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Legal Ethics
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April 12, 2024
Petition Watch: Judge DQs, 'Excessive' Damages & Price Wars
A former al-Qaida member has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify disqualification protocol for judges overseeing a case related to their prior work as a government attorney, and energy drink manufacturers want the court to develop a modern-day test to determine if companies qualify as price-discrimination competitors. Here's four high court petitions filed recently that you might've missed.
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April 12, 2024
Illinois Firm, Ex-Partner Resolve $2.4M Client-Poaching Suit
An Illinois insurance defense law firm and a former partner have settled a nearly six-year suit alleging the attorney poached clients while leaving the firm in 2016, with both sides agreeing to dismiss claims the lawyer caused $2.4 million in damages to his former employer.
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April 12, 2024
Mich. High Court Snapshot: Atty Sanctions Kick Off April
The Michigan Supreme Court returns Tuesday for its April session, hearing oral arguments about judges' ability to sanction lawyers for past attorneys' work in a case, what defendants say could be double recovery in wrongful death cases, and an attempt to use a Larry Nassar-inspired law to sue Catholic priests for decades-old abuse allegations.
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April 12, 2024
Judge Pauline Newman's Year In Her Own Words
April 14 marks the one-year anniversary of when the Federal Circuit confirmed an unprecedented investigation into whether U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman was mentally and physically competent to remain on its bench, and the judge has not been allowed to hear cases during that time. Here is what she had to say about the investigation in an interview with Law360.
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April 12, 2024
Trump Trial's Anonymous Jury Signals Sacrifice Of Service
As jury selection begins Monday in the criminal trial of former president Donald Trump, the panel's identities will remain shielded from the public and the media. So-called anonymous juries are relatively new and rare, but they're being used more and more for high-profile cases in an age of doxxing and political polarization.
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April 12, 2024
Panama Papers Attys Deny Money Laundering At Trial
Two attorneys who ran the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama, at the center of a 2016 leak that produced multiple convictions for tax evasion, pled not guilty with 27 others to money-laundering charges as a trial began in Panama, according to prosecutors.
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April 12, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Jan. 6, Gratuities & Ineffective Attys
The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the term's last two weeks of oral arguments, during which it will consider whether the U.S. Department of Justice can use the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to prosecute defendants accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and the correct standard courts should apply when reviewing malicious prosecution claims.
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April 12, 2024
On Eve Of Ethics Trial, Ex-Calif. Bar Head Tries To Gut Case
Former State Bar of California Executive Director Joe Dunn is trying once again to shut down the bar's disciplinary case against him, on the eve of a trial set to begin next week that centers on a 2014 scandal connected to disgraced plaintiffs attorney Tom Girardi.
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April 12, 2024
NJ Firm Wants Boardwalk Malpractice Suit Tossed For Good
Hankin Sandman Palladino Weintrob & Bell has called on a New Jersey federal court to lift a stay and allow the firm to pursue summary judgment in a legal malpractice lawsuit from a couple over their investment in an Atlantic City Boardwalk amusement park, which resulted in an $11.8 million claim against the investors.
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April 12, 2024
Mogul Aims To Trace Part Of Alleged $35M Hack Payout To Atty
An airline mogul has doubled down on a bid to access the bank records of a North Carolina attorney and ex-FBI agent, saying those records will help "follow the money" to prove a large-scale hacking conspiracy against him that he claims involves a $35 million payout.
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April 12, 2024
Vermont Attys Can't Be Sued In Connecticut, Court Says
Two Vermont firms that handled the sale of a Connecticut man's second home near a Vermont ski town cannot be sued in Connecticut because the lawyers' business models and the disputed cash transfers that spurred the litigation were not sufficiently directed toward Connecticut, a three-judge appellate panel ruled on Friday.
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April 12, 2024
DC Circ. Upholds Jan. 6 Rioter's 52-Month Sentence
The DC Circuit on Friday affirmed a judgment and 52-month sentence against a Texas militia leader who pled guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying the judge had acted within his discretion in applying certain enhancements.
