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Legal Ethics

  • June 27, 2025

    Ga. Panel Says Court's Tech Glitch Shouldn't Kill Appeal

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday revived a tenant's appeal of an eviction action, saying the trial court wrongly dismissed the matter when it failed to explain why evidence of a delay caused by the court's electronic filing system did not save the appeal.

  • June 27, 2025

    2nd Circ. Mulls Arguments In NY Atty Grievance Privacy Suit

    A Second Circuit panel has questioned whether a pathway exists to limit the scope of "presumptive public access" to attorney grievance documents in New York, as the panel considers the state's appeal of a federal district court ruling that would make records related to attorney misconduct cases public.

  • June 27, 2025

    Sunbeam Says 'Reptile Theory' Tactics Doom $8.8M Verdict

    Sunbeam Products Inc. and parent company Newell Brands Inc. want a new trial in a case where a woman won an $8.8 million verdict on claims that a slow cooker made by the companies left her with burns, asserting that her attorneys committed misconduct aimed at using "Reptile Theory" to inflame the jury.

  • June 27, 2025

    Court Urged To Push Ex-GC To Provide Co. Laptop Password

    E-commerce company Storehouse In A Box has asked a federal judge in Michigan to issue a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against its former general counsel and chief operating officer, arguing he refused to give the company access to a laptop that the company provided and used the company's trade secrets for his benefit.

  • June 27, 2025

    Calif. Panel Tosses Hacking Case Against Ex-LA Prosecutor

    A California state appeals court has ordered the dismissal of criminal claims against former Los Angeles Assistant District Attorney Diana Teran over her use of public sheriff's deputy files contained in a "confidential" database.

  • June 27, 2025

    Ga. Panel Fines Atty For 'Blatant Lack Of Professionalism'

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday backed the dismissal of a lawyer's libel suit against opposing counsel over a discovery dispute in a personal injury case, going so far as to slap the attorney with a fine for wasting its time with the "frivolous" appeal.

  • June 27, 2025

    2 Firms Accused Of Vexatious Litigation Over Property Liens

    Law firms Neubert Pepe & Monteith PC and Cuddy & Feder LLP have been sued by a Greenwich, Connecticut, couple who claim the firms misused the court system in order to delay payouts they were owed by a property owner, including a stake in a $7.9 million judgment in New York.

  • June 27, 2025

    BNP Alleges 'Coaching' In Refugee Case Sanctions Bid

    BNP Paribas has asked a Manhattan federal judge to open a sanctions investigation into plaintiffs' attorneys leading a long-running suit alleging the bank had a hand in funding human rights violations perpetrated by the former Sudanese government, accusing the attorneys of "coaching" prospective class members to submit potentially falsified claims.

  • June 27, 2025

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Last-Minute Settlements Head Off Trials

    Untouched by the summer slump, the North Carolina Business Court kicked off June with a sanctions order against a biogas company caught spurning court orders and a new complaint by a former NFL player accusing his longtime financial adviser of defrauding him for decades.

  • June 26, 2025

    Kirkland Stops Repping Novartis After Regeneron Sought DQ

    A New York federal judge accepted the withdrawal Thursday of the entire Kirkland & Ellis LLP team that recently joined Novartis Pharma's legal team battling antitrust allegations over the eye medication Eylea, just a week after plaintiff Regeneron Pharmaceuticals sought their disqualification over an "unthinkable" conflict of interest by the lawyers, whose firm previously represented Regeneron.

  • June 26, 2025

    Fla. Lawyers Suspended For Online Criticism Of Judge

    Florida's high court on Thursday approved a one-month suspension for a father-daughter team of attorneys for their online comments criticizing a judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of a doctor who sued for discrimination, finding that there were also mitigating factors in the attorneys' cases.

  • June 26, 2025

    Ex-Trump Atty Chesebro Disbarred In NY For Fake Elector Plot

    President Donald Trump's former attorney Kenneth Chesebro, the so-called "architect" in the plot to use fake electors to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, has been disbarred from practicing law in the state of New York, according to a unanimous decision issued on Thursday. 

