Legal Ethics

  • October 07, 2025

    Fla. Lawyer Accused Of Scamming Clients Suspended

    A Florida lawyer accused of abandoning dozens of clients after charging them legal fees has been suspended from practicing law in the state on an emergency basis.

  • October 06, 2025

    Paraquat MDL Judge Seeks Answers From Plaintiffs' Atty

    The Illinois federal judge presiding over multidistrict litigation alleging that the pesticide paraquat causes Parkinson's disease on Monday ordered Aimee Wagstaff of Andrus Wagstaff PC, a former member of the plaintiffs' executive committee, to explain why she's putting on a video conference for other attorneys in the litigation.

  • October 06, 2025

    Girardi's Son-In-Law Gets Mixed Sentence For Contempt

    Tom Girardi's son-in-law received a mixed sentence in Chicago federal court Monday that included equal parts incarceration and home confinement alongside a hefty community service obligation for failing to alert a judge when he knew Girardi wasn't paying certain Lion Air crash clients their settlements as ordered.

  • October 06, 2025

    Justices Wary Of Hard Rules On Recess Testimony Talks

    The U.S. Supreme Court appeared reluctant Monday to rule that the Sixth Amendment allows defense counsel to freely discuss defendants' testimony with them during an intervening overnight recess, with justices questioning which topics should be off limits and which should not.

  • October 06, 2025

    Womble Bond Atty Tells 4th Circ. He Didn't Mislead Dutch Court

    There's no evidence that Womble Bond Dickinson partner Pressly Millen misled a Dutch court or violated a federal judge's correction order in a $28 million trademark dispute, Millen has told the Fourth Circuit in a bid to reverse a contempt order against him.

  • October 06, 2025

    Justices Nix Petition Over Due Process In Arbitration

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a petition challenging a Florida appellate court decision that vacated a $1.5 million legal malpractice arbitration award against a company's former attorneys, Miami-based personal injury firm Ferraro Law Firm PA.

  • October 06, 2025

    Grassley Probes Judges' Possible AI Use In Faulty Rulings

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed two federal judges on Monday about their possible use of artificial intelligence in court orders that contained a multitude of errors.

  • October 06, 2025

    Hagens Berman Fights Sanctions Over Thalidomide Suits

    Plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP strenuously denied claims that it should be sanctioned for filing since-dropped product liability cases, responding to a judge's show cause order by saying it spent hundreds of hours researching the legal theories it pursued before filing the cases and devoted substantial time and resources to them.

  • October 06, 2025

    NJ High Court Skeptical Of Expanding Nonclient Malpractice

    The New Jersey Supreme Court appeared doubtful Monday about extending the ability of nonclients to sue attorneys for malpractice claims, with one justice noting how the proposed duty would have "no bounds."

  • October 06, 2025

    Atty Awarded $203K Despite 'Borderline Frivolous' ADA Claim

    A federal judge in Washington state has confirmed a $203,523 JAMS arbitration award issued to a Seattle-area lawyer, permanently ending the attorney's disability bias suit against a personal injury firm he alleged fired him over an alcoholism relapse.

  • October 06, 2025

    Atty Sanctioned For 'Reckless' AI Use In DC FCA Case

    An attorney who admitted to relying on generative artificial intelligence to help craft a brief that contained errors in all of its nine citations, was ordered to pay fee sanctions in a judge's order that emphasized attorneys should stick to the fundamentals taught in law school: "check your legal citations for accuracy."

  • October 06, 2025

    Texas Class Action Nixed Over Law Firm's La. Hurricane Ads

    A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a litigation funder and a Houston-area attorney will not face a proposed class action alleging that a law firm engaged in deceptive advertising targeting hurricane victims in Louisiana, finding that a prior Texas Supreme Court ruling dooms the case.

  • October 06, 2025

    More Time Needed To Replace DA On Trump Case, Judge Told

    The Georgia agency tasked with appointing a new prosecutor to oversee the election interference case against President Donald Trump told a state court judge Monday it needs more time to name a successor than the 14 days the judge said he'll allow before he throws the case out.

  • October 06, 2025

    High Court Turns Down 6 Patent Cases At Start Of Term

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected six petitions in patent-related cases, taking some of its first actions on intellectual property matters this term.

  • October 06, 2025

    Justices Won't Review Ex-BigLaw Atty's OneCoin Conviction

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a former Locke Lord LLP partner's appeal of his conviction and prison sentence for helping launder roughly $400 million in proceeds from the infamous OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme.

  • October 06, 2025

    Justices Reject Case Over Legal Client's Lawsuit Threat

    The U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to take up a case by a man who argued that his threat to sue his civil lawyer for malpractice created an automatic conflict of interest when the same lawyer was also defending him in a criminal case.

  • October 03, 2025

    Up First At High Court: Election Laws & Conversion Therapy

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in six cases during the first week of its October 2025 term, including in disputes over federal candidates' ability to challenge state election laws, Colorado's ban on conversion therapy, and the ability of a landlord to sue the U.S. Postal Service for allegedly refusing to deliver mail. 

  • October 03, 2025

    Trump Election Case Could Be Axed Without New Prosecutor

    A Georgia state judge on Friday said a new prosecutor must be appointed within two weeks in Fulton County's 2020 election interference case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants or the case will be dismissed.

  • October 03, 2025

    'Whiz Honor' Judge Says No Crime, No Unpaid Suspension

    A Philadelphia judge under investigation for allegedly trying to influence the sentencing for an associate of rapper Meek Mill has asked the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline not to suspend him without pay, arguing that he has not been charged with a crime, so there is no reason for a suspension.

  • October 03, 2025

    4 Top Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Term

    After a busy summer of emergency rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court will kick off its October 2025 term Monday with only a few big-ticket cases on its docket — over presidential authorities, transgender athletes and election law — in what might be a strategically slow start to a potentially momentous term. Here, Law360 looks at four of the most important cases on the court's docket so far.

  • October 03, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds Robbery Convictions Despite Lawyer Errors

    The Eleventh Circuit agreed Friday that a man serving 26 years in prison for a string of Walmart robberies received ineffective counsel at trial but declined to overturn his conviction, citing the "mountain of evidence against him" it said would likely have secured his conviction regardless.

  • October 03, 2025

    Telecom Investors Say Guatemala Said No To Giving Up Docs

    Majority shareholders in telecommunications infrastructure firm Continental Towers LATAM Holding told a New York federal judge that Guatemalan law is what's stopping them from fully complying with a discovery order in a legal fight over a corporate coup and they shouldn't be sanctioned.

  • October 03, 2025

    NIH Sets Patent License Policy Aimed At Promoting Access

    The National Institutes Of Health has implemented a new policy that was proposed during the Biden administration to require those seeking commercial licenses to NIH-owned patents to detail how they will promote patient access for new drugs or medical devices they develop.

  • October 03, 2025

    Logistics, Grocery Cos. Can't Keep Wage Suit In Fed. Court

    Inflated damages calculations and speculative attorney fee estimates can't keep a worker's suit accusing a logistics company and a wholesale grocery store chain of wage and hour violations in federal court, a California federal judge said Friday, vacating an earlier arbitration order.

  • October 03, 2025

    Debtors, Mich. Creditor Firm Seek OK On Interest Rate Deal

    Debtors and a Michigan creditor law firm asked a Michigan federal judge to approve a settlement agreement valued at about $9 million to resolve claims the law firm charged unlawfully high post-judgment interest rates on debt collection actions.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

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