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Legal Ethics

  • May 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds Fla. Atty's COVID Relief Fraud Conviction

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld the 75-month sentence given to a Florida lawyer for a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme, finding that the lower court did not err by admitting a co-conspirator's testimony about a threat the attorney allegedly made.

  • May 15, 2025

    Judge Recuses After Atty's Conviction Partially Overturned

    The Boston federal judge who oversaw the trial of an attorney charged with bribing a Massachusetts police chief to secure a local marijuana license recused himself from the case Thursday, after the First Circuit vacated most of the convictions and ordered the lawyer to be resentenced on the remaining guilty finding.

  • May 15, 2025

    Penalty Challenge In $14M Estate Tax Case Heads To Trial

    A woman who failed to file a tax return for her brother's nearly $14 million estate can move forward with a suit challenging the ensuing IRS penalties, a Rhode Island federal judge ruled, saying a jury might excuse the mistake by finding she relied on flawed legal advice.

  • May 15, 2025

    Ex-LA DA's Atty's AI Use 'Affirmatively Misled' Special Master

    The retired California federal judge serving as special master for former Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey's insurance coverage suit — stemming from her husband's holding a gun in their home's doorway in 2020 — has ordered litigation sanctions against Lacey's legal team, finding the lawyers submitted "bogus AI-generated research" that initially tricked the judge.

  • May 15, 2025

    Lima Accuses Foley Hoag Of Conflict In $200M Award Case

    The Peruvian city of Lima has urged a D.C. federal court to vacate its confirmation of about $200 million in arbitral awards favoring a highway contractor, saying the municipality's former counsel at Foley Hoag LLP concealed a conflict of interest.

  • May 14, 2025

    MyPillow CEO Can't Delay Defamation Trial Over Atty AI Errors

    A Colorado federal judge denied MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's request to continue a defamation jury trial set for early June, finding her threat of discipline and media attention over mistakes stemming from defense counsel's use of artificial intelligence in drafting briefs don't warrant delaying trial in the lawsuit.

  • May 14, 2025

    Girardi's Son-In-Law Should Face Ill. Theft Case, Feds Say

    Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi's son-in-law should be ordered to face Chicago charges that he helped the once-celebrated plaintiffs' lawyer steal client money because he "blew through" the deadline for dismissal motions and supported them with arguments that lack merit, federal prosecutors argued Wednesday.

  • May 14, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Asks If It Can Flip Arbitration Order

    A Texas appeals court questioned Wednesday whether it can flip an order compelling several whistleblowers at the center of a $14 million settlement with JPMorgan Chase Bank NA into arbitration, saying it may not have jurisdiction.

  • May 14, 2025

    Feds Say Ex-BigLaw Atty Must Start Prison In OneCoin Case

    Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday to set a date for a former Locke Lord LLP partner to begin serving his 10-year prison sentence after he was convicted of helping to launder about $400 million in proceeds of the OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme.

  • May 14, 2025

    Judge Rejects DQ Of Smith Gambrell In Defamation Suit

    A New York federal judge denied a former Major Lindsey & Africa recruiter's bid to disqualify Smith Gambrell from representing Major Lindsey in the employee's $75 million federal defamation suit, saying the request wasn't ripe for consideration yet.

  • May 14, 2025

    Pa. Justices Seem OK With Transit Crimes Special Prosecutor

    Elements of Pennsylvania's Constitution seem to support the Legislature's ability to single out Philadelphia and its district attorney, Larry Krasner, for special treatment in a law establishing a "special prosecutor" for crimes committed within its regional transit agency, several state Supreme Court justices suggested during arguments on Krasner's challenge to the law Wednesday.

  • May 14, 2025

    Wis. Judge Seeks To Nix Charges Of Blocking ICE Arrest

    The Wisconsin state judge arrested for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest moved to dismiss the "unprecedented" federal criminal case against her on Wednesday, claiming it blatantly violates the separation of powers principles at the heart of the U.S. Constitution.

  • May 14, 2025

    ExxonMobil Accuses Texas Atty Of Double Repping Company

    Exxon Mobil and XTO Energy have accused a Texas attorney of taking their trade secrets connected to mineral interests and using them to benefit another energy company he is also representing.

