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Legal Ethics

  • August 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Ex-Atty Sued By Ƶ Still On Hook For $243M

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday refused to free a disbarred attorney from a $243 million order that included civil penalties to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for his role in a student loan scam, finding no genuine dispute whether the former lawyer violated consumer protection law.

  • August 08, 2025

    Injured Woman Owes Ex-Attys More Than She Won At Trial

    A Texas appeals court has affirmed a $150,000 arbitration award for a law firm sued over the contingency fees owed by a former client in a personal injury suit that ended in a post-trial settlement of about $130,000, rejecting the woman's bid to invalidate the award.

  • August 08, 2025

    Colo. Conviction Axed Over Man's 'Rambling' Midtrial Speech

    A man who was allowed to go on an incoherent rant before a jury while wearing prison clothes and was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison for growing marijuana will get a new trial, a Colorado state appeals court said, finding that his unsworn ramblings undoubtedly deprived him of a fair hearing.

  • August 08, 2025

    USPTO Throws Out Over 52,000 TM Apps For Fraud Issues

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has thrown out tens of thousands of applications and registrations for trademarks prepared by a Chinese company that allegedly forged signatures and doled out legal advice despite not having the training to do so.

  • August 08, 2025

    Vape Maker Must Arbitrate Claims Of Distributor Misconduct

    A California federal judge has ordered the owners of a Hong Kong vape maker to arbitrate their claims accusing a competitor of trying to "usurp" their place in the market, concluding that an underlying arbitration agreement was applicable despite the competitor's founder not signing the pact.

  • August 08, 2025

    George Clinton Fights Sanctions In Decades-Long IP Battle

    Funk legend George Clinton has asked a Florida federal court to reject sanctions and lawsuit dismissal bids from music executive Armen Boladian, arguing that his copyright ownership complaint is not frivolous.

  • August 08, 2025

    Feds Rip Cuellar's Bid To Ax Entire Bribery Indictment

    Federal prosecutors on Friday urged a Texas federal court to reject U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar's bid to toss his entire indictment for bribery, saying its decision to strike some counts does not deprive the lawmaker of his Fifth Amendment right to have a grand jury determine what charges he should face.

  • August 08, 2025

    DC Circ. Ends Alien Enemies Contempt Probe Against Admin.

    A split D.C. Circuit put an end Friday to potential criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration over the possibility that it violated a court order barring the removal of a group of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act.

  • August 08, 2025

    DA Willis Blasts Election Case Probe Testimony Fight As Moot

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told the Georgia Supreme Court that a 2024 subpoena seeking her to testify about her personal relationship with the lead prosecutor in the prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case is moot due to a change in the state's law.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Judge Declines Monetary Sanctions Over Fake AI Citations

    A New York magistrate judge has declined to impose monetary sanctions on attorneys for submitting a brief containing fake citations generated by artificial intelligence in a school employment dispute, finding that the mistake was unintentional and caused by an attorney grieving the recent death of her husband.

  • August 08, 2025

    Ex-Girardi Keese Atty Indicted For Role In Client Theft Scandal

    Former Girardi Keese attorney Keith Griffin has been criminally indicted in Illinois federal court for his role in the once-mighty firm's spectacular collapse, with prosecutors alleging he violated court orders and covered up the theft of client funds.

  • August 08, 2025

    Ga. Lawyer Sanctioned For False Entry Of Appearance

    A Georgia attorney was slapped with sanctions from a state court judge who found that the lawyer spent six months falsely claiming he represented a defendant in a loan default suit, even after the defendant's true counsel warned him that he was lying to the court.

  • August 08, 2025

    Judge Rebuts 'Intemperate' Language In 'It Ends With Us' Row

    A New York federal judge on Friday warned all litigants in actress Blake Lively's defamation case against her "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni not to use "intemperate" language and personal attacks in court filings.

  • August 08, 2025

    'Legally Indefensible Scheme' DQs NJ US Atty, Court Told

    A New Jersey criminal defendant argued in federal court this week that Alina Habba's appointment as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey is an "end-run" around the Constitution and moved to have her and any prosecutors working under her disqualified.

  • August 08, 2025

    Indiana Judge Faces Ethics Charges Over Case Delays

    An Indiana county judge who has been on leave since April has now been hit with disciplinary charges alleging he violated state judicial ethics codes by failing to schedule hearings in criminal cases, resulting in defendants remaining behind bars unnecessarily and cases being dismissed over delays.

