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Legal Ethics
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March 20, 2024
Future Of Judge-Shopping Reform Hazy After Rule Proposal
The policymaking body for U.S. courts provoked a stir last week when it proposed a rule designed to curb "judge shopping," with observers saying that the policy does address one type of the practice but that it remains to be seen if individual federal district courts will be willing to adopt even that limited reform.
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March 19, 2024
Fla. City Atty Says Law Grants Immunity In Realty Fraud Suit
An attorney for the city of Miami told a state appellate panel Tuesday that the law entitles her to sovereign immunity in a lawsuit in which she's accused of aiding her husband in a real estate fraud scheme, saying the allegations aren't specific enough to remove that protection from her.
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March 19, 2024
Leech Tishman Tells 6th Circ. Time Ran Out On Fraud Suit
A former Leech Tishman attorney was not party to a tolling agreement between his law firm and investors caught in a Ponzi scheme he allegedly should have warned them away from, so the firm should escape vicarious liability once the time limit expired for the investors to sue him, counsel for the firm told the Sixth Circuit Tuesday.
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March 19, 2024
NJ Family Atty Suspended For Sexual Relationship With Client
The New Jersey Supreme Court has handed down a one-year suspension to a divorce attorney for having a sexual affair with a client while representing her in a divorce case and manipulating her despite knowing that the client suffered from depression because of a previous car accident.
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March 19, 2024
No 'True Threats' Made On Officials In Trump Case, Court Told
An Alabama man indicted for allegedly threatening to harm the Georgia prosecutor spearheading the election interference case against former President Donald Trump wants the indictment against him tossed, arguing that he didn't make "true threats" and that his speech is protected by the First Amendement.
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March 19, 2024
Alston & Bird, Ex-Staffer Dodge Ga. Judge's Contempt Threat
A Georgia federal judge in a hearing Tuesday backed off a threat to hold in contempt lawyers for Alston & Bird LLP and a former diversity staffer who sued the firm, alleging unpaid overtime claims, over their repeated failures to file a $55,000 settlement agreement with the court.
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March 19, 2024
Ex-Lynch Carpenter Atty Hits Firm With Whistleblower Case
A former associate for Lynch Carpenter LLP has brought a whistleblower suit in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming labor code violations, discrimination, breach of contract and retaliation after allegedly witnessing "multiple instances of unethical conduct that he believed constituted fraud and/or legal malpractice."
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March 19, 2024
OptumRx Can't Get Motley Rice Disqualified From Opioid MDL
An Ohio federal judge has denied a bid by pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx to disqualify Motley Rice LLC from representing plaintiffs in the national opioid litigation, saying the company hasn't shown that the firm's prior representation of states investigating opioids puts the company at a disadvantage in the multidistrict litigation.
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March 19, 2024
Move Puerto Rico Defamation Suit To Illinois, Judge Advises
A $3 million defamation suit brought by a Chicago-based lobbyist against two Illinois attorneys belongs in the Land of Lincoln, a Puerto Rico magistrate judge determined in a report and recommendation.
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March 19, 2024
Pro-Trump Mich. Atty Evading Warrant Arrested In DC
A Michigan attorney facing state criminal charges of tampering with voting machines was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday after she was arrested following a hearing in separate defamation litigation brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
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March 18, 2024
Trump Can't Use Quasi-Advice Of Counsel Defense In NY Trial
Donald Trump cannot use an informal "presence of counsel" defense in the Manhattan district attorney's hush money case against him, a New York judge ruled Monday, rejecting a strategy that would have allowed the former president to blame his ex-attorneys without having to divulge details about the purported legal advice.
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March 18, 2024
Atty For Ex-Overstock CEO Admits Dominion Discovery Leaks
A lawyer representing former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne against a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems admitted to a D.C. federal judge on Monday that she shared Dominion's discovery documents with law enforcement as Dominion's attorneys decried the leak as a flagrant violation of a court protective order.
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March 18, 2024
5 Moments That Swayed Ga. Judge In the Trump Case DQ Bid
After days of testimony about the romantic and financial relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis and the lawyer she appointed to lead the election interference case against Donald Trump, a Georgia judge last week ordered Willis to shuffle the prosecution team. How did he reach that ruling? Here are five moments that swayed the judge.
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March 18, 2024
SEC Sanctioned Over 'Bad Faith Conduct' In Crypto Case
A Utah federal judge sanctioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday over misstatements its counsel made to obtain emergency measures against crypto project Debt Box, ordering the regulator to pay both the defense's and receiver's attorney fees as well as legal costs arising from the regulator's "bad faith conduct."
