Legal Ethics

  • April 30, 2026

    Mass. AG, Auditor Brace For High-Stakes Constitutional Clash

    A closely watched separation-of-powers test is playing out in Massachusetts, where the Bay State auditor will argue to the state's top court in a hearing next week that the attorney general is stonewalling her from conducting a voter-approved audit of the state legislature.

  • April 30, 2026

    Texas Panel Reopens Malpractice Suit Over 'Death Penalty'

    A Texas appeals court on Thursday revived a couple's legal malpractice suit accusing their former personal injury attorney of letting their car accident claims die, finding the trial court wrongly used a death penalty discovery sanction to exclude all the couple's evidence before trial.

  • April 30, 2026

    Texas Court Rules Atty Can't Dodge Billionaire's Fraud Claims

    A Texas appeals court kept intact a suit brought by the billionaire co-founder of Rackspace Technology Inc. alleging his former attorney aided his wife in a "contentious" divorce, saying Thursday that the attorney can't use the state's anti-SLAPP law to evade the suit.

  • April 30, 2026

    Ga. Panel Scraps Sanctions Over Special Master's Unpaid Bill

    A Georgia appellate panel threw out Thursday a contempt order entered against plaintiffs suing a host of chemical companies for toxic tort claims after they failed to pay a special master's legal fees, ruling that a trial court wrongly disregarded their protests that they couldn't afford his services.

  • April 30, 2026

    Jones Day Beats Sanctions Bid In $2M Fee Dispute

    An Illinois state judge has ruled that Jones Day can pursue punitive damages on several of its claims in a lawsuit alleging a former client made a series of unlawful transactions to avoid paying over $2 million in legal fees, and also denied sanctions sought by the ex-client against the firm.

  • April 30, 2026

    Cannabis Dispute Ends With Plaintiff Co. Facing $1.34M Default

    A California state court snuffed out a Los Angeles cannabis company's fraud lawsuit against its investors and landlords, which were accused of stealing $40 million and wrecking its cannabis license, opening the door for the ex-business partners to score a $1.34 million default judgment.

  • April 30, 2026

    'Christian Witch' Says Jenner & Block Must Face Vax Bias Suit

    A former Jenner & Block LLP employee told an Illinois federal judge that she didn't need to disclose that she's a "Christian witch" in order to seek an exemption to the law firm's COVID-19 vaccine requirement, urging the court to reject her ex-employer's bid to toss the case.

  • April 30, 2026

    Ex-Shareholders, Reed Smith Seek End To Eletson Suit

    Former shareholders of Eletson Holdings on Thursday joined with their ex-Eletson counsel at Reed Smith to ask a New York bankruptcy judge to dismiss a suit claiming they had schemed to seize control of Eletson assets in defiance of the company's Chapter 11 plan.

  • April 30, 2026

    Netflix's 'Tiger King' Funeral Clip Was Fair Use, 10th Circ. Says

    The Tenth Circuit on Thursday said Netflix Inc. made fair use of a minutelong funeral clip in its popular "Tiger King" docuseries, holding in a precedential opinion that the streaming platform's use of the footage was "significantly transformative," departing from its earlier ruling that reached the opposite conclusion.

  • April 30, 2026

    Ex-Husch Blackwell Partner Urges Discovery In ERISA Dispute

    A former Husch Blackwell LLP partner has urged a Missouri federal court to ignore the firm's request for summary judgment in a dispute over employee retirement benefits, arguing discovery should proceed in the proposed class action.

  • April 30, 2026

    Ga. Lawyer Says Fraud Coverage Ruling Misread State Law

    A Georgia attorney on Wednesday urged a federal judge to undo a recent ruling declaring his professional liability insurer doesn't owe him coverage in an underlying lawsuit alleging the lawyer schemed with a client to enrich themselves, arguing the court erred by finding his alleged conduct didn't fall under the policy.

  • April 30, 2026

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Corporate Raid, MV Realty Settlement

    A major case settled in the North Carolina Business Court in April as new lawsuits emerged, including a complaint by health information technology company IQVIA Holdings Inc. accusing its former top brass of orchestrating a corporate raid and defecting to a competitor. In case you missed this story and others, here are the highlights.

