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Legal Ethics
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June 29, 2022
SRA Fine Ceiling Jumps To £25,000
A U.K. legal regulator can now fine solicitors and firms up to 1,150% more for misconduct under new rules designed to leave only the most serious cases in the tribunals, a move that has been derided by the trade association for solicitors.
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June 29, 2022
Eastman Drops Suit To Keep Cell Records From Jan. 6 Panel
Embattled former Trump attorney John Eastman has dropped his lawsuit seeking to block the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection from obtaining his cellphone records.
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June 29, 2022
IT Pro Was 'Stupid' To Obey Jones Day Atty's 'Burn' Order
An IT manager testified at a trial on Wednesday that he was "stupid" to comply with instructions from a senior Jones Day lawyer to destroy a secure messaging system in an alleged attempt to conceal evidence of corporate espionage from supermarket group Ocado.
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June 28, 2022
Erika Girardi Ordered To Turn Over Pricey Diamond Earrings
Reality television star Erika Girardi must turn over to a bankruptcy trustee a pair of diamond earrings that her estranged husband, the disbarred attorney Thomas V. Girardi, bought in 2007 for $750,000, a Los Angeles bankruptcy judge said Tuesday, finding that it was clear that stolen funds were used to buy them.
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June 28, 2022
Flint Jury To Hear From Ex-Gov. After Court Quashes Charges
A Flint jury will hear recorded testimony from former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday in a civil trial over the Flint water crisis, following the Michigan Supreme Court overturning indictments against three state officials Tuesday.
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June 28, 2022
Calif. Panel Won't Disqualify Law Firm In Pipe Maker's Fight
A California appellate panel upheld on Tuesday a lower court's refusal to disqualify Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP from representing Victaulic Co. in its multimillion dollar coverage fight with three AIG units, rejecting arguments that the firm's attorneys obtained relevant confidential information on AIG while at a previous firm.
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June 28, 2022
NY Law Firm Beats Malpractice Claim In 'Doxxing' Suit
A New Jersey federal judge has tossed a legal malpractice claim by an ex-Teamster who accused his union's New York law firm of failing to properly contest his firing from the New York Daily News after a purported left-wing activist exposed his personal information on Twitter to "dox," or harass, him.
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June 28, 2022
LeClairRyan Trustee Approved For $21M UnitedLex Settlement
A Virginia bankruptcy judge approved a $21 million settlement between the Chapter 7 trustee for defunct law firm LeClairRyan PLLC and the legal services provider she accused of bleeding the firm of millions and driving it into liquidation.
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June 28, 2022
Fed. Circ. Wipes $11K Fee Ruling Over Confidential Emails
A Federal Circuit panel splintered Tuesday in rejecting a lower court decision to hit a California patent lawyer and his client with $11,000 in fines and legal fees over allegedly emailing confidential materials to a partner attorney in a joint defense agreement, who used them in another case.
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June 28, 2022
Ex-Northwestern Law Student's 'Unintelligible' Suit Tossed
An Illinois federal judge threw out a suit by a former law student claiming his suspension and expulsion from Northwestern University were rooted in discrimination, calling the complaint "so long, confusing, and unwieldy that it is unintelligible."
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June 28, 2022
Trump Was Bent On Joining Capitol Mob, Meadows Aide Says
Despite warnings about people carrying weapons near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, former President Donald Trump was so furious over what he saw as too few people in a secured area at his "Stop the Steal" rally that he urged the Secret Service to remove magnetic screening machines.
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June 28, 2022
Insurers, Atty In Tax Shelter Coverage Suit Get Time To Settle
A Texas federal court stayed an insurance coverage dispute Tuesday to allow time for the finalizing of a settlement among an attorney sued over his involvement in tax planning strategies scrutinized by the IRS and two companies that insured him.
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June 28, 2022
Distributor Says Attys Faked A Lien Claim Doc, Seeks DQ
Two New York attorneys falsified lien documents to rescue a client's shipping dispute lawsuit, according to their opponents in the litigation, who want the case to be dismissed now that the "fraud on the court" has come to light.
