Legal Ethics

February 21, 2020
Trump's Judicial Noms Part Of Bump In Judiciary Budget

With the Trump administration confirming judges faster than anticipated and increases in caseload and workload stemming from its prosecutorial decisions, the judiciary asked Congress for a 4.4% increase in its discretionary budget for fiscal year 2021.
February 21, 2020
Prosecutor Took Jabs At Roger Stone's Reduced Sentence

When John Crabb Jr. appeared before the federal judge set to sentence Roger Stone on Thursday, the case's top prosecutor made a string of striking arguments that flew in the face of the U.S. Department of Justice's official line.
February 21, 2020
Texas Atty's Vacated Forgery Conviction Makes Suit Timely

The Texas Supreme Court determined Friday that an attorney whose conviction for forging a signature on a client’s will was vacated on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel did not miss the deadline for bringing a malpractice suit against her criminal defense attorney.
February 21, 2020
Record Labels Object To Charter's Consultant In Piracy Case

Record labels have asked a Colorado federal judge to restrict a lawyer’s involvement in a copyright lawsuit against Charter Communications, saying one of the cable company’s consultants used to be a senior legal executive for EMI Music, one of the labels suing Charter.
February 21, 2020
PSU Ethics Case Brings Conduct Rules' Clarity Into Question

After Pennsylvania’s highest court agreed that Pennsylvania State University’s ex-general counsel should face discipline over attorney-client conflicts and privilege violations during the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse investigation, legal ethics experts are mulling whether changes to professional conduct rules could prevent similar mistakes in the future.
February 21, 2020
Clark Hill Can't Duck $50M Malpractice Suit Over Hacked Docs

A Chinese entrepreneur and prominent dissident may proceed with most of his $50 million malpractice suit against Clark Hill PLC because he has submitted sufficient evidence to suggest the firm mishandled his personal information in an asylum bid and failed to protect the data from hackers, a D.C. federal judge has ruled.
February 21, 2020
Cannabis Bill Roundup: Kentucky House OKs Medical Pot

Hundreds of cannabis reform bills are making their way through Congress and statehouses across the country. Here, Law360 takes stock of some recent major legislative developments and looks ahead to the bills that are expected to get a hearing in the next few days.
February 21, 2020
Firms In Chinese Drywall MDL Must Arbitrate $6.8M Fee Tussle

A Louisiana federal judge has sent part of a $6.8 million fee dispute stemming from a settlement over allegedly defective Chinese drywall to arbitration, finding some of the firms making competing claims had agreed to arbitrate disputes in their co-counsel agreement.
February 21, 2020
Texas Justices Say Time Ran Out In Gun Range Shooting Suit

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday freed a gun range employee from negligence claims for accidentally shooting a customer in the leg, ruling the customer had missed a 90-day statutory deadline for filing expert witness reports in his lawsuit.
February 21, 2020
Kroger Seeks 'Severe' Sanctions For Absent Atty In ADA Case

Pharmaceutical retailer Kroger asked a Florida federal court Friday to impose harsh sanctions against a Florida attorney and his firm for allegedly ducking scheduled meetings and consistently missing court deadlines amid an Americans with Disabilities Act case.
February 21, 2020
DOL Judge Kills Ex-Morgan Stanley Atty Whistleblower Case

A U.S. Department of Labor judge has thrown out a former Morgan Stanley attorney’s claims that he was pushed out of his job after he brought up ethical concerns, finding he isn’t protected by the retaliation provision of a U.S. anti-fraud law because he worked in Hong Kong.
February 21, 2020
Whataburger Fights EEOC Sanctions Bid In Hiring Policy Suit

Whataburger Restaurants LLC hit back Friday at a sanctions request by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a suit accusing the fast-food chain of retaliating against an employee who refused to comply with a directive to hire white job applicants, denying that it withheld relevant discovery documents.
February 21, 2020
Firm Immune In Destroyed Evidence Case, Texas Justices Say

