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Legal Ethics

  • May 30, 2025

    No Sanctions For Stamford In Zoning Fight Over Gyms

    A Connecticut judge declined to sanction the Stamford Board of Representatives after a real estate company accused it of withholding and destroying documents relevant to their zoning fight, ruling that "the evidence of withheld discovery was equivocal at best."

  • May 30, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Saying that June's circuit court calendars include important arguments in all practice areas would be hyperbolic — but just slightly. That's because significant showdowns are imminent involving appellate procedure principles, "click-to-cancel" rules, government procurement protests, judiciary employment protections and litigation risk insurance — as well as President Donald Trump's felony convictions and extraordinary deportation measures.

  • May 30, 2025

    Texas Panel Keeps Intact Judge's LGBTQ+ Wedding Challenge

    A Texas appeals court, in a Friday opinion, kept intact a judge's lawsuit against the state judicial ethics commission over sanctions for her refusal to officiate same-sex marriages, but left the issue of merits for the trial court to hash out.

  • May 30, 2025

    Ace Says Ga. Insureds Wrongly Added Atty To Coverage Fight

    Ace Property and Casualty Insurance Co. has launched a sanctions bid in Georgia federal court against two policyholders and their counsel in a coverage suit, alleging they abused the judicial process by adding outside counsel as a defendant just to defeat diversity jurisdiction and remand the case to state court.

  • May 30, 2025

    Banks, Class Action Admins Ran Kickback Scheme, Suit Says

    A group of class action settlement administrators and banks conspired to rip off settlement class members by offering lower bank interest rates in exchange for kickbacks, according to three identical lawsuits filed in three states.

  • May 30, 2025

    Wash. Judge Doubts Valve's Suit Alleging Arbitration Scheme

    A Washington state appellate judge pushed back Friday against Valve Corp.'s stance that it could sue an attorney over an alleged scheme to manipulate arbitration pacts between the gaming giant and its customers, suggesting the company opened the door for such conduct by previously forcing gamers to arbitrate antitrust claims individually.

  • May 30, 2025

    AI Video Pushes Boundaries Of Victim Impact Statements

    At the beginning of May, an Arizona state court judge permitted an artificial intelligence-generated victim impact statement of a deceased victim at a sentencing hearing, leaving some attorneys concerned about how admitting these types of videos might affect sentencing in other cases.

  • May 30, 2025

    $28M Jury Verdict Shows The Power Of The Monell Doctrine

    A federal jury awarded $28 million to John Walker Jr., a man wrongfully convicted of murder nearly 50 years ago, after finding that prosecutors in Erie County, New York, systematically ignored criminal defendants' constitutional rights. The verdict hinged on the Monell doctrine, a hard-to-prove legal theory that allows civil rights plaintiffs to hold governments liable for constitutional violations stemming from official policy, custom, or widespread failure to supervise public officials.

  • May 30, 2025

    DC Circ. Keeps Block On Texas AG's Media Matters Probe

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday upheld an order barring the Texas attorney general from demanding internal records from Media Matters about the left-leaning media watchdog's reporting on the social media platform X.

  • May 30, 2025

    Workplace Bullying Can't Be A Rite Of Passage For Attys

    As more than half of young lawyers cite workplace toxicity as the reason they left their jobs, a panel of attorneys said that many of the professionals they've listened to aren't willing to dismiss bullying as a rite of passage.

  • May 30, 2025

    Texas Review Panel Trims Ethics Claims Against Judge

    A review panel this week nixed all but one charge of misconduct by a Texas trial court judge and said the judge should receive a private reprimand rather than the public admonition ordered by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct in December.

  • May 30, 2025

    AI Not Slowing Down Despite Ethical Risks, Experts Say

    Following its rapid evolution in the past half-year alone, McDermott Will & Emery LLP Chief Information Officer Michael Shea predicted during a panel conversation Friday that artificial intelligence tools would see "pretty significant changes" over the next 12 months despite the challenges of putting guardrails around them.

  • May 30, 2025

    Insurer Seeks Win In Margolis Edelstein Malpractice Dispute

    Margolis Edelstein should not be allowed to escape GMG Insurance Agency's legal malpractice suit, the agency told a Delaware Superior Court, saying the law firm admitted that it was not competent to handle an underlying noncompete dispute that resulted in a $1.2 million settlement.

