Legal Ethics

  • April 18, 2025

    Judge Nixes Feds' DQ Bid In Migrant Kids Legal Funding Case

    A California federal judge has denied the Trump administration's bid to remove her from a lawsuit challenging funding cuts that prevent attorneys from representing child migrants, ruling her employment at one of the plaintiffs nearly seven years ago doesn't undermine her impartiality.

  • April 18, 2025

    Texas Firm Says Couple Can't Double Dip On Damages

    The Morley Law Firm, now doing business as Zenith Law PC, told a Texas state court in Houston that a couple's $250,000 suit alleging the firm allowed an attorney without a law license to represent them in a case against the seller of their home is barred because they previously obtained a declaratory judgment against the seller.

  • April 18, 2025

    Atty DQ'd In NJ Cosmetics Biz Dispute Over Privileged Docs

    A New Jersey federal judge disqualified a Garden State attorney from representing a former executive of a South Korean cosmetics company in a contentious employment dispute with the business because the lawyer obtained privileged documents belonging to the company.

  • April 18, 2025

    11th Circ. Rejects Disbarred Ga. Atty's Reinstatement Bid

    A disbarred Georgia attorney lost her bid Friday to have the Eleventh Circuit revive her lawsuit alleging the Georgia Office of Bar Admissions violated her due process rights by refusing to reinstate her.

  • April 18, 2025

    Google Pushes For Sanctions In Location Tracking IP Fight

    Google wants a New York federal court to sanction a location tracking patent owner in litigation accusing the search engine giant of infringement, saying he either destroyed or failed to properly preserve key evidence.

  • April 18, 2025

    Buchanan Ingersoll Faces DQ Bid Over Former GC's Role

    Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC attorneys defending Amerilife should be disqualified for allegedly running "roughshod" over ethical rules by using a former general counsel of a retirement planning agency to gain an upper hand in a dispute in a Florida federal court, according to a bid to boot the firm from the case.

  • April 18, 2025

    Judiciary Faces Security Risks Amid Spending Freeze

    The federal judiciary is warning congressional appropriators that funding shortfalls could threaten courthouse security.

  • April 18, 2025

    Conn. Atty Convicted In Shooting Faces Suspension Bid

    A Connecticut court should suspend longtime Cramer & Anderson LLP partner Robert L. Fisher Jr. from the practice of law on an interim basis after his conviction on a manslaughter charge for shooting an attacker, the state's attorney discipline authority has said in a filing.

  • April 18, 2025

    NJ Law Prof Given Chance To Amend Tossed Free Speech Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge has declined a law professor's request to revive her free speech suit against Kean University over alleged controversial statements made in class, finding she failed to show errors in law in his dismissal, but left the door open for her to amend her complaint.

  • April 18, 2025

    4th Circ. Pauses Software TM Trial After Atty Held In Contempt

    The Fourth Circuit has pressed pause on an upcoming trademark trial between rival software companies while the defendant and its counsel at Womble Bond Dickinson appeal a contempt order over misrepresentations they allegedly made in a foreign tribunal.

  • April 18, 2025

    Dog The Bounty Hunter Can't Bag Podcasters For Defamation

    A Pennsylvania judge has dismissed a "sprawling behemoth" of a defamation case brought against two true crime podcasters by Dog the Bounty Hunter and the father of a missing Tennessee child whom the podcasters allegedly accused of being a pedophile, determining that the case was clearly a bid to muzzle participation in a topic of public interest.

  • April 17, 2025

    Fla. Legal Consultant Says La. Atty Stole Info, Started Own Biz

    A Florida company that advises small law firms on how to run successful businesses has sued a lawyer and former manager for allegedly stealing confidential information, saying he quit and ran off to Louisiana to start a competing business using trade secrets he learned at his previous job.

  • April 17, 2025

    Judge Grants Reduced Atty Award in Bowling Alley Chain Suit

    A Virginia federal judge trimmed just over $150,000 in attorney fees requested by a bowling alley chain after winning summary judgment in a suit against its former chief information officer, whom it accused of hacking into its computer system and CEO's email.

  • April 17, 2025

    K&L Gates Bungled Crypto Co.'s Bankruptcy Claim, Suit Says

    Gryphon Digital Mining has sued its former counsel K&L Gates LLP, claiming it dropped the ball on a bankruptcy filing that cost the company millions of dollars and complicated another legal case, all while allegedly overbilling the crypto mining firm by $1 million for related matters.