  • April 30, 2026

    J&J Says Ill. Ruling Backs Beasley Allen's DQ From Talc Suits

    Johnson & Johnson told a New Jersey federal court that a recent ruling in Illinois backs the Beasley Allen Law Firm's disqualification from multidistrict litigation over its talcum powder.

  • April 30, 2026

    5th Circ. Tosses FCA Suit Against IT Firm Over Visa Fraud

    The Fifth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a man's claims that an India-based information technology and professional services firm violated the False Claims Act via fraudulent visa applications and improper tax withholding, finding no specific payment obligations under the FCA itself.

  • April 30, 2026

    Wyden Asks IRS To Probe Lawyers For Puerto Rico Tax Advice

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Thursday that he has asked the IRS to investigate whether two attorneys "inaccurately advised" wealthy individuals that they could avoid taxes on capital gains accrued in the U.S. before becoming residents of Puerto Rico.

  • April 30, 2026

    Kratom Seller Sanctioned For Deleting Blog During Suit

    A California federal judge has sanctioned Ashlynn Marketing Group Inc. in a suit alleging it hid kratom's dangerous and addictive effects, finding that it deliberately deleted a blog containing statements about kratom after the suit was filed.

  • April 29, 2026

    WordPress Judge Calls Deleted Message Claims 'Concerning'

    A federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in an antitrust lawsuit against WordPress parent Automattic Inc. and its CEO Matthew Mullenweg said plaintiff WPEngine Inc. "plausibly contends" Mullenweg "deleted relevant documents or allowed such documents to be deleted after an obligation to preserve was triggered."

  • April 29, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Death Sentence For Murder In Habeas Case

    A man must face the death penalty for the rape and murder of a California woman, a Ninth Circuit panel said Wednesday, reversing the grant of a habeas petition and finding that his attorney was not constitutionally ineffective.

  • April 29, 2026

    5th Circ. Calls Firm's Bid To Arbitrate $70M Award 'A Stretch'

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed dubious of a law firm's argument that a federal court lacked jurisdiction over a claim that it shuffled assets to avoid paying an arbitration award that totaled $70 million, saying Wednesday that the firm's argument was "a stretch."

  • April 29, 2026

    New Emails Can't Revive Adidas TM Suit, 2nd Circ. Affirms

    Attorneys for the luxury fashion brand Thom Browne Inc. did not commit misconduct when they failed to turn over four emails to Adidas during a trademark dispute, and because the documents "probably" would not have changed the verdict, the case will not be restored, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday.

  • April 29, 2026

    Fla. Judge DQ'd In Trump Library Suit Over Courtroom Hug

    A Florida state appellate panel disqualified a trial judge overseeing a suit accusing a Miami college of transferring land for a President Donald Trump library without proper notice, agreeing Wednesday that the judge's thanking and hugging the man who brought the suit was improper.

  • April 29, 2026

    Texas Couple Drops Data Suit Against Personal Injury Firm

    A Houston couple who accused a law firm and a since-dismissed Progressive unit of conspiring to share the private information of car crash victims has dropped federal claims against the firm after reportedly finding no evidence that it engaged in the conduct they alleged. 

  • April 29, 2026

    3 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In May

    The Federal Circuit's May argument slate includes appeals of invalidity decisions and sanctions tied to VLSI Technology's multibillion-dollar chip patent dispute with Intel, as well as Amazon's challenge to a cloud storage patent verdict against it for over half a billion dollars.

  • April 29, 2026

    9th Circ. Reverses Stay In App Store Commissions Case

    The Ninth Circuit has reversed its own order that stayed a ruling on an injunction barring Apple from charging developers high commissions on in-app purchases until a district court judge sets up narrower guardrails, saying Epic Games had persuaded it that Apple was unlikely to get the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal.

