Legal Ethics

  • June 11, 2025

    Uber Says Fla. Firm, Drivers Staged Wrecks For Profit

    Uber told a Florida federal court Wednesday that at least five of its drivers faked accidents and colluded with healthcare providers and a Florida law firm to file sham litigation against the ride-hailing platform and its insurer, costing millions of dollars in legal defense and settlements.

  • June 11, 2025

    Houston Atty Says Rival's Client Files Aren't Trade Secrets

    A Houston attorney accused of stealing another lawyer's files in an attempt to recruit clients to file malpractice suits told a Texas appellate court that his rival "misrepresents facts to support his false narrative" that the information constituted trade secrets.

  • June 11, 2025

    Atty Wants 6th Circ. To Vacate Tenn. 'Gag Order' Rule Decision

    If the Sixth Circuit does not undo a decision that a Nashville attorney didn't have standing to challenge a since-rescinded Middle District of Tennessee rule concerning lawyers' "extrajudicial statements," it could "be all but impossible" for lawyers to challenge similar court rules in the future, the attorney said Wednesday.

  • June 11, 2025

    JC Penney Blasts Jackson Walker Bid To Escape Fee Dispute

    J.C. Penney has called on a Texas bankruptcy court to knock down Jackson Walker LLP's bid to escape a fee suit prompted by a yearslong secret romance between a former firm partner and a onetime bankruptcy judge, saying the firm's dismissal bid is "riddled with implausibility, excuse and contradiction."

  • June 11, 2025

    Trump Presses 2nd Circ. To Federalize Hush Money Appeal

    Counsel for President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the Second Circuit to take over the appeal of his New York state hush money conviction post-trial, saying a federal judge in Manhattan wrongly denied removal, and the landscape has now changed in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark presidential immunity decision.

  • June 11, 2025

    Insurer Says Law Firm Mishandled Pesticide Exposure Suit

    An insurer is claiming it is owed at least $625,000 from a law firm hired to defend a poultry farm against a suit over toxic pesticide exposure, alleging in federal court that it was forced to settle the suit above policy limits due to the firm's negligence and malpractice.

  • June 11, 2025

    J&J's Beasley Allen DQ Bid Based On 'Innuendo,' Court Told

    A California couple ripped Johnson & Johnson's renewed bid to block two Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys from representing them in their suit accusing the company of selling carcinogenic talc-based baby powder, arguing the company's opposition is based largely on "innuendo" rather than proof of misconduct by the lawyers.

  • June 10, 2025

    Judiciary Panel Advances New Rules On Amici, AI, Subpoenas

    The federal judiciary's top policy panel Tuesday propelled revamped rules regarding numerous hot legal topics, including artificial intelligence, "dark money" groups bankrolling amicus briefs and the subpoena powers of courts and defense counsel.

  • June 10, 2025

    Vertex Says Tax Software Rival Purposely Destroyed Evidence

    Tax compliance software company Vertex Inc. told a Pennsylvania federal judge Monday that Avalara intentionally destroyed and failed to preserve "key sources of electronically stored information crucially relevant" to Vertex's lawsuit accusing its rival of poaching workers to steal trade secrets.

  • June 10, 2025

    House Conservatives Push Senate To 'Rein In' Judges

    House conservatives are imploring their Senate counterparts to do more to "rein in" federal judges with the budget reconciliation package.

  • June 10, 2025

    GM To Drop 'Cockamamie' Fiat Foreign Account Claims

    A Michigan judge indicated Tuesday that he would let General Motors withdraw allegations that Fiat Chrysler held foreign bank accounts in a union bribery scheme suit, and said he'd leave the determination of whether the automaker should be sanctioned for not sharing its evidence supporting those claims for another day. 

  • June 10, 2025

    Wash. Justices Unsure About State Bar's Atty Suspension Bid

    The Washington Supreme Court seemed split Tuesday on a request from the state bar association to suspend an attorney for failing to cooperate with a misconduct investigation, with several justices flagging the "different story" shared by the respondent lawyer, who claims to have provided all requested information.

  • June 10, 2025

    Farella Braun Wins Partial Fee Award In FDIC Dispute

    A California federal judge has awarded Farella Braun & Martel LLP around $10,000 in attorney fees for the work its lawyers did for the bankrupt parent of Silicon Valley Bank, finding the receiver for the bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., failed to comply with discovery orders.

