Legal Ethics

  • March 23, 2026

    Attys For City Of New Orleans Sanctioned For AI Use

    A Louisiana federal judge has sanctioned attorneys for the city of New Orleans over misuse of artificial intelligence that resulted in hallucinated case citations in a pro se civil rights case.

  • March 23, 2026

    DOJ Says Block On Sen. Kelly's Demotion Must Be Reversed

    The Trump administration told the D.C. Circuit a court order shielding U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a retired Navy captain, from a demotion for telling service members they don't have to follow illegal orders was "gravely wrong" and threatens military discipline.

  • March 23, 2026

    Reed Smith Pushes To Continue Atty Depo In NJ Bias Suit

    Reed Smith LLP is urging a New Jersey state trial court to allow it to resume its deposition of a former attorney suing it for gender discrimination years after the last deposition date in the wake of an appeals court decision widely expanding the scope of discovery.

  • March 23, 2026

    NJ Law Firm Hit With Firing Suit From Former Paralegal

    A former paralegal at Rainone Coughlin Minchello LLC has alleged the New Jersey municipal-law firm violated the New Jersey Family Leave Act in illegally firing her after she sought intermittent family leave to care for her mother‑in‑law following a debilitating stroke.

  • March 23, 2026

    Social Media Atty Sanctioned For 'Most Shameful Moment'

    A California judge on Monday sanctioned an attorney for the plaintiff in a bellwether trial alleging Meta Platforms and Google's social media platforms harm children's mental health, fining him $1,100 and keeping him off the plaintiffs' steering committee for violating court rules by twice filming inside the courthouse.

  • March 23, 2026

    Ramey IP Attys, Client Must Pay $107K Fees In Bad-Faith Suit

    A San Francisco federal judge has ordered three sanctioned attorneys, including Texas intellectual property lawyer William Ramey III, together with their client, to cover $107,389 in attorney fees stemming from three identical patent suits the lawyers launched and withdrew in 2024, also ordering Ramey to show cause why he should not face further sanctions.

  • March 23, 2026

    Judge Clears Way For Hearing On Fulton County Ballot Raid

    A Georgia federal judge will allow Fulton County to move forward with its bid to force the U.S. Department of Justice into court this week to back up the evidence behind its January raid on the county's election office, when it seized 2020 ballots.

  • March 23, 2026

    Justices Pass On Challenge To Courts' Sanctions Authority

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a dietary supplement company's request to review sanctions it was issued at trial in a false advertising dispute, in a case that could have led justices to clarify when courts may use their inherent authority to sanction parties for litigation conduct.

  • March 20, 2026

    Ore. Atty Sanctioned $10K For Brief With Fabricated Citations

    An Oregon appellate court has ordered an attorney to pay $10,000 for filing an opening brief containing fabricated case citations, quotations that "do not exist anywhere in Oregon case law" and other inaccuracies, according to an opinion.

  • March 20, 2026

    Firms Must Face Discovery In $102M Award Feud

    A New York federal judge on Friday permitted Levona Holdings to closely scrutinize declarations provided by attorneys with Greenberg Traurig LLP and Reed Smith LLP as it pursues sanctions against the firms following the court's vacatur of a $102 million arbitral award procured through fraud.

  • March 20, 2026

    Ad Tech Class Can't Make Outside Plaintiffs Set Aside Funds

    Individual website publishers suing Google won't have to set aside 10% of any winnings in the sprawling advertising placement technology antitrust multidistrict litigation after a New York federal judge said that the certified class of publishers was embellishing its contributions in seeking the set-aside.

  • March 20, 2026

    Where Calif. State Courts Landed On Generative AI Use Rules

    The majority of California's 58 superior courts — together making up the country's largest trial court system — have decided to greenlight the use of generative artificial intelligence in their work this year, a Law360 investigation found.

  • March 20, 2026

    Cooperator Rechnitz Can't Avoid Jail At SDNY Resentencing

    A Manhattan federal judge on Friday hit Jona Rechnitz, a prolific cooperating witness who testified at three trials, with a five-month prison sentence for corruption crimes he committed over a decade ago, despite saying "you have done all you can" to atone.

  • March 20, 2026

    No Federal Discipline For Disbarred Conn. Civil Rights Atty

    A Connecticut federal judge has refused to punish a Black civil rights attorney suspended and disbarred by a state superior court judge, saying a similar move in federal court "would result in a grave injustice," and that he found the state judge's decision "puzzling."

  • March 20, 2026

    Beasley Allen Can't Halt DQ Ruling In J&J Talc Litigation

    A New Jersey state appeals court has refused to pause its decision disqualifying the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, according to a court order.

  • March 20, 2026

    Morgan & Morgan Wants To Probe Derailment Atty Fee Split

    The firm Morgan & Morgan PA asked an Ohio federal court Friday to reopen discovery in the East Palestine derailment litigation and delve into the decision-making behind the attorney fees for Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement, after the Sixth Circuit gave the firm a chance to double-check whether it had received its fair share.