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March 18, 2024
Plaintiffs Call For Sanctions Over PFAS MDL Deal Threat
A proposed class in multidistrict litigation against DuPont and others alleging they contaminated drinking water with PFAS chemicals is urging a South Carolina federal court to sanction attorneys for a California water service, saying they violated court rules in their latest objections to a settlement.
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March 18, 2024
Mass. Law Firm Can't Escape Ex-Client's Data Breach Case
A small Massachusetts law firm will have to face an ex-client's proposed class action claiming it was negligent and failed to protect her and others' personal information from hackers who breached the firm's computers and stole data, a Boston federal judge has ruled.
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March 18, 2024
NC Judge Axes Wage Suit After Attys Flout Pretrial Deadlines
A North Carolina judge has cast out an employment dispute between a funeral home and its former president on the eve of trial after both sides neglected deadlines, saying he'll dismiss the case in its entirety with a chance to refile and "clean the slate."
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March 18, 2024
Kirkland Wants To Escape Suit Over Ex-Judge's Relationship
Kirkland & Ellis LLP wants to bring down the hammer on a racketeering lawsuit claiming the firm "conspired" to profit from a Texas bankruptcy judge's secret romance scandal, saying the "flimsy" suit should be dismissed, and both the plaintiff and his attorneys at Bandas Law Firm PC should be sanctioned for filing it.
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March 18, 2024
Seton Hall Aims To Erase Ex-President's 'Sensational' Suit
Seton Hall University has called on a New Jersey state court to throw out its former president's claims he was forced out for blowing the whistle on alleged misconduct by former board chair and prominent criminal defense attorney Kevin Marino, saying the suit is "what can best be described as gamesmanship, and at worst sheer dishonesty."
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March 18, 2024
Major Lindsey Followed Rules In Sex Assault Suit, Judge Says
A Chicago-based attorney who represents Major Lindsey & Africa LLC in an ex-employee's New York sexual assault suit did not run afoul of court requirements by sending a letter demanding that she drop the claims, a judge held Monday.
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March 18, 2024
5th Circ. Revives Widows' Collections Suit Against Law Firm
The Fifth Circuit has revived a proposed class action against Louisiana law firm Shows Cali & Walsh LLP regarding its efforts to recoup grant funds awarded in connection with Hurricane Katrina, saying a reasonable jury could find the law firm violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
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March 18, 2024
DC Panel Explains Denial Of Ethics Subpoena On Ex-DOJ Atty
A subpoena from D.C. attorney ethics authorities demanding that former U.S. Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Clark produce documents pertaining to his alleged role in promoting Donald Trump's stolen election narrative would be "sufficiently testimonial and potentially incriminating" to implicate the Fifth Amendment, a D.C. Court of Appeals panel ruled.
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March 18, 2024
Trump, Co-Defendants Seek Appeal Of Willis DQ Ruling
Former President Donald Trump on Monday asked a Georgia judge to let him appeal a ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis to continue prosecuting him and his co-defendants in the state's election interference case.
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March 18, 2024
Pa. Firm Partner's Equity Suit Sent Back To State Court
A dispute between two firm partners is being remanded to Pennsylvania state court after a U.S. district judge ruled Friday that the case lacks the geographic diversity required to be in federal court because both attorneys remain members of the firm, despite one submitting notice of her intent to withdraw.
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March 18, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Multimillion-dollar e-cigarette settlements, $4 billion in stock buybacks and a $6.1 million appraisal tweak were among the big-dollar items logged in the Delaware Court of Chancery's ledger last week. Also on the docket: a Panama port project, a news outlet's defamation case, drone disputes and a flood of mail from Tesla shareholders. In case you missed it, here's all the latest from the Chancery Court.
Expert Analysis
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS
After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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What Panama Canal Award Ruling Means For Int'l Arbitration
As the prevalence of international arbitration grows, the Eighth Circuit’s recent decision in Grupo Unidos v. Canal de Panama may change how practitioners decide what remedies to seek and where to raise them if claims are rejected, says Jerry Roth at FedArb.
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Opinion
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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Alleged $636M Deal Error Highlights Ethics Considerations
Adelman v. Proskauer, a malpractice suit that allegedly arose from a cut-and-paste error resulting in potential damages of $636 million, presents an intriguing juxtaposition of facts and legal issues — and practical ethical considerations for transactions attorneys, says Richard Leisner at Trenam Law.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.