  • April 29, 2026

    Coupang, Ex-In-House Lawyer To Drop Iran Whistleblower Suit

    South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang and a former in-house compliance attorney have agreed to dismiss the lawyer's suit claiming he was wrongly fired for bringing attention to the company's alleged illegal business dealings with Iran, according to a joint filing Wednesday in Seattle federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Considerations In Building Guardrails For AI Use In Arbitration

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    A recent California federal court case involving allegations of artificial intelligence ghostwriting an arbitration award, prior analogous practice on tribunal delegation, and emerging generative AI recommendations all support building a forward-looking framework for arbitration rules to minimize the risk of AI-based challenges, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Fly-Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Much like skilled attorneys, the best anglers prize preparation, presentation and patience while respecting their adversaries — both human and trout, says Rob Braverman at Braverman Greenspun.

  • 4 Ways GCs Can Manage Growing Service Of Process Volume

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    As automation and arbitration increase the volume of legal filings, in-house counsel must build scalable service of process systems that strengthen corporate governance and manage risk in real time, says Paul Mathews at Corporation Service Co.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Forming Measurable Ties

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    Relationship-building should begin as early as possible in a law firm merger, as intentional pathways to bringing people together drive collaboration, positive client response, engagements and growth, says Amie Colby at Troutman.

  • Wis. Sanctions Order May Shake Up Securities Class Actions

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    A Wisconsin federal court’s recent decision to impose sanctions on a plaintiffs law firm for filing a frivolous Private Securities Litigation Reform Act complaint in Toft v. Harbor Diversified may cause both plaintiffs and defendants law firms to reconsider certain customary practices in securities class actions, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2026 And Beyond

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    2026 will likely be shaped by issues ranging from artificial intelligence regulatory turbulence to potential evidence rule changes, and e-discovery professionals will need to understand how to effectively guide the responsible and defensible adoption of emerging tools, while also ensuring effective safeguards, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Boost Access To Justice

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    Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Samuel A. Thumma writes that generative artificial intelligence tools offer a profound opportunity to enhance access to justice and engender public confidence in courts’ use of technology, and judges can seize this opportunity in five key ways.

  • Opinion

    The Case For Emulating, Not Dividing, The Ninth Circuit

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    Champions for improved judicial administration should reject the unfounded criticisms driving recent Senate proposals to divide the Ninth Circuit and instead seek to replicate the court's unique strengths and successes, says Ninth Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace.

  • 3 DC Circ. Rulings Signal Shift In Search And Seizure Doctrine

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    A trio of decisions from courts in the District of Columbia Circuit, including a recent order compelling prosecutors to return materials seized from James Comey’s former attorney, makes clear that continued government possession of digital evidence may implicate the Fourth Amendment, says Gregory Rosen at RJO.

  • Series

    Muay Thai Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Muay Thai kickboxing has taught me that in order to win, one must stick to one's game plan and adapt under pressure, just as when facing challenges by opposing counsel or judges, says Mark Schork at Feldman Shepherd.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Intentional Career-Building

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    A successful legal career is built through intention: understanding expectations, assessing strengths honestly and proactively seeking opportunities to grow and cultivating relationships that support your development, say Erika Drous and Hillary Mann at Morrison Foerster.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Shows Procedural Perils Of Civil Forfeiture

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    The Second Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Ross decision, partially denying the return of an attorney's seized funds based on rigid standing requirements, underscores the unforgiving technical complexities of civil asset forfeiture law, and provides several lessons for practitioners, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 4 Developments That Defined The 2025 Ethics Landscape

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    The legal profession spent 2025 at the edge of its ethical comfort zone as courts, firms and regulators confronted how fast-moving technologies and new business models collide with long-standing professional duties, signaling that the profession is entering a period of sustained disruption that will continue into 2026, says Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG Law.

  • Navigating AI In The Legal Industry

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    As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly integral part of legal practice, Law360 guest commentary this year examined evolving ethical obligations, how the plaintiffs bar is using AI to level the playing field against corporate defense teams, and the attendant risks of adoption.

  • How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement

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    As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high level, but they can also present legal, ethical and operational risks that must be proactively managed, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.

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