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Legal Ethics

  • July 29, 2025

    Jackson Walker Gets Another Deal On Judge-Romance Claims

    Jackson Walker LLP has reached another settlement with former bankruptcy clients to resolve fee disputes related to the concealed romance of a former partner with the firm and former Texas bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones, according to a motion filed Tuesday in Texas federal court.

  • July 29, 2025

    Miss. AG Says Judge's TRO Over State DEI Ban Full Of Errors

    Mississippi's attorney general wants a federal judge to explain "indisputable factual inaccuracies" in his decision pausing enforcement of a state law prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusion in public schools, saying Monday that the judge's original order contained nonexistent allegations, wrongly identified plaintiffs and defendants, and quoted terms that don't appear in the legislative text.

  • July 29, 2025

    Conn. Prosecutors' Misstatements Doom Murder Conviction

    A Connecticut man who confessed to killing his apartment superintendent will get a second murder trial after the state's top court ruled in a split opinion Tuesday that prosecutors misstated the law about the defense's central theory during closing arguments and rebuttal.

  • July 29, 2025

    Posner Wage Theft Claims Should Be Revived, 7th Circ. Told

    A former staffer for retired U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner has asked the Seventh Circuit to review federal court rulings in his loss of wage theft claims against the ex-judge, arguing an Indiana federal judge permitted a botched discovery process and prematurely dismissed claims while fact issues remained.

  • July 29, 2025

    Senate Confirms DOJ Official Emil Bove To 3rd Circ.

    The Senate voted 50-49 on Tuesday night to confirm Emil Bove, one of President Donald Trump's former attorneys and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

  • July 29, 2025

    Md. Bar Warns DOJ Suit Risks Undermining Legal Norm

    The Maryland State Bar Association on Tuesday warned of sweeping impacts if a federal judge doesn't dismiss the Trump administration's suit over a standing order that prohibits the immediate removal of immigrants challenging their detention, saying it will compromise cornerstone pillars of the legal system.

  • July 29, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs Ex-CTA Worker's Sanction Over Deleted Chats

    The Seventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a former Chicago Transit Authority employee's retaliation lawsuit as a sanction for spoiling evidence, saying his explanation about how electronic phone messages were deleted changed over time and concluding that he wasn't entitled to an evidentiary hearing or jury review.

  • July 29, 2025

    Attys Blast 'Chilling Message' Of Judge Shopping Sanctions

    Three attorneys sanctioned for judge shopping while challenging an Alabama statute that criminalizes gender-affirming care have asked the Eleventh Circuit to clear their names, castigating the process that led to their censure as "so extraordinary as to approach unprecedented."

  • July 29, 2025

    Law Firm Beats NJ Atty's Fraud Suit Under Anti-SLAPP Law

    Maurice Wutscher LLP got an attorney's fraud suit against it thrown out under New Jersey's anti-SLAPP law on Tuesday, allowing the firm to escape complex litigation across multiple venues stemming from the breakdown of a former New Jersey firm.

  • July 29, 2025

    Disbarred Pa. Atty Admits Forging Federal Judge's Signature

    A disbarred central Pennsylvania attorney has admitted to federal charges of forging a U.S. district judge's signature on fake court orders he gave to a client showing he had been awarded monetary sanctions in a case that was never actually filed, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

  • July 29, 2025

    Judge Breaks Up Review Of Challenge To New Jersey US Atty

    The chief judge for Pennsylvania's Middle District, who is overseeing a drug trafficking case in New Jersey, on Tuesday evening issued a directive bifurcating a challenge to acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's authority in order to analyze whether the defendants are entitled to relief if she was illegally appointed.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ga. Senators Accuse DA Of 'Stonewalling' In Testimony Fight

    A Georgia Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case told the state's Supreme Court that her bid to escape its subpoena for her to testify before the committee seeks "to reward her stonewalling" and "delay tactics."