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April 12, 2024
Ex-Philly Union Leader Denied Bench Trial In Extortion Case
A Pennsylvania federal judge has denied twice-convicted former International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 leader John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty's request to have his third criminal trial — this time over extortion charges — handled by a judge instead of a jury.
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April 12, 2024
Off The Bench: Ohtani 'Victim' In Theft, Arbitration Nod To NFL
In this week's Off The Bench, Shohei Ohtani looks to get off the hook on sports-betting allegations while his former interpreter faces charges, the NFL wins a critical court victory in the Brian Flores lawsuit, and troubled WWE founder Vince McMahon cuts even more financial ties with the company.
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April 12, 2024
Santos Says Feds Withheld Key Evidence For Over A Year
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos accused New York federal prosecutors of withholding evidence that he said undermined their fraud and campaign finance charges against him.
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April 12, 2024
Trump Voir Dire Aims To Keep Ballot Box Out Of The Jury Box
As jury selection begins Monday in the first-ever criminal trial against a former president, experts say both the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and lawyers for Donald Trump will rely on voir dire questioning and social media sleuthing to keep out jurors who'd use their civic duty to "have a stronger vote in the next presidential election."
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April 11, 2024
CFPB Says Credit Card Shares Disqualifying In 5th Circ. Case
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sparred Thursday with a coalition of trade groups over recusal standards in their Fifth Circuit lawsuit challenging the agency's new $8 credit card late fee rule, arguing that a judge's ownership of stock in a major card-issuing bank ought to be disqualifying in itself.
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April 11, 2024
Judge Tells USPTO To Hand Over 'Expanded' Panels List
A Virginia federal judge has ordered the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to hand over a list the agency once made of how many Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings went before "expanded" panels, a practice that has since been abandoned.
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April 11, 2024
Orrick To Pay $8M To Settle Data Breach Litigation
A proposed class of data-breach victims asked a California federal judge Thursday to greenlight an $8 million settlement with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in litigation over a March 2023 data breach that purportedly exposed Social Security numbers and other personal information of more than 638,000 individuals.
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April 11, 2024
Leonard Leo Rebuffs Senate Judiciary Committee Subpoena
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, served influential conservative and longtime Federalist Society executive Leonard Leo with a subpoena on Thursday as part of his U.S. Supreme Court ethics probe, which Leo is refusing to comply with.
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April 11, 2024
Prosecutor Named In Ga. Lt. Gov. 2020 Fake Elector Probe
Nearly two years after a judge disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from investigating Georgia Lieutenant Gov. Burt Jones over his alleged role in helping former President Donald Trump overturn the state's 2020 presidential election, a state prosecutor has been appointed to handle the case.
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April 11, 2024
Pro-Trump Mich. Atty Gets New Trial Date After Skipping Court
A Michigan attorney accused of accessing voting machines after the 2020 presidential election said Thursday her old lawyer was dragging his feet in sharing critical documents as a judge rescheduled her trial for July following her attorney swap and her arrest for failing to appear in court.
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April 11, 2024
11th Circ. Denies Atty DQ Bid From Gold Star Wives
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday denied a request from Gold Star Wives of America Inc. to disqualify an attorney representing a former president of the organization in an appeal over a trademark suit settlement, rejecting its argument that the lawyer's time serving the group should prevent him from guiding its former leader.
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April 11, 2024
Ex-Atlanta Worker Says City's Missing Docs Merits Sanctions
Counsel for a former city of Atlanta department head who says she was fired after blowing the whistle on failures in its immigrant outreach services urged a Georgia federal judge on Thursday to hit the city with sanctions for reportedly destroying communications related to her termination.
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April 11, 2024
Software Co., NC Officials Want Out Of Digital Courts Row
Software company Tyler Technologies, North Carolina court administrators and two sheriffs have asked a federal court to release them from a proposed class action alleging the state's new digital filing system has led to unlawful arrests and detentions.
Expert Analysis
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ABA's No-Contact Rule Advice Raises Questions For Lawyers
The American Bar Association's ethics committee recently issued two opinions concerning the no-contact rule — one creates an intuitive and practical default for electronic communications, while the other sets a potential trap for pro se lawyers, say Lauren Snyder and Deepika Ravi at HWG.