  • May 14, 2025

    'Plaintiffs Are Wrong' In New Recusal Bid, Ga. Judge Says

    A Georgia federal judge doubled down Wednesday on his refusal to recuse himself from a defamation case in which the plaintiff's counsel claimed he called their client a "fraud," writing that the "plaintiffs are wrong" that he misstated facts about a related case.

  • May 14, 2025

    Judge Who Defended Remarks As 'Dad Jokes' Is Suspended

    The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended a state judge pending disposition of allegations that he made inappropriate jokes and comments while overseeing a criminal docket that he claimed were mostly inoffensive "dad jokes."

  • May 14, 2025

    Ex-Paralegal's Bias Claims Still Thin, Pennsylvania Firm Says

    A former Zator Law LLC's paralegal's amended complaint claiming that the firm fired her on the basis of her panic disorder condition lacks specific details about her disability that would support her discrimination and retaliation claims, according to a motion to dismiss recently filed by Zator Law.

  • May 14, 2025

    DC Judge Restores Canceled ABA Domestic Violence Grants

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday reinstated terminated federal grant funding for the American Bar Association's Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, finding that "the First Amendment prohibits the type of reprisal DOJ appears likely to have taken."

  • May 14, 2025

    NJ Firm Blume Forte Seeks To Arbitrate Disability Bias Claims

    New Jersey personal injury firm Blume Forte Fried Zerres & Molinari PC is seeking to force the arbitration of claims from a former staffer regarding her dismissal after being hospitalized for a seizure.

  • May 14, 2025

    Judiciary To Share Pros, Cons Of AI For Courts With Congress

    The federal judiciary is looking at the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence for the court system and will share its discoveries with Congress, top officials testified on Wednesday.

  • May 14, 2025

    Judge Beats Ex-Law Student's Suit At 11th Circ.

    The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday largely upheld the dismissal of a suit from a former law student and federal prosecutors' intern accusing a Florida federal judge and government attorneys of ruining his job prospects, finding that the judge has immunity while the lawyers' acts were mostly part of their jobs.

  • May 14, 2025

    DOJ Says No Hiring Private Counsel From Firms Suing US

    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has issued a memo directing the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid engaging with firms that are suing the government over its policies or that represent clients in similar suits.

  • May 13, 2025

    Wis. Grand Jury Indicts Judge Accused Of Blocking ICE Arrest

    A Wisconsin federal grand jury on Tuesday returned a two-count indictment against the state judge arrested for allegedly helping an unauthorized immigrant evade arrest by federal immigration officers.

  • May 13, 2025

    Pot Payment Co. Wants Court To Enforce $1.3M Deal

    A Boulder, Colorado, fintech company said its former business associates in a failed joint venture to create a cannabis payment system cannot be trusted to pay the $1.3 million settlement meant to end all claims of fraud, urging a Nevada federal court to step in and force them to follow through.

  • May 13, 2025

    SEC Says Ex-Pot Co. CFO Can't Cite Atty Advice As Shield

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a New York federal judge that a former executive of cannabis company Acreage Holdings Inc. accused of falsifying the company's financials cannot allege he was relying on advice from attorneys without forgoing the attorney-client privilege that would shield those communications.

  • May 13, 2025

    Boeing Slams Defunct Airline's Sanctions Bid In 737 Max Spat

    Boeing has fired back at defunct airline Comair's bid to get the major American aerospace company sanctioned for deleting evidence of a side letter that purportedly assured Comair that its deposit for the purchase of 737 Max jets was refundable, telling a Washington federal court that no such assurances were made in the nonexistent letter.

Expert Analysis

  • Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings

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    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's recent bribery conviction included obstruction charges based on his former lawyer's preindictment presentation to prosecutors, highlighting valuable lessons on the legal ethics rules implicated in these kinds of defense presentations, say Steve Miller and Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Lawyers Must Be Careful When Using Listservs

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    The American Bar Association's formal opinion from May correctly states that attorneys must obtain clients' consent before posing related questions to listservs, but potential risks and drawbacks of using listservs go beyond those highlighted by the ABA, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Opinion

    A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

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