  • March 20, 2026

    DOJ Rebuked Over Lack Of Candor For 'Imperious Client'

    A Florida federal judge has rebuked government attorneys for failing to be up-front about legal authority that contradicts their position in a habeas case, warning them not to let their "imperious client" get between them and their ethical obligations.

  • March 19, 2026

    Fired 'Arctic Frost' Agents Accuse FBI Of Political Retribution

    Two former FBI agents who worked on the "Arctic Frost" investigation into President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss have accused the government of abruptly firing them in an unconstitutional act of "political retribution."

  • March 19, 2026

    Ex-Judges Say Anthropic Case Doesn't Merit Court Deference

    Nearly 150 former judges are backing Anthropic's fight against its designation as a "supply chain risk" by the U.S. Department of Defense, telling the D.C. Circuit in an amicus brief that the judiciary shouldn't simply defer to the executive just because it invokes national security.

  • March 19, 2026

    Ga. Court Upholds $3M Judgment In Sibling Trust Dispute

    A Georgia appeals court upheld a more than $3 million judgment against a man who allegedly slow-walked his late mother's trust administration in an attempt to help his daughter get need-based financial aid for college, finding that his malicious conduct justified putting him on the hook for damages and attorney fees. 

  • March 19, 2026

    No Proof Of Discrimination In Ann Arbor Vax Suit, Judge Says

    A Michigan federal judge ruled on Wednesday that three former Ann Arbor employees suing the city because it did not grant them religious exemptions from its COVID-19 vaccine directive did not provide direct evidence of discrimination.

  • March 19, 2026

    Judge Digs Into Counsel Over 'Astronomically High' Fee Bid

    Attorneys who represented classes of people who say they received harassing phone calls from real estate agents in violation of federal telemarketing laws are asking for way too much of the $20 million settlement, according to the California federal judge who tore into them Wednesday.

  • March 19, 2026

    Anatomy Of A Citation Hallucination: AI Edit, Associate Review

    Counsel for consumers in a supplement labeling lawsuit against Amazon responded Wednesday to a Seattle federal judge's order to explain an AI-hallucinated citation, saying the error was introduced by a generative artificial intelligence tool used to "harmonize" drafts of a brief, then missed by a fifth-year Boies Schiller associate tasked with checking the citations.

  • March 19, 2026

    Maya Kowalski Says Atty Made Her 'Uncomfortable'

    The attorney who persuaded a jury to award $261 million to Netflix documentary subject Maya Kowalski also provided unsolicited dating and sex advice to his 18-year-old client and arranged an advance funding loan for the Kowalski family in violation of Florida Bar rules, according to a statement Kowalski filed.

  • March 19, 2026

    Calif. Bill Seeks Legal Aid For Residents Facing Deportation

    California residents facing federal deportation proceedings would receive legal representation under a new bill introduced by state Assemblymember Mia Bonta. 

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Presidential Pardon Brokering Can Create Risks For Attys

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    The emergence of an apparent “pardon shopping” marketplace, in which attorneys treat presidential pardons as a market product, may invite investigative scrutiny of counsel and potential criminal charges grounded in bribery, wire fraud and other statutes, says David Klasing at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • Prisoners' Access To Health Info Should Have No Bars

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    To safeguard against unnecessary deaths in custody, courts and policymakers should clarify that incarcerated individuals’ constitutional right to medical care also includes access to sufficient information about their medical conditions, lifting current restrictions that can lead to crucial information being withheld, says Jaehyun Oh at Jacob Fuchsberg Law.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

  • Navigating Privilege Law Patchwork In Dual-Purpose Comms

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    Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to resolve a circuit split in In re: Grand Jury, federal courts remain split as to when attorney-client privilege applies to dual-purpose legal and business communications, and understanding the fragmented landscape is essential for managing risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Considerations In Building Guardrails For AI Use In Arbitration

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    A recent California federal court case involving allegations of artificial intelligence ghostwriting an arbitration award, prior analogous practice on tribunal delegation, and emerging generative AI recommendations all support building a forward-looking framework for arbitration rules to minimize the risk of AI-based challenges, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Fly-Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Much like skilled attorneys, the best anglers prize preparation, presentation and patience while respecting their adversaries — both human and trout, says Rob Braverman at Braverman Greenspun.

  • 4 Ways GCs Can Manage Growing Service Of Process Volume

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    As automation and arbitration increase the volume of legal filings, in-house counsel must build scalable service of process systems that strengthen corporate governance and manage risk in real time, says Paul Mathews at Corporation Service Co.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Forming Measurable Ties

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    Relationship-building should begin as early as possible in a law firm merger, as intentional pathways to bringing people together drive collaboration, positive client response, engagements and growth, says Amie Colby at Troutman.

  • Wis. Sanctions Order May Shake Up Securities Class Actions

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    A Wisconsin federal court’s recent decision to impose sanctions on a plaintiffs law firm for filing a frivolous Private Securities Litigation Reform Act complaint in Toft v. Harbor Diversified may cause both plaintiffs and defendants law firms to reconsider certain customary practices in securities class actions, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

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