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June 28, 2022
Feds Drop Haitian Bribe Case After Discovering New Evidence
Federal prosecutors in Boston dropped a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case against a former U.S. Army colonel and a lawyer just days before they were set to be tried for a second time, after the FBI unearthed text messages suggesting the two were innocent.
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June 27, 2022
Atty's Filing Delay Frees Insurer From Malpractice Suit Payout
A ProAssurance insurer doesn't have to cover a lawyer who waited beyond his policy's reporting window to notify the insurer of an underlying legal malpractice suit, a Washington federal judge has ruled.
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June 27, 2022
Ex-Trump Official, Philadelphia Atty Must Face Fraud Claims
A Trump-era State Department official and a Philadelphia attorney on Monday lost bids to escape claims they fraudulently induced an investor to pour millions into Greek medical cannabis companies, with a Pennsylvania federal judge finding a revised suit backed up the allegations.
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June 27, 2022
Stanford International Chairman Seeks Ax Of SEC Ponzi Suit
The chairman of the Stanford International Bank has asked a federal judge in Dallas to toss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's long-running litigation accusing him of using companies under his control to run a $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
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June 27, 2022
Trump Adviser Eastman Says Feds Seized His IPhone
Former Donald Trump legal adviser John Eastman, who is embroiled in a House select committee's investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said in a Monday lawsuit that federal agents have seized his iPhone 12 using what he described as an overly broad search warrant.
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June 27, 2022
Appeals Court Says Attys Had Enforceable Lien To Get Fees
A Georgia law firm and two of its attorneys have a valid lien on bank accounts seized from two former clients in a criminal case over the alleged sale of synthetic THC at a rural convenience store, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
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June 27, 2022
Apple Rival Blasted For 'Defective And Unnecessary' Brief
A California federal judge took a would-be Apple App Store competitor to task for a "procedurally defective" bid to tweak a ruling that tossed chunks of its monopolization lawsuit over Apple policies locking rivals out of the iPhone.
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June 27, 2022
Linebarger Goggan Immune To Toll Road Fee Suit, Court Says
A national debt collection firm should be granted government immunity in a case accusing the firm of abusing its role as toll collector in a Texas county, a Texas appellate court has ruled.
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June 27, 2022
Ga. Judges Revive Privacy Claim Over Law Firm's Advice
A divided Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday revived an invasion of privacy claim against a family law firm and two attorneys accused of advising a client to secretly record his wife during divorce litigation and threaten to distribute footage of her having sex with another woman.
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June 27, 2022
NJ Atty Says County Fired Him For Crossing Sheriff
The former county counsel of Sussex County, New Jersey, hit the county with a whistleblower lawsuit alleging he was fired in retaliation for opposing a request by the county sheriff to pay his personal legal bills with county dollars and objecting to an immigration-related ballot question.
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June 27, 2022
Fla. Atty In Ethics Row Says Court Criticisms Are Free Speech
A Miami-based foreclosure defense attorney facing disciplinary charges over disparaging comments leveled against various courts and judges has urged the Florida Supreme Court to find that his statements are protected under the First Amendment.
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June 27, 2022
Miffed By Briefing, Judge Leaves Most Of DA Bias Case Intact
A California federal judge on Friday chided a group of prosecutor-plaintiffs and the defense in an employment discrimination case against the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, ordering more briefing and threatening to toss any insufficient arguments moving forward.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Now's The Time To Address Archaic Law School Curricula
With law school enrollments jumping significantly ahead of a potential recession and more students graduating than the market can absorb, law schools should turn to creative solutions to teach students how to negotiate, work with clients, specialize and use technology to practice their craft more efficiently, says University of Colorado adjunct professor Jason Mendelson.
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Lessons From Lawyer Fee-Sharing Agreements Gone Wrong
The recent fee-sharing dispute between Edelson and Girardi Keese is a reminder that lawyers who do not strictly follow the applicable rules may risk a disciplinary complaint, lose their share of the fee, or wind up in costly litigation with co-counsel, says David Grossbaum at Hinshaw.