  • June 26, 2025

    Del. Justices Mull New Appeal In $1.5B Pipeline Co. Cashout

    An attorney for cashed-out minority unitholders of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP urged Delaware's Supreme Court to consider whether a controlling investor's interests "subverted" a crucial attorney fairness opinion used to justify a 2018, $1.5 billion deal that took the company private.

  • June 26, 2025

    Conn. Atty Can't Intervene In Ex-Partner's Digital Data Bid

    Connecticut Trial Firm LLC co-founder Ryan McKeen cannot intervene in a discovery bid launched by his former 50-50 law partner Andrew Garza because the proceeding is not a "civil action" under the relevant statute, a state court judge has ruled.

  • June 26, 2025

    Ex-McCarter & English Atty Questioned On Bias Pleading

    A New Jersey state judge pressed a former McCarter & English LLP attorney on Thursday to show how his anti-veteran discrimination complaint against the firm met the pleading standards for a whistleblower suit as he faces the firm's motion to dismiss.

  • June 26, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Amazon's Bid To Claw Back Antitrust Docs

    A Ninth Circuit panel has summarily refused to reverse a Washington federal court ruling that rejected Amazon's bid to claw back documents inadvertently produced in a trio of proposed antitrust class actions.

  • June 26, 2025

    Conn. Firm Says Judge 'Overlooked' Key Case In Dismissal

    Connecticut employment law firm Hayber McKenna & Dinsmore LLC has asked a state judge to reconsider her decision to trim abuse of process claims from its suit against attorneys for restaurants who sued the firm over underlying labor class actions, saying she "must have overlooked" important state Supreme Court precedent.

  • June 25, 2025

    2nd Circ. Blocks Reed Smith Doc Turnover Order In Eletson Row

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday granted Reed Smith LLP's emergency motion to stay a Manhattan federal judge's order to turn over client files amid a conflict over the legitimate ownership of international shipping company Eletson, which is in a dispute with competitor Levona.

  • June 25, 2025

    Swiss Re Says Botched Representation Led To Inflated Deal

    Swiss Re told an Illinois federal court Wednesday that counsel representing it in underlying actions related to a medical malpractice suit failed to adequately advise and defend the reinsurer, consequently forcing it into a large settlement even though its coverage had not yet been triggered.

  • June 25, 2025

    Paxton Deputy Accused Of Pressuring Impeachment Witnesses

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's second-in-command tampered with witnesses during Paxton's impeachment, fabricated sexual harassment allegations and misused state funds, according to a state bar complaint and federal lawsuit filed by two of Paxton's former top deputies.

  • June 25, 2025

    State Gets Second Chance Despite Delays, Pa. Court Rules

    A trial court erred in dismissing a criminal case against a man who was accused of illegally possessing firearms due to excessive delays, the Pennsylvania Superior Court said, finding that lapsed time was not entirely attributable to the commonwealth and should therefore not prevent prosecution.

  • June 25, 2025

    Judge OKs Most Of Attorney Fees In MGM Vax Exemption Suit

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday awarded nearly $394,000 in attorney fees to a former MGM Grand Casino worker who won a religious bias suit after being fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, slightly cutting the requested award after reducing hours because of discrepancies between two submissions.

  • June 25, 2025

    Latino Atty Says Va. Law Firm Axed Him For Flagging Bias

    An employee-side law firm repeatedly stood in the way of a Latino attorney's career advancement, underpaid him, and fired him after he advocated for increasing a Black attorney's pay to match that of a white colleague, a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Maryland federal court said.

  • June 25, 2025

    Watchdog Targets US Atty Over Arrests, Probes Of NJ Officials

    The legal ethics watchdog Campaign for Accountability on Wednesday accused interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba of an "abuse of power" over her office's recent investigations and arrests of New Jersey officials and called for an ethics investigation.

  • June 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Pick Emil Bove Says He's 'Not Anybody's Henchman'

    Emil Bove, nominee for the Third Circuit, who previously served as President Donald Trump's criminal attorney and was a top acting official at the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year, where he took various controversial actions, made his case on Wednesday for judicial confirmation.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers certification cases touching on classwide evidence of injury from debt collection practices, defining coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act, proper approaches for evaluating attorney fee awards in class action settlements, and more.

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

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