  • June 10, 2025

    Willkie Partner Wants To 'Chill' Media Contact, Conn. Atty Says

    A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner and his wife are pursuing a federal lawsuit based on speculative allegations and trying to "chill" the First Amendment rights of a Connecticut attorney who represented their ex-landlord and leaked a story about them to the New York Post, the defendant is arguing in seeking judgment in his favor.

  • June 10, 2025

    3rd Circ. Upholds NFL Case Findings On Censured Atty

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a Pennsylvania federal judge's ruling that an attorney representing former NFL players seeking concussion litigation settlement proceeds made "material misrepresentations and omissions" concerning medical records during the claims process, for which he was censured by the lower court.

  • June 10, 2025

    Clerk's Role Means Antitrust Judge Must Recuse, Court Told

    Pork producer defendants involved in a major pork price-fixing case continue to push for the recusal of a Minnesota federal judge because of his clerk's connections to plaintiff-side firms, arguing the plaintiffs are running from "indisputable facts."

  • June 10, 2025

    Fla. Atty Faces NY, Conn. Discipline For Client Theft Charges

    A Florida attorney who was disbarred in the Sunshine State last year and later charged with wire fraud and money laundering amid his handling of an estate matter has been disbarred in New York and now faces reciprocal discipline in Connecticut.

  • June 10, 2025

    Ex-GC Accused Of Stealing IP Amid Ownership Stake Dispute

    E-commerce company Storehouse In A Box sued its former general counsel and chief operating officer in Michigan federal court Monday, alleging he misappropriated trade secrets and confidential information, while also engaging in outside ventures that conflicted with his duties, after a dispute arose over his ownership claim in the business.

  • June 10, 2025

    Judge Warns Attys Over Candor In Grubhub-Kroger TM Row

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday admonished defense counsel in ongoing trademark litigation between Grubhub Inc. and The Kroger Co. after finding discrepancies in the Kroger attorney's representations of information Grubhub provided in a discovery response, reminding all lawyers involved of their duty of candor and adherence to professional conduct rules.

  • June 10, 2025

    Ex-Conn. Attorney Sues AG Bondi To Restore Gun Rights

    A Connecticut attorney who served prison time for a tax offense has sued federal and state officials to demand the restoration of his right to possess firearms and ammunition, arguing that the prohibition on that right is unconstitutional as applied to him.

  • June 10, 2025

    Wis. Judge Can't Wield Immunity For Obstructing ICE, DOJ Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a Wisconsin federal judge to reject a state court judge's argument that judicial immunity blocks her prosecution for allegedly obstructing an ICE arrest at a Milwaukee courthouse, saying that while judges may be immune from civil liability for official acts, they are not shielded from prosecution for supposedly criminal conduct.

  • June 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms Dechert's Victory Over Hacking Suit

    The Second Circuit on Monday refused to revive a North Carolina trade executive's lawsuit alleging hacking by a private investigator on Dechert LLP's behalf, ruling in a nonprecedential opinion that a district judge's failure to review disputed portions of a magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the suit was ultimately harmless.

  • June 09, 2025

    COVID Funds Bribery Scheme Gets Ex-Calif. Official 5 Years

    A former member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors was sentenced to five years in prison Monday in California federal court after admitting to steering $10 million worth of COVID-19 relief funds to a nonprofit linked to his daughter, in return for more than $500,000 in bribes. 

  • June 09, 2025

    Judge Denies Obstructing ICE As Disciplinary Hearing Begins

    An attorney for a Massachusetts state judge, who was accused of plotting to let a man wanted by immigration agents escape out of a back door of a courthouse in 2018, said at the start of a disciplinary inquiry Monday that the judge did not know about the plan, pointing the finger at the wanted man's lawyer.

  • June 09, 2025

    'No Question' DuPont Polluted Delaware River, NJ Court Told

    New Jersey told a federal judge on Monday that it was clear E.I. du Pont de Nemours discharged "forever chemicals" into the Delaware River, wrapping up the majority of a first-of-its-kind series of bench trials over whether the company is liable for contamination at a longstanding manufacturing facility.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

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    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

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