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4 Key Skills For An Effective Attorney Coaching Conversation
As BigLaw firms are increasingly offering internal coaching as one of many talent strategies to stem ongoing lawyer attrition, Stacey Schwartz at Katten discusses how coaches can help attorneys achieve their goals.
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Perspectives
How Civilian Attorneys Can Help Veterans
With legal aid topping the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' annual list of unmet needs of veterans facing housing insecurity, nonmilitary volunteer attorneys can provide some of the most effective legal services to military and veteran clients, say Anna Richardson at Veterans Legal Services and Nicholas Hasenfus at Holland & Knight.
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Series
My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned That Culture Shapes Law
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York considers how a class with Jerry Cohen at Harvard Law helped him understand culture and history’s influence on jurisprudence, and how even seemingly settled law can evolve — all while espousing a more humanistic approach to teaching that restored Judge Rakoff's pride in being a lawyer.
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9 Legal Ethics Considerations In Natural Disaster Preparation
Since natural disasters like Hurricane Ian do not relieve lawyers of their ethical obligations to clients, law firms should focus their preparedness efforts on specific areas crucial to continuity of representation and ethics compliance, like business and communications contingency planning, record redundancy and more, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.
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Series
My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned To Put Law Into Practice
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins looks back at how Judge Charles Spurlock's trial advocacy class at Northeastern University School of Law challenged her to apply what she had already learned about civil and criminal procedure, evidence and criminal law to solving real-world problems.
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What To Consider When Leaving BigLaw To Go Solo
Attorneys contemplating leaving their once-ideal job in BigLaw to start their own business should take certain concrete steps before they depart, such as saving money and drafting a business plan, and prepare for some common challenges, says Claudia Springer at Novo Advisors.
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Series
My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned Education Never Ends
D.C. Circuit Judge David Tatel reflects on what made Bernard Meltzer a brilliant teacher and one of his favorite professors at the University of Chicago Law School, and how Meltzer’s teachings extended well past graduation and guided Judge Tatel through some complicated opinions.
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Opinion
New-Parent Attorneys Need Automatic Litigation Stays
To facilitate parental leave for solo practitioners and small-firm attorneys excluded from the Family and Medical Leave Act's protections, the American Bar Association should amend its rules to implement automatic litigation stays for attorneys welcoming a new child, says attorney Gabriel Levy.
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Associate Skills That Impress Firms In A Cooling Job Market
With the lateral hiring market calming down and law firms no longer overlooking resume deficiencies when evaluating candidates, associates at all levels should be cognizant of the skills and attributes that make them marketable to prospective employers, says J.B. Pullias at VOYlegal.
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Weighing Advice-Of-Counsel Defense If Trump Is Charged
If former President Donald Trump faces criminal charges stemming from the storage of government documents at Mar-a-Lago or efforts to overthrow the 2020 election, he could theoretically avoid conviction by claiming he relied on his lawyers’ advice — but for practical reasons, he's unlikely to use this defense, say Barbara Gillers and Stephen Gillers at New York University School of Law.
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High Court Could Resolve Thorny Atty-Client Privilege Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted review in a federal grand jury proceeding that presents a rare opportunity to clarify — and possibly significantly expand — the scope of the attorney-client privilege for complex mixed-purpose communications with counsel, says David Greenwald at Jenner & Block.
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How Much Information Should Cos. Share With Auditors?
Recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cases highlight the challenges that companies face in determining how much information about regulatory investigations should be shared with auditors, as the risk of waiving protections must be balanced against transparent communication, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Minn.'s New Common Interest Doctrine: A Primer
In its recent ruling in Energy Policy Advocates v. Ellison, the Minnesota Supreme Court adopted the common interest doctrine, extending confidentiality to communications between an attorney and client that include a third party — but successful use of the doctrine will require care, preparation and attention to detail, says George Singer at Ballard Spahr.
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Refining Info Governance As E-Discovery Gets More Complex
Courts are increasingly requiring litigants to produce chats and other conversations recorded on business collaboration platforms as evidence, so companies should develop strategies for preserving and organizing such data to timely comply with e-discovery requests and to protect sensitive information, say attorneys at Akerman.