  • July 29, 2025

    DOJ Says Wis. Judge Not Immune To Charges In ICE Incident

    A Wisconsin state judge cannot duck criminal charges for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest in her courtroom, because judicial immunity applies only to civil suits and official judicial acts, the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge Tuesday.

  • July 29, 2025

    Mich. Judge Sanctions Attys For False Case Quotations

    A Michigan federal judge on Monday ordered plaintiffs' attorneys in two cases against a robotics company to pay for the time opposing counsel took in filing an additional briefing because of false case quotations.

  • July 29, 2025

    Seeger Weiss Named Lead Negotiation Counsel In J&J MDL

    A New Jersey federal judge overseeing long-running multidistrict federal litigation against Johnson & Johnson over its talcum powder products has appointed Christopher A. Seeger of Seeger Weiss LLP to lead a negotiation team to guide plaintiffs through settlement talks.

  • July 29, 2025

    Wash. Atty Disbarred In Del. For 'Pattern Of Misconduct'

    Delaware's Supreme Court has barred a Washington attorney from practicing law in the First State, saying he "engaged in a pattern of misconduct" and "acted with a selfish or dishonest motive" by not informing a state court that granted him a temporary admission that there were pending disciplinary proceedings against him in another jurisdiction.

  • July 29, 2025

    Okla. Cannabis Attorney Sues State Bar Over Suspension

    An Oklahoma-based attorney specializing in First Amendment and cannabis law is suing the state's bar association and Supreme Court, alleging that he was wrongfully suspended last year in retaliation for criticizing the bodies.

  • July 29, 2025

    NY Judge Faces Recusal Request Over Gilead Stock Holdings

    A criminal defendant who admitted to taking part in a black market HIV drug scam has asked the Manhattan federal judge presiding over his case to step away after the judge disclosed brief ownership of nearly 9,000 shares of Gilead Sciences Inc., while the defendant was fighting her $2 million restitution order.

  • July 29, 2025

    Court Didn't Justify Seals In OneCoin Fraud, 2nd Circ. Says

    A New York district court inadequately justified its decision to seal exhibits attached to a sentencing memorandum filed by an accomplice in the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme, the Second Circuit ruled in a published opinion, ordering the court to reconsider.

  • July 28, 2025

    Retired Judges Say DOJ Suit 'Threatens' Core Of Judicial Role

    A group of retired federal judges on Monday threw their support behind Maryland federal judges targeted in a Trump administration lawsuit over their habeas petitions standing order, arguing that the suit "threatens the judicial role to its core" and is trying to block judges from employing "a commonplace docket-management technique."

  • July 28, 2025

    New Jersey US Atty Faces Authority Challenge In Drug Case

    A New Jersey man facing federal drug and firearms charges is mounting what appears to be the first formal legal challenge to Alina Habba's continued role as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, arguing that her appointment is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of his prosecution.

  • July 28, 2025

    Bondi Says Judge Boasberg Hit With 'Misconduct Complaint'

    U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice filed a "misconduct complaint" against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the D.C. federal judge who found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for violating his order blocking deportations.

  • July 28, 2025

    Ex-Munchkin GC Sues Over 'War On Families' At Baby Co.

    Munchkin Inc.'s former general counsel says he was fired for trying to sound the alarm about the baby products brand's "war on families" and culture of discrimination against working mothers and families, in a $10 million suit filed in California state court on Friday.

  • July 28, 2025

    SEC Pushes $630K Penalty Against Atty In Stock Fraud Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission renewed its motion Monday for a more than $630,000 civil penalty and final judgment against securities attorney Henry Sargent, after years of litigation in Massachusetts federal court alleging he orchestrated a sham merger, saying Sargent "has never recognized the wrongfulness of his conduct."

  • July 28, 2025

    Texas Judge 'Perplexed' By 5th Circ. Sanction Reversal

    A Texas federal judge said he was "perplexed" by a Fifth Circuit panel's decision to reverse his sanction order against an attorney, saying in a Monday opinion that the attorney seemingly flouted the case governing litigation conduct by opposing a bid for an extension to reply.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • 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.

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