to invalidate the award.
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August 08, 2025
Colo. Conviction Axed Over Man's 'Rambling' Midtrial Speech
A man who was allowed to go on an incoherent rant before a jury while wearing prison clothes and was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison for growing marijuana will get a new trial, a Colorado state appeals court said, finding that his unsworn ramblings undoubtedly deprived him of a fair hearing.
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August 08, 2025
USPTO Throws Out Over 52,000 TM Apps For Fraud Issues
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has thrown out tens of thousands of applications and registrations for trademarks prepared by a Chinese company that allegedly forged signatures and doled out legal advice despite not having the training to do so.
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August 08, 2025
Vape Maker Must Arbitrate Claims Of Distributor Misconduct
A California federal judge has ordered the owners of a Hong Kong vape maker to arbitrate their claims accusing a competitor of trying to "usurp" their place in the market, concluding that an underlying arbitration agreement was applicable despite the competitor's founder not signing the pact.
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August 08, 2025
George Clinton Fights Sanctions In Decades-Long IP Battle
Funk legend George Clinton has asked a Florida federal court to reject sanctions and lawsuit dismissal bids from music executive Armen Boladian, arguing that his copyright ownership complaint is not frivolous.
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August 08, 2025
Feds Rip Cuellar's Bid To Ax Entire Bribery Indictment
Federal prosecutors on Friday urged a Texas federal court to reject U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar's bid to toss his entire indictment for bribery, saying its decision to strike some counts does not deprive the lawmaker of his Fifth Amendment right to have a grand jury determine what charges he should face.
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August 08, 2025
DC Circ. Ends Alien Enemies Contempt Probe Against Admin.
A split D.C. Circuit put an end Friday to potential criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration over the possibility that it violated a court order barring the removal of a group of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act.
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August 08, 2025
DA Willis Blasts Election Case Probe Testimony Fight As Moot
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told the Georgia Supreme Court that a 2024 subpoena seeking her to testify about her personal relationship with the lead prosecutor in the prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case is moot due to a change in the state's law.
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August 08, 2025
NY Judge Declines Monetary Sanctions Over Fake AI Citations
A New York magistrate judge has declined to impose monetary sanctions on attorneys for submitting a brief containing fake citations generated by artificial intelligence in a school employment dispute, finding that the mistake was unintentional and caused by an attorney grieving the recent death of her husband.
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August 08, 2025
Ex-Girardi Keese Atty Indicted For Role In Client Theft Scandal
Former Girardi Keese attorney Keith Griffin has been criminally indicted in Illinois federal court for his role in the once-mighty firm's spectacular collapse, with prosecutors alleging he violated court orders and covered up the theft of client funds.
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August 08, 2025
Ga. Lawyer Sanctioned For False Entry Of Appearance
A Georgia attorney was slapped with sanctions from a state court judge who found that the lawyer spent six months falsely claiming he represented a defendant in a loan default suit, even after the defendant's true counsel warned him that he was lying to the court.
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August 08, 2025
Judge Rebuts 'Intemperate' Language In 'It Ends With Us' Row
A New York federal judge on Friday warned all litigants in actress Blake Lively's defamation case against her "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni not to use "intemperate" language and personal attacks in court filings.
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August 08, 2025
'Legally Indefensible Scheme' DQs NJ US Atty, Court Told
A New Jersey criminal defendant argued in federal court this week that Alina Habba's appointment as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey is an "end-run" around the Constitution and moved to have her and any prosecutors working under her disqualified.
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August 08, 2025
Indiana Judge Faces Ethics Charges Over Case Delays
An Indiana county judge who has been on leave since April has now been hit with disciplinary charges alleging he violated state judicial ethics codes by failing to schedule hearings in criminal cases, resulting in defendants remaining behind bars unnecessarily and cases being dismissed over delays.
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August 08, 2025
Texas Modernizes Barratry Ban To Include Online Outreach
Texas, a state with a long history of outlawing prohibited legal services solicitation — known as barratry — has passed a bill updating its penal code to expand the definition of illegal barratry to cover new media, amid a reported rise in digital solicitation, with the amended law set to take effect on Sept. 1.
