Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Legal Ethics
-
June 12, 2025
Google Fights MDL Plaintiffs' Sanctions Bid Over Lost Chats
Google is pushing back on a request for sanctions that a slew of advertisers and publishers have brought in their antitrust lawsuit over the company's advertising placement technology, saying the plaintiffs have not shown Google hid evidence amid the "mountains" of electronically stored information it provided.
-
June 11, 2025
Judge Won't Disqualify Attys In AmeriMark Control Dispute
A Utah magistrate judge declined to disqualify attorneys from Venable LLP and Parsons Behle & Latimer PC from representing Swiss plaintiffs Capana Swiss Advisors and AmeriMark Automotive in a lawsuit over who controls AmeriMark Group, finding there is no clear conflict of interest and that disqualification would unfairly disrupt the case.
-
June 11, 2025
Ga. PI Firm Says 'Distasteful' Practices Aren't Court's Concern
An Atlanta personal injury firm called on the Georgia Court of Appeals Wednesday to squash a proposed class action accusing it of stealing clients from other lawyers through shady solicitation practices, arguing that whether its business model is ethical or not, it isn't grounds for litigation.
-
June 11, 2025
Ex-Judges Urge High Court To Protect Right To Counsel
A group of six high-profile retired judges urged the Supreme Court to protect criminal defendants' right to consult with counsel during overnight trial recesses, saying a current "patchwork" of practices in this area is bad for judges as well as defendants.
-
June 11, 2025
DOJ Says Newsom Can't Ask Court To Halt Guard Deployment
The Trump administration is telling a California federal judge its decision to federalize the National Guard is unreviewable in court, calling California Gov. Gavin Newsom's effort to stop the takeover "a crass political stunt" in a new filing Wednesday.
-
June 11, 2025
11th Circ. OK's Probationer's Malicious Prosecution Suit
The Eleventh Circuit said a man can continue with his suit against two Georgia probation officers accused of filing a false warrant application for his extradition back to the Peach State, affirming that the Fourth Amendment's protections are not limited to the officers' "narrow definition" of a criminal proceeding.
-
June 11, 2025
DC Attys Say They Had Small Role In 2020 Mich. Election Suit
A pair of Washington, D.C., attorneys on Wednesday urged a disciplinary panel to dismiss ethics claims against them, telling the panel that they had no control over the filing of a complaint challenging the 2020 presidential election results that was later found to be frivolous.
-
June 11, 2025
DOJ Legal Policy Chief, Adviser On Judge Selections, Resigns
Aaron Reitz, a top U.S. Department of Justice official who works on judicial nominations, announced Wednesday he's resigning after being confirmed for the role on March 26.
-
June 11, 2025
Iraq Sanctioned After Ignoring Order In $120M Award Suit
A D.C. federal judge Tuesday slapped the government of Iraq with a $15,000 per day fine for largely ignoring a discovery order in litigation launched by a Cypriot construction and engineering firm to enforce a confirmed $120 million arbitral award stemming from a massive port facility project.
-
June 11, 2025
Queens Defenders Ex-Director Charged With Embezzling
A former executive director of Queens Defenders and her husband are charged with embezzling $60,000 from the organization and spending it on personal expenses including rent for a penthouse apartment, luxury goods, vacations and teeth-whitening procedures, prosecutors say in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York federal court.
-
June 11, 2025
Attys For Disney Streaming Customers Vie To Lead Settlement
Days after announcing that they've reached a settlement with Disney, live TV streaming customers are looking to appoint Yavar Bathaee from Bathaee Dunne LLP to serve as the lead counsel in their proposed antitrust class action against the company over ESPN carriage agreement fees.
-
June 11, 2025
Uber Says Fla. Firm, Drivers Staged Wrecks For Profit
Uber told a Florida federal court Wednesday that at least five of its drivers faked accidents and colluded with healthcare providers and a Florida law firm to file sham litigation against the ride-hailing platform and its insurer, costing millions of dollars in legal defense and settlements.
-
June 11, 2025
Houston Atty Says Rival's Client Files Aren't Trade Secrets
A Houston attorney accused of stealing another lawyer's files in an attempt to recruit clients to file malpractice suits told a Texas appellate court that his rival "misrepresents facts to support his false narrative" that the information constituted trade secrets.
-
June 11, 2025
Atty Wants 6th Circ. To Vacate Tenn. 'Gag Order' Rule Decision
If the Sixth Circuit does not undo a decision that a Nashville attorney didn't have standing to challenge a since-rescinded Middle District of Tennessee rule concerning lawyers' "extrajudicial statements," it could "be all but impossible" for lawyers to challenge similar court rules in the future, the attorney said Wednesday.