  • May 30, 2025

    Ex-NJ Councilman Cops To Taking Bribe From Town Atty

    A former member of a New Jersey borough council pled guilty to pocketing a $7,000 bribe to help grease the wheels for an attorney's reappointment as municipal counsel, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability announced Friday.

  • May 30, 2025

    Diaz Reus Sued For Fraud, Conflict In Failed Miami Water Park

    A Florida consultant has sued law firm Diaz Reus & Targ LLP over allegations it created an adverse conflict of interest in ownership over a failed Miami water park when the firm's managing partner and his brother, another firm member, attempted to "strong-arm" him into reducing his interest in the venture.

  • May 30, 2025

    Texas Law Firm Beats Atty's Suit Over Stock Redemption

    A Texas state appeals court has upheld Friedman Suder & Cooke PC's win in its decade-long dispute with a former shareholder over the redemption of his shares when he was let go, affirming a trial court ruling declaring the redemption "effective and operative."

  • May 29, 2025

    Panel Clears Hospital Of Contempt In 'Audit Trail' Dispute

    An Illinois appeals court on Thursday vacated a trial court's finding of contempt against a hospital in a suit over a newborn's injuries, saying there was insufficient evidence that a certain type of "audit trail" metadata existed in electronic health records.

  • May 29, 2025

    Restaurant Liable After Fraudster Steals $475K Settlement

    A California appeals court has found in a case of first impression that a restaurant is responsible for $475,000 in settlement funds that its attorneys sent to a fraudster impersonating the other party in a personal injury suit, saying it missed a number of red flags in the impostor's correspondence.

  • May 29, 2025

    Atty Urges 2nd Circ. To Resurrect Name Feud With Ex-Firm

    A lawyer has asked the Second Circuit to revive claims against his former firm, which he alleges used his name and likeness after he was fired, saying a judge's dismissal of those claims ignored the harm he personally suffered and the requirements of the Lanham Act.

  • May 29, 2025

    Ex-Atty's Death In Colo. Jail Sparks Suit Over Medical Neglect

    The family of a disbarred attorney imprisoned for felony theft sued three members of the medical staff at the prison where he died, alleging in Colorado federal court Wednesday their neglect resulted in Steven Bachar dying from cardiac arrest after he asked for days for proper medical attention.

  • May 29, 2025

    NJ Senate Panel Backs Prosecutor, 4 Judge Nominees

    Two New Jersey solo legal practitioners, a Ronan Tuzzio & Giannone litigator and a personal injury lawyer moved one step closer to state judgeships Thursday during a hearing in which lawmakers also greenlighted a federal enforcer's nomination for a county prosecutor role. 

  • May 29, 2025

    Calif. Justices Propose Tweaking Rules For Bar Examiners

    The California Supreme Court has proposed changes to the administration of the state's troubled bar exam, circulating a slate of amendments designed to clarify the role of the Committee of Bar Examiners, including spelling out its duty to review and approve all questions used in the exam.

  • May 29, 2025

    DOJ Sidelines ABA From Vetting Trump's Judicial Picks

    The Justice Department plans to direct judicial nominees away from a long-standing vetting process by the American Bar Association, labeling it an "activist organization," according to a Thursday letter by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

  • May 29, 2025

    Investors Allege Manhattan Firm Aided $43M Ponzi Scheme

    A pair of investors filed suit against New York-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP and two of its former attorneys on Thursday, alleging that the midsize firm and the attorneys, who have since departed for Saul Ewing LLP, lied on behalf of a client who has since been charged with running a $43 million Ponzi scheme.

  • May 29, 2025

    Influencer Hits Akin With Malpractice Suit Over Boxing Deal

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and one of its Texas-based partners allegedly failed to understand California law in handling a financial dispute between a social media influencer and the company that hired him to participate in an amateur boxing competition, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in a Lone Star State federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • High Court Injunction Case Could Shake Up Fee-Shifting Rules

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    In agreeing to review a Virginia case rendered statutorily moot before final judgment, the U.S. Supreme Court could finally settle the question of if — and when — a preliminary injunction can win attorney fees for a prevailing party, but all possible answers could disrupt fee-shifting schemes written into major laws, says Laurens Wilkes at Winston & Strawn.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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