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August 07, 2025
2nd Circ. Says Trial Atty With Brain Disease Not 'Ineffective'
The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed the convictions of a former New York City law enforcement union president along with its ex-financial adviser for defrauding members out of $500,000, rejecting among contentions that one defense lawyer's abilities were impaired at trial by a fast-moving neurodegenerative disease.
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August 07, 2025
Ga. AG Sues Gov.'s Race Rival Over No-Limit Fundraising
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr sued one of his top Republican rivals in the Peach State's 2026 gubernatorial race Thursday, alleging Lt. Gov. Burt Jones reaped an unfair advantage in the contest through a campaign finance vehicle that allows him to raise unlimited amounts of cash.
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August 07, 2025
'Breakdown In Civility' Gets Boies Schiller Sanctioned
A California federal judge slapped Boies Schiller Flexner LLP with a $15,000 sanction Thursday in a former worker's suit claiming Levi Strauss & Co. declined to promote her out of sex bias, faulting the firm for a "uniquely eye-opening breakdown in civility and professionalism."
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August 07, 2025
Ohio Judge May Face Suspension Over Divorce Work Scandal
An Ohio family court judge is facing a possible two-year suspension after a state disciplinary panel found that she allegedly tried to bully other judges into reassigning her divorce cases and hid her close relationship with a court-appointed receiver during a disciplinary case.
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August 07, 2025
Calif. Ethics Panel Clarifies Judge DQs In Racial Justice Cases
A California judicial ethics committee has issued a formal opinion advising a judge who is a former prosecutor that a pending case involving a discovery motion under the state's Racial Justice Act does not require the judge's recusal.
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August 07, 2025
Fox Rothschild Must Face Litigation Funding Suit, Court Told
A married couple is urging a New Jersey state judge to reject Fox Rothschild LLP's bid to exit a malpractice suit alleging that they were unlawfully steered to cover medical expenses with high-interest loans from the firm's litigation funder client, saying they've "amply" pleaded claims of misconduct.
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August 07, 2025
Ex-Knick Slams Madison Square Garden's $1.5M Fee Request
Charles Oakley slammed Madison Square Garden's bid for $1.5 million in attorney fees stemming from its pursuit of the former New York Knick's deleted text messages in his battery suit against the arena, claiming that only "bad faith" could justify such an "inflated" request.
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August 07, 2025
DOJ's Boasberg Complaint Violates Judicial Privacy, Sen. Says
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has accused the U.S. Department of Justice of misusing private comments from a meeting of the Judicial Conference of the United States to pursue ethics charges against a federal judge who found probable cause to hold President Donald Trump's administration in contempt of court.
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August 07, 2025
Depo Row Yields Cross Sanctions Bids In Ala. Civil Rights Suit
Paper goods company Kimberly-Clark and a former employee are pointing fingers at each other in Mobile, Alabama, federal court over a reportedly failed deposition amid the ex-employee's discrimination suit, with each side requesting discovery sanctions over the other's "bad faith" behavior.
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August 07, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Divorce Dust-Ups And Judicial Rebukes
Litigation in the North Carolina Business Court is heating up this summer with new complaints centered on fears a former state politician's divorce proceedings will impede his companies' operations and accusations that a climate technology company has failed to pay out a former engineer's ownership interest.
Expert Analysis
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How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients
Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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Opinion
Third-Party Funding Transparency Is Key In Patent Suits
Third-party litigation funding is a growing industry that could benefit from enhanced disclosure standards to ensure transparency, as challenges in obtaining discovery of such funding can complicate patent litigation against nonpracticing entities, say attorneys at Skadden.
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3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims
Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.
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Series
Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.
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Atty Insurance Implications Of Rising Nonclient Cyber Claims
As law firms are increasingly targeted in cyberattacks, claims by clients as well as nonclients against lawyers are also on the rise, increasing the scope of exposure that attorneys face in their practice, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
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Why Attys Should Get Familiar With Quantum Computing
Quantum computing is projected to pose significant updates to current practices in cryptography, making the issue relevant to policymakers and the legal profession generally, particularly when it comes to data storage, privacy regulations and pharmaceutical industry market changes, say professors at the University of San Francisco.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law
Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals
If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.
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Series
Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer
While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.
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10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks
The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.
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Series
Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing
Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.
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10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master
As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.
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An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future
Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.
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Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance
Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.
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Series
Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.