-
June 11, 2025
JC Penney Blasts Jackson Walker Bid To Escape Fee Dispute
J.C. Penney has called on a Texas bankruptcy court to knock down Jackson Walker LLP's bid to escape a fee suit prompted by a yearslong secret romance between a former firm partner and a onetime bankruptcy judge, saying the firm's dismissal bid is "riddled with implausibility, excuse and contradiction."
-
June 11, 2025
Trump Presses 2nd Circ. To Federalize Hush Money Appeal
Counsel for President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the Second Circuit to take over the appeal of his New York state hush money conviction post-trial, saying a federal judge in Manhattan wrongly denied removal, and the landscape has now changed in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark presidential immunity decision.
-
June 11, 2025
Insurer Says Law Firm Mishandled Pesticide Exposure Suit
An insurer is claiming it is owed at least $625,000 from a law firm hired to defend a poultry farm against a suit over toxic pesticide exposure, alleging in federal court that it was forced to settle the suit above policy limits due to the firm's negligence and malpractice.
-
June 11, 2025
J&J's Beasley Allen DQ Bid Based On 'Innuendo,' Court Told
A California couple ripped Johnson & Johnson's renewed bid to block two Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys from representing them in their suit accusing the company of selling carcinogenic talc-based baby powder, arguing the company's opposition is based largely on "innuendo" rather than proof of misconduct by the lawyers.
-
June 10, 2025
Judiciary Panel Advances New Rules On Amici, AI, Subpoenas
The federal judiciary's top policy panel Tuesday propelled revamped rules regarding numerous hot legal topics, including artificial intelligence, "dark money" groups bankrolling amicus briefs and the subpoena powers of courts and defense counsel.
-
June 10, 2025
Vertex Says Tax Software Rival Purposely Destroyed Evidence
Tax compliance software company Vertex Inc. told a Pennsylvania federal judge Monday that Avalara intentionally destroyed and failed to preserve "key sources of electronically stored information crucially relevant" to Vertex's lawsuit accusing its rival of poaching workers to steal trade secrets.
-
June 10, 2025
House Conservatives Push Senate To 'Rein In' Judges
House conservatives are imploring their Senate counterparts to do more to "rein in" federal judges with the budget reconciliation package.
-
June 10, 2025
GM To Drop 'Cockamamie' Fiat Foreign Account Claims
A Michigan judge indicated Tuesday that he would let General Motors withdraw allegations that Fiat Chrysler held foreign bank accounts in a union bribery scheme suit, and said he'd leave the determination of whether the automaker should be sanctioned for not sharing its evidence supporting those claims for another day.Â
-
June 10, 2025
Wash. Justices Unsure About State Bar's Atty Suspension Bid
The Washington Supreme Court seemed split Tuesday on a request from the state bar association to suspend an attorney for failing to cooperate with a misconduct investigation, with several justices flagging the "different story" shared by the respondent lawyer, who claims to have provided all requested information.
-
June 10, 2025
Farella Braun Wins Partial Fee Award In FDIC Dispute
A California federal judge has awarded Farella Braun & Martel LLP around $10,000 in attorney fees for the work its lawyers did for the bankrupt parent of Silicon Valley Bank, finding the receiver for the bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., failed to comply with discovery orders.
-
June 10, 2025
Willkie Partner Wants To 'Chill' Media Contact, Conn. Atty Says
A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner and his wife are pursuing a federal lawsuit based on speculative allegations and trying to "chill" the First Amendment rights of a Connecticut attorney who represented their ex-landlord and leaked a story about them to the New York Post, the defendant is arguing in seeking judgment in his favor.
Expert Analysis
-
Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
-
Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
-
Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
-
A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
-
E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea
Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
-
Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
-
As Arbitrator Bias Claims Rise, Disclosure Standards Evolve
The growth in post-award challenges based on arbitrators' alleged conflicts of interest has led to the release of new guidance and new case law on the topic — both supporting the view that professional familiarity alone does not translate to a lack of impartiality, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
-
Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
-
Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
-
The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
-
Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
-
4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
-
What Law Firms Should Know Amid Rise In DQ Motions
As disqualification motions proliferate, law firms need to be aware of the types of conflicts that most often lead to disqualification, the types of attorneys who may be affected and how to reduce their exposure to these motions, says Matthew Henderson at Hinshaw.