Legal Ethics

  • May 26, 2026

    Diversion Plan Ordered For Pa. Judge With 'Book of Grudges'

    A Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, magisterial judge has entered a judicial diversion program to resolve a disciplinary investigation into reports that she kept a "book of grudges" with detailed and profane personal complaints about people she encountered in her courtroom.

  • May 26, 2026

    DHS Pauses ICE Home Entries Under Administrative Warrants

    Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a Democratic senator earlier this month he's paused immigration agents' use of administrative warrants to enter private property, but has not officially revoked the controversial policy issued last year.

  • May 26, 2026

    Pirro, Blanche Fight DQ Bid In Attempted Assassination Case

    U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche are fighting a bid from the California man accused of an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner to disqualify them from handling the case.

  • May 26, 2026

    2nd Circ. Eyes Bail For Bribe Case Cooperator: 'Why Not?'

    A Second Circuit judge on Tuesday questioned a Manhattan federal judge's decision to deny bail to prolific cooperator Jona Rechnitz while he appeals a five-month sentence for facilitating bribery inside the New York Police Department and in a law enforcement union, saying the lower court appeared "annoyed" when bail was mentioned.

  • May 22, 2026

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    This past year, 10 lawyers across the country at plaintiffs' firms big and small helped secure millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for their clients, going up against powerful defendants like Google, Monsanto and the Trump administration, earning the attorneys recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2026.

  • May 22, 2026

    PFAS Judge Wary Of Bid To Sanction Town For 'About-Face'

    A Montana federal judge on Friday seemed slightly reluctant to sanction Connecticut municipalities for moving firefighter turnout gear PFAS claims to his jurisdiction after roughly two years of litigation on the East Coast, suggesting the process of shipping purchaser claims across the nation is typical when complex cases arise.

  • May 22, 2026

    Attys Hijacked 1,000 Storm Cases In 'Shakedown,' Suit Says

    Two Louisiana law firms and a group of politically connected attorneys engaged in a "shakedown" to steal about 1,000 cases filed by hurricane survivors who had hired and built cases with a different firm, alleged a RICO suit filed Thursday in Houston federal court.

  • May 22, 2026

    Mich. Panel Upholds $20M Verdict Despite Improper Closing

    The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a $20.6 million verdict for a man who was severely injured when a van struck him while he was snow-blowing his driveway, ruling that the defense could not challenge plaintiff counsel's inflammatory closing arguments because it failed to object at trial.

  • May 22, 2026

    Ala. Atty Suspended Over 'Atrocious' Bid To Cover Up AI Use

    A federal judge has suspended an attorney from practicing in the Northern District of Alabama after the attorney deleted his ChatGPT account in a bid to cover up his use of the chatbot to write an erroneous brief, saying the court never imagined having to deal with such "atrocious conduct."

  • May 22, 2026

    Ga. Panel Rejects 'Disingenuous' Bid To Dodge Settlement

    A Georgia appellate panel has backed a trial court's decision to enforce a separation settlement between a metro Atlanta city and its former city manager, ruling that he could not escape his attorney's clear-cut acceptance of the city's offer when she wrote that "we have a deal."

  • May 22, 2026

    Texas Bar Says Attorney Neglected Child Support Cases

    The State Bar of Texas' disciplinary arm has filed a disciplinary petition against attorney Richard Jordan Riley in Harris County court, accusing him of neglecting a client's two child support matters, failing to meaningfully communicate for months and never refunding unearned fees after she ended the representation.

  • May 22, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Atty's Hospital Fraud Claims Not Med Mal

    The Fourth Circuit has revived an attorney's suit against a Maryland hospital, saying while the claims may be related to medical malpractice that he alleges he suffered under a doctor working at the hospital, the fraud and conspiracy claims are not medical malpractice.

  • May 22, 2026

    Opioid Plaintiffs Want Sanctions Over McKinsey Deletions

    A group of plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation against McKinsey & Co. is urging a California federal court to sanction the company for deleting communications with Purdue Pharma and other opioid-makers, saying the court should enter a default judgment against the consulting firm.