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LeClairRyan Bankruptcy Highlights Pass-Through Tax Issue
A Virginia bankruptcy court's recent ruling in the case of defunct law firm LeClairRyan shows there may be serious tax consequences for pass-through entity partners who give up their ownership interest without following operating agreement exit provisions and updating bankruptcy court filings, say Edward Schnitzer and Hannah Travaglini at Montgomery McCracken.
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8 Steps To Creating A Legal Ops Technology Road Map
Legal departments struggling to find and implement the right technologies for their operations should consider creating a road map that summarizes their approach to technology changes, provides clearly defined metrics for success, and serves as the single source of truth for stakeholders, says Melanie Shafer at SimpleLegal.
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The Importance Of Data And Data Analysis In Litigation
Understanding, analyzing and effectively presenting large data sets is an increasingly important skill in litigation as it allows plaintiffs to dramatically scale up the scope of cases and is often critical to defeating motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment, says David Burnett at Motley Rice.
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Steps Companies Can Take To Mitigate Privilege Labeling Risk
Although Google prevailed on a recent privilege labeling sanctions motion, an important takeaway from the decision is that companies should assess their in-house procedures and employee training programs regarding privileged communications to mitigate risks of the potential appearance of bad faith privilege claims, say Gareth Evans at Redgrave and e-discovery attorney James Hertsch.
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Perspectives
Nonprofit Ruling Is An Important Step For Nonlawyer Practice
A New York federal judge’s recent ruling that will allow nonprofit Upsolve to give legal advice to low-income debtors without a license is a positive development for nonlawyer practice, but presents questions about how to ensure similar programs can exist without fighting dodgy constitutional battles, says Ronald Minkoff at Frankfurt Kurnit.
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What Litigation Funding Disclosure In Delaware May Look Like
A standing order issued by Delaware's chief federal judge requiring litigants to disclose whether their cases or defenses are being financed by third parties is unlikely to have onerous effects but may raise questions regarding potential conflicts of interest and access to justice, say Cayse Llorens and Matthew Oxman at LexShares.
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How In-House Legal Leaders Can Drive Corporate Growth
Today, more executives are seeking legal leaders who are strategic, adaptable thinkers, making it essential that in-house counsel get out of their comfort zone of legal advice and take several steps to contribute toward revenue growth and raise their profile, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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Opinion
Calif. Bill On Protective Orders Threatens Privacy Norms
California's Public Right to Know Act — seeking to make discovery in product and environmental cases presumptively public — would upend the current regime of court protective orders necessary for compliance with national and international privacy laws, and undermine U.S. efforts to reach a data transfer treaty with the EU, say Patrick Oot and Phil Goldberg at Shook Hardy.
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Attorneys Should Tread Carefully On Job Counteroffers
Promises of more compensation to keep attorneys from leaving their jobs have become commonplace in today's hot job market, but lawyers should weigh their options carefully as accepting a counteroffer can negatively affect their reputation, says Leeron Molloy at VOYlegal.
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Series
The Future Of Legal Ops: Time To Get Serious About Data
Most corporate legal departments collect surface-level data around their operations, such as costs and time to resolution, but legal leaders should explore more in-depth data gathering to assess how effective an attorney was, how efficiently legal work was performed, and more, says Andy Krebs at Intel.
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Opinion
ABA Isn't Giving Up On Diversity Efforts By Ending CLE Rule
While some view the American Bar Association’s elimination of continuing legal education diversity requirements as capitulating to a Florida Supreme Court decision against the mandate, it was a strategic decision to serve Florida members while improving diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in other ways, says Tiffani Lee at Holland & Knight.
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Lateral Candidate Screening Steps To Prevent Bad Behavior
Bullying and harassment are among the root causes of stress, anxiety and substance abuse in the legal profession, so law firms should take four actions to effectively screen lateral candidates and ensure they are not recruiting individuals who could jeopardize the well-being of their people, says Michael Ellenhorn at Decipher.
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A Look At The Legal Profession Since Murder Of George Floyd
Little has changed for Black attorneys since law firms promised to combat discrimination within the profession following George Floyd's murder, but on this second anniversary of his death, law firms can recommit by adopting specific strategies that set their Black lawyers up for success, say Lisa Davis and Khasim Lockhart at Frankfurt Kurnit.