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday cut short claims that Quilling Selander Lownds Winslett & Moser PC's experts illegally destroyed key evidence in a wrongful death case, holding that attorney immunity protects the firm.
February 21, 2020
Greenberg Traurig's $65M Deal In Stanford Ponzi Suit OK'd

A Texas federal judge on Friday gave his blessing to Greenberg Traurig's $65 million settlement of claims related to its alleged involvement in a $7 billion scheme run by convicted Ponzi scammer R. Allen Stanford.
February 20, 2020
Ex-AIG Legal Worker Settles SEC's Insider Trading Claim

A former AIG Inc. legal department employee and his father have settled U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that they bought stock in Validus Holdings Ltd. based on the son's inside knowledge that AIG planned to buy the company, the agency said.
February 20, 2020
Morgan Lewis, SoCalGas Sanctioned $525K In Gas Leak Case

A California judge overseeing thousands of suits over the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak on Thursday ordered Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, Sempra Energy and Southern California Gas to pay $525,000 in sanctions, finding that the law firm and its clients violated court orders and repeatedly withheld discovery information.
February 20, 2020
Delaware Bench Balance Rule Is 'Offensive,' High Court Told

An attorney challenging Delaware's judicial political parity rule told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that a provision of the state constitution requiring equal representation of parties on the bench is "offensive to the First Amendment."
February 20, 2020
Roger Stone Judge Strikes Blow For Judicial Independence

The judge who sentenced Roger Stone for obstruction called President Donald Trump's remarks on the case inappropriate, a rebuke that former judges said served to underscore the importance of an independent judiciary in a distrustful era.
February 20, 2020
Suspension Put On Ice For Atty Who Blasted Judges, Courts

A New York appellate court vacated its one-year suspension of an attorney it found made "relentless insults and attacks" against federal judges and courts and who also disclosed sealed information about a defendant as part of an extortion plot because the underlying matter still has not been resolved.
February 20, 2020
Atty Accused Of Shaking Butt At Adversary Replaced

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. asked a Texas federal court on Thursday to put allegations of inappropriate butt-shaking by a BakerHostetler partner during a mediation in the "rearview mirror," saying it replaced its legal team to avoid bogging down the employment discrimination case.
February 20, 2020
Volkswagen Slams Drivers Trying To DQ Judge On Eve Of Trial

Volkswagen on Thursday blasted a last-minute bid to disqualify the judge overseeing the first U.S. trial over Volkswagen's "clean diesel" emissions scandal, set to start in days, saying the attempt to oust the judge is a “frivolous tactic.”
February 20, 2020
70 Ex-Reinhardt Clerks Urge Courts To Confront Harassment

More than 70 former clerks for the late Ninth Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt on Thursday commended a fellow clerk for telling members of Congress about sexual harassment by the judge, urging changes to workplace training and reporting in the federal judiciary.
February 20, 2020
Mass. Justices Call ICE Deportation 'An Affront To Justice'

Top Massachusetts state court justices criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a letter made public Thursday, calling the recent deportation of a defendant facing drug charges before he could stand trial "an affront to justice."
February 20, 2020
3rd Circ. Blasted For Not Booting Judge From Ex-Clerk's Case

A Pennsylvania woman waging a decadeslong battle with environmental regulators over wetlands on her property blasted the Third Circuit's curt refusal to boot the case's judge from the matter, arguing that a panel didn't even say why the jurist should stay put despite the fact that her ex-clerk is prosecuting the matter.
February 20, 2020
Feds Fight Ponzi Schemer's Claims Of Ineffective Counsel

A man who conspired with a Washington, D.C., attorney to run a Ponzi scheme involving investments in fake concerts can’t claim his lawyers were ineffective just because one couldn’t get a victim booted from his sentencing and made comments that offended him, prosecutors told a Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

Rebuttal

AI Can't Accurately Predict Case Length And Cost — Yet

A recent Law360 guest article argued that artificial intelligence can precisely estimate the length and cost of a new case, but several limitations will likely delay truly accurate predictions for years to come, says Andrew Russell at Shaw Keller.
Opinion