  • August 08, 2025

    Texas Modernizes Barratry Ban To Include Online Outreach

    Texas, a state with a long history of outlawing prohibited legal services solicitation — known as barratry — has passed a bill updating its penal code to expand the definition of illegal barratry to cover new media, amid a reported rise in digital solicitation, with the amended law set to take effect on Sept. 1.

  • August 07, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Trial Atty With Brain Disease Not 'Ineffective'

    The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed the convictions of a former New York City law enforcement union president along with its ex-financial adviser for defrauding members out of $500,000, rejecting among contentions that one defense lawyer's abilities were impaired at trial by a fast-moving neurodegenerative disease.

  • August 07, 2025

    Ga. AG Sues Gov.'s Race Rival Over No-Limit Fundraising

    Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr sued one of his top Republican rivals in the Peach State's 2026 gubernatorial race Thursday, alleging Lt. Gov. Burt Jones reaped an unfair advantage in the contest through a campaign finance vehicle that allows him to raise unlimited amounts of cash.

  • August 07, 2025

    'Breakdown In Civility' Gets Boies Schiller Sanctioned

    A California federal judge slapped Boies Schiller Flexner LLP with a $15,000 sanction Thursday in a former worker's suit claiming Levi Strauss & Co. declined to promote her out of sex bias, faulting the firm for a "uniquely eye-opening breakdown in civility and professionalism."

  • August 07, 2025

    Ohio Judge May Face Suspension Over Divorce Work Scandal

    An Ohio family court judge is facing a possible two-year suspension after a state disciplinary panel found that she allegedly tried to bully other judges into reassigning her divorce cases and hid her close relationship with a court-appointed receiver during a disciplinary case.

  • August 07, 2025

    Calif. Ethics Panel Clarifies Judge DQs In Racial Justice Cases

    A California judicial ethics committee has issued a formal opinion advising a judge who is a former prosecutor that a pending case involving a discovery motion under the state's Racial Justice Act does not require the judge's recusal.

  • August 07, 2025

    Fox Rothschild Must Face Litigation Funding Suit, Court Told

    A married couple is urging a New Jersey state judge to reject Fox Rothschild LLP's bid to exit a malpractice suit alleging that they were unlawfully steered to cover medical expenses with high-interest loans from the firm's litigation funder client, saying they've "amply" pleaded claims of misconduct.

  • August 07, 2025

    Ex-Knick Slams Madison Square Garden's $1.5M Fee Request

    Charles Oakley slammed Madison Square Garden's bid for $1.5 million in attorney fees stemming from its pursuit of the former New York Knick's deleted text messages in his battery suit against the arena, claiming that only "bad faith" could justify such an "inflated" request.

  • August 07, 2025

    DOJ's Boasberg Complaint Violates Judicial Privacy, Sen. Says

    Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has accused the U.S. Department of Justice of misusing private comments from a meeting of the Judicial Conference of the United States to pursue ethics charges against a federal judge who found probable cause to hold President Donald Trump's administration in contempt of court.

  • August 07, 2025

    Depo Row Yields Cross Sanctions Bids In Ala. Civil Rights Suit

    Paper goods company Kimberly-Clark and a former employee are pointing fingers at each other in Mobile, Alabama, federal court over a reportedly failed deposition amid the ex-employee's discrimination suit, with each side requesting discovery sanctions over the other's "bad faith" behavior.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

  • Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s criminal law decisions in its recently concluded term proved underwhelming by many measures, their opinions revealed trends in how the justices approach criminal cases and offered reminders for practitioners, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Opinion

    The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

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    As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

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    In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Reel Justice: 'Oh, Hi!' Teaches Attys To Return To The Statute

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    The new dark comedy film “Oh, Hi!” — depicting a romantic vacation that turns into an inadvertent kidnapping — should remind criminal practitioners to always reread the statute to avoid assumptions, meet their ethical duties and finesse their trial strategy, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

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    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

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    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Opinion

    Prosecutors' Duty To Justice Sometimes Demands Mea Culpa

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    Two recent cases — U.S. v. Lucas and U.S. v. Echavarria — demonstrate that prosecutors’ special ethical duty to seek justice can sometimes be in tension with other obligations and incentives, but it nonetheless requires them to concede their mistakes in the interests of justice, say Eastern District of Texas law clerk Ian Stephens and Texas A&M University law professor Jemila Lea.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

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    Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • How Patent Attys Can Carefully Integrate LLMs Into Workflows

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    With artificial intelligence-powered tools now being developed specifically for the intellectual property domain, patent practitioners should monitor evolving considerations to ensure that their capabilities are enhanced — rather than diminished — by these resources, say attorneys at McDonnell Boehnen.

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