  • May 22, 2026

    Nelson Mullins Faces $2B Suits Over Alleged Conflicts

    The former wives of two insurance mogul brothers have sued Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP for $2 billion, claiming a partner there set up the couples' estates while quietly conspiring with the brothers to shield marital assets from the wives in the event of divorce.

  • May 22, 2026

    Md. Docs Seek $50M After DOJ's Failed Russia Case

    Two Maryland physicians sued the U.S. Department of Justice and federal health agencies alleging an outdated news release still portrays them as threats to national security despite the dismissal of criminal charges alleging they leaked medical records to Russia, ostracizing them from medicine and costing them millions. 

  • May 22, 2026

    DOJ Hid Grand Jury Misconduct In ICE Case, Ill. Judge Says

    An Illinois federal judge said Thursday her trust in U.S. Department of Justice attorneys had been "broken" after reviewing unredacted grand jury transcripts in a criminal case against anti-ICE protesters that revealed prosecutorial misconduct, shortly after which Chicago's top federal prosecutor moved to dismiss the charges.

  • May 22, 2026

    Discipline Upheld For Fed. Judge Who Had Sex In Chambers

    The federal judiciary signed off Friday on a private reprimand for a district judge within the Eleventh Circuit for misconduct that included having an extramarital affair with a law enforcement officer and sexual intercourse in their chambers within earshot of the judge's staff.

  • May 22, 2026

    Sills Cummis, Ex-Rock Musician Manager Ink Pretrial Deal

    Sills Cummis & Gross PC and the former manager of a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee suing the firm over malpractice claims have reached a deal just days before the case was set to go to trial, according to a letter filed in New Jersey state court.

  • May 22, 2026

    Justices Won't Upend Ruling Making Ga. Ethics Claims Public

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Friday to vacate an Eleventh Circuit ruling that allowed Georgia's judicial watchdog to publicize allegations that two unsuccessful Georgia Supreme Court candidates violated ethics rules, shortly after the pair argued the election did not moot the case.

  • May 22, 2026

    Ex-Public Defender, Ex-Boss Spar Over Bias Suit Discovery

    The administrative office overseeing indigent defense in metro Detroit has asked a Michigan federal judge to end bias claims a former public defender brought against the office, arguing she ignored discovery orders, while the lawyer asked the court to reconsider an April discovery order, arguing the defendants omitted facts in the motion to compel.

  • May 22, 2026

    Prosecutors Seek $1.98M Forfeiture In Goldstein Case

    Federal prosecutors are seeking a nearly $2 million forfeiture judgment against convicted SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein and asking a Maryland federal judge to turn the Supreme Court lawyer's Northwest D.C. home over to the government to pay it.

  • May 22, 2026

    Survey Finds Legal Malpractice Claim Frequency Grew In 2025

    Insurers reported an increase in the frequency of legal malpractice claims for the first time in several years amid concerns over issues like the uncontrolled use of artificial intelligence, according to this year's legal professional liability insurance survey by EPIC Law Firm Group.

  • May 21, 2026

    Apple Wants Justices To Review Epic Games Contempt Order

    Apple Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on exactly when and how civil contempt sanctions can be issued for violating a court order, arguing that the Ninth Circuit missed the mark by upholding such sanctions against Apple in its App Store battle with Epic Games.

  • May 21, 2026

    OpenAI Ouster About Governance, Not Bad Counsel, Pros Say

    Witness testimony offered during a recent high-profile jury trial over Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit restructuring accused the artificial intelligence company's nonprofit board of following bad legal advice when it fired CEO Sam Altman in 2023, although experts say the incident was more likely the product of poor governance rather than lousy legal counsel.

  • May 21, 2026

    LGBCoin Buyers Say Sanctions Bid Flunks Safe Harbor Rule

    Investors in the "Let's Go Brandon" meme coin asked a Florida federal court to reject a sanctions bid filed by the coin's founder, saying he didn't comply with the court's safe harbor rule requiring him to send a draft motion 21 days in advance. 

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Trail Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Navigating the muddy, root-filled path of trail marathons and ultramarathons provides fertile training ground for my high-stakes fractional general counsel work, teaching me to slow down my mind when the terrain shifts, sharpen my focus and trust my training, says Eric Proos at Next Era Legal.

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • 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.

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