  • April 17, 2025

    Judge Accused Of Sexting, Misusing Bench For Ex-Client

    A Colorado state judge improperly used his position to help a former client with legal advice and exchanged sexually explicit texts with her while on the bench, according to a judicial disciplinary complaint that also alleged the judge failed to disclose their "prior sexting" when he later presided over her case.

  • April 17, 2025

    Firms Seek Fee Relief Over 'Grossly Unfair' Seresto MDL Snub

    Two New Jersey law firms say they were cut out of their fair share of $4.5 million in attorney fees, awarded as part of a $15 million settlement they helped secure against Bayer and others in a flea collar multidistrict litigation, asking an Illinois federal court to order lead counsel to open their wallets and share the reward.

  • April 17, 2025

    Man's Deportation Looms After Tax Evasion Plea Stands

    A Connecticut federal judge denied a man's attempt to vacate his guilty plea for tax evasion, despite accepting that his lawyers had misled him into believing that if he received no prison time he could avoid mandatory detention and likely deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

  • April 17, 2025

    Jenner & Block Fights DOJ Bid To Toss Exec Order Suit

    Jenner & Block LLP on Thursday urged a D.C. federal court to reject the government's bid to dismiss its lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm, saying the "legal profession as a whole is watching."

  • April 17, 2025

    Debt Firm's Successor, Ch. 11 Trustee End Latest Pay Dispute

    A law firm that bought thousands of client files left over from the collapse of bankrupt California-based debt relief business Litigation Practice Group PC has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to the bankruptcy estate to help settle a payment dispute that began months ago.

  • April 17, 2025

    Judge Refuses To Recuse Himself In Ga. Defamation Case

    A Georgia federal judge on Thursday refused to disqualify himself from presiding over a defamation case arising from a family dispute related to a tax preparation business, while also rejecting a bid to transfer the matter to a federal court in California.

  • April 17, 2025

    Calif. Judge To Resign Over Misconduct Amid Office Romance

    A California state judge will resign and be barred from serving on the bench after engaging in misconduct that included pretending to be the lawyer for his judicial secretary with whom he was having an affair, according to a Thursday decision.

  • April 17, 2025

    Ga. Judicial Watchdog To Weigh Cases Against Pair Of Judges

    Separate hearings have been set for a Georgia Superior Court judge accused of intervening in a legal matter on behalf of her uncle and locking a woman in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing, as well as a state probate judge accused of causing extensive case delays.

  • April 17, 2025

    'Latter-Day Machiavelli' Defamed Calif. Law Firm, Court Told

    California employment law firm Lawyers for Justice PC has filed a suit in state court accusing one of its former clients of defamation in what the firm calls "a scorched-earth crusade against her former attorneys."

  • April 17, 2025

    Co. Seeks 2nd Shot At Asbestos RICO Suit, Citing New Info

    New information supplied by confidential whistleblowers is cause for an Illinois federal court to allow a Los Angeles pipe manufacturer a second chance at pursuing a racketeering case against a Chicago area law firm, the company has argued in a motion to alter or amend the judgment.

  • April 17, 2025

    Akerman Sues To Block Malpractice Claim, Secure $750K Fees

    Akerman LLP sued the healthcare services company Rennova Health Inc. and three medical laboratories in Florida state court this week, alleging that they owe the firm about $750,000 in unpaid fees and are now threatening to sue the firm for malpractice even though they have already released any claims.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Key Ethical Issues For Gov't Attys Moving To Private Practice

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    Transitioning from government service to private practice presents complex ethical challenges for attorneys, including navigating conflicts of interest, confidential information rules and post-employment restrictions, say attorneys at HWG.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

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    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

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    In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

  • The Implications Of 2024's AI Rules And Regs For Patent Attys

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    Christina Huang, John Smith and Devin Stein at Faegre Drinker review this year's new rules and regulations on the development and use of artificial intelligence — from the Biden administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the American Bar Association and various states — as they apply to patent attorneys.

  • When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

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    As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

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    The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

  • How White Collar Defense Attys Can Use Summary Witnesses

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    Few criminal defense attorneys have successfully utilized summary witnesses in the past, but several recent success stories show that it can be a worthwhile trial tactic to help juries understand the complex decision-making at issue, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

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