Trump Is Right About Stone Sentencing, For Wrong Reasons

President Donald Trump weighed in on Roger Stone's sentencing in an inappropriate way — and caused quite a commotion within the U.S. Department of Justice as a result — but he nonetheless was right to find the sentencing guidelines' recommendation shocking, say criminal defense attorney Alan Ellis and sentencing consultant Mark Allenbaugh.
Lawyers Can Build Trust Through The Spoken Word

As attorneys, we may prefer the precision of written communication, but a phone call or an in-person conversation builds trust by letting others see and hear our authentic selves, rather than something constructed or scripted, says mediator Sidney Kanazawa of ARC.
Opinion

Legal Prediction Is Demanding But Not Impossible

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent decision in Balducci v. Cige incorrectly concluded that predicting the length and cost of a case is nearly impossible, and overlooked artificial intelligence's ability to do so, says Joseph Avery with Claudius Legal Intelligence.
Malpractice Landscape Is Becoming Riskier For BigLaw

A recent survey of lawyers’ professional liability insurers revealed an increase in malpractice claims against law firms, suggesting clients will demand more accountability in the coming decade, say Gerald Klein and Amy Nguyen at Klein & Wilson.
Perspectives

Book Review: A Lawyer Reflects On Defending Guilty People

In her new book, "Guilty People," Abbe Smith successfully conveys that seeing ourselves in people who commit crime may be the first step to exacting change in our justice system, says U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa of the District of Arizona.
Series

Why I Became A Lawyer: Following A Serendipitous Path

I went to law school intending to pursue a career in politics, inspired by Ted Sorensen and Gary Hart — but learning to solve problems in a new and exciting way drew me to litigation, says David Goodman of Goodman Law Group Chicago.
7 Ethics Questions To Ask Before Marketing Your Law Firm

While ethics rules for attorney advertising vary by state and are frequently updated, there are several basic principles that all firms should understand, says Michelle King at Reputation Ink.
Opinion

Most Lawyers Do Not Understand How AI Works

Clearview AI's problematic attempt to defend its facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology provides a potent case study in potential pitfalls for lawyers working on AI issues, say Albert Fox Cahn and John Veiszlemlein at the Urban Justice Center's Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
4 Considerations When Moving To A New Law Firm

When contemplating a lateral move to a new law firm, lawyers should carefully review questions concerning firm structure, benefits, compensation and binding documents in order to identify obligations and potential red flags, say Amy Richardson and Lauren Snyder at Harris Wiltshire.
A Modest Plan To Streamline Civil Cases In LA Superior Court

The California Legislature's recent effort to simplify civil litigation is laudable, but working with the Los Angeles Superior Court to make efficient litigation stipulations mandatory, rather than voluntary, would improve the process further, say professor Gary Craig and students Jasmine Gomez and Kennedy Myers at Loyola Law School.
What Courts Are Saying About Litigation Finance Disclosure

Four recent federal court decisions concerning commercial litigation finance disclosure are largely consistent with a broader trend of rejecting or limiting discovery based on relevance and the attorney work product doctrine, say Stephanie Spangler at Norris McLaughlin and Dai Wai Chin Feman at Parabellum Capital.
2nd Circ. Sheldon Silver Opinion May Limit Fraud Prosecution

The Second Circuit's recent opinion dismissing the honest services fraud conviction of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver may significantly restrict the government's bribery prosecution theories and heighten the importance of jury instructions, say Jack Sharman and Jordan Patterson of Lightfoot Franklin.
Surefire Marketing Methods To Build Your Legal Practice

Attorneys who take the time and the risk to showcase their talents through speaking, writing and teaching will find that opportunities will begin building upon themselves, says Daniel Karon of Karon LLC.
Setting Boundaries: An Essential Skill For Lawyers

While lawyers may often view boundaries as a restraint on their potential or a sign of weakness, failing to establish good boundaries can have negative consequences for their health, behaviors, relationships and careers, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.