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Legal Ethics
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October 08, 2024
Ropes & Gray Attys Chided For Wielding Excessive Footnotes
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday struck a summary judgment motion penned by Ropes & Gray LLP lawyers representing Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a challenge to the government's interpretation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, finding that the filing improperly employed "excessive" footnotes to circumvent page limitations.
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October 08, 2024
Wash. Atty Off Hook For Malpractice In Cannabis Seizure Case
A Seattle-area woman whose property was seized during a marijuana raid can't sue her attorney for malpractice, a Washington appeals court has ruled, saying her lawyer's failure to challenge the search warrant — which she said was established on cannabis odor alone — wasn't the reason she lost her forfeiture hearing.
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October 08, 2024
NJ Judge Tosses Ex-Town Atty's GOP Defamation Suit
A New Jersey state court tossed defamation claims brought against Englewood Cliffs' mayor Mark Park by the town's former municipal attorney after he purportedly accused the lawyer of criminal behavior, stating in the order that the attorney failed to prosecute his claims.
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October 08, 2024
OneCoin Co-Conspirator Wants No Prison For Laundering Plea
A business consultant and investor who pled guilty to laundering approximately $35 million as part of the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam has asked a New York federal judge for a probationary sentence and a minimal fine, arguing that he had a minor role in the scheme compared to other defendants and has lived an otherwise law-abiding life.
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October 08, 2024
House Oversight Chair Targets Khan's 'Political Activities'
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., put Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan on blast Tuesday for participating in official events held by Democratic lawmakers running for reelection or higher office, castigating the leader of the FTC's Democratic majority for "partisan political activities."
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October 08, 2024
Ex-Clients Say BakerHostetler Can't Keep Suit In Fed. Court
Former clients of BakerHostetler strengthened their request to send to Georgia state court a suit alleging the firm mishandled their patent application for a smart wardrobe system, arguing that the case doesn't raise patent law questions and thus shouldn't remain in federal court.
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October 08, 2024
Ex-Judge Can Testify In Suit Against Blank Rome Attys, 2 Cos.
An attorney suing three Blank Rome LLP lawyers, an aircraft motor manufacturer and its parent company was unable to persuade a Pennsylvania federal court to stop a former judge from testifying for the defense as an expert witness in a retaliation case stemming from her decision to switch from representing companies to doing plaintiffs work.
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October 08, 2024
Convicted Fla. Atty Suspended Over Theft In Court Clerk Post
The Florida Supreme Court has suspended the law license of the onetime clerk of courts for Jefferson County after he was convicted of grand theft and sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
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October 08, 2024
Divorced-Dads Firm Beats Fired Paralegal's Retaliation Suit
A Kansas federal jury on Monday sided with a law firm that bills itself as an advocate for divorced fathers, shutting down a suit from a paralegal who claimed she was fired for speaking up about sexual harassment by one of the firm's attorneys.
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October 08, 2024
Pa. Judge Misused COVID Funds To Pay Firm Staff, Feds Say
A York County Common Pleas judge faces more than 30 federal counts, including fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of justice, over allegations of using federal unemployment benefits to pay staff members of his law office while they remained employed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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October 08, 2024
Conn. Ethics Board Tosses Grievance Against Ex-Town Atty
A Connecticut ethics panel has dismissed a grievance at the heart of a former town attorney's claims that the tax assessor spread lies about his conduct and character, finding that the lawyer broke no professional conduct rules and concluding no further investigation was warranted.
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October 08, 2024
NJ Judge Suspended For 'Admittedly Vulgar' TikTok Videos
The New Jersey Supreme Court has suspended a state Superior Court judge for three months for posting "admittedly vulgar" TikTok videos of himself lip-syncing songs with sexual content in his chambers and sometimes in his robes.
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October 08, 2024
NJ Ethics Panel Lays Out Rules For Liens And Disputed Funds
New Jersey lawyers holding client funds may be compelled to pay certain liens including for child support payments and some medical bills, the state Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics said in back-to-back opinions clarifying rules on safekeeping property that also help guide attorneys on how to navigate money disputes.
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October 08, 2024
9th Circ. Affirms Atty Fee Reduction In Cathode Suit
A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld a lower court's decision to cut more than $2 million from plaintiff's firm Cooper & Kirkham's $3.45 million fee award in a multidistrict litigation settlement over alleged cathode ray tube price-fixing litigation.
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October 08, 2024
In-House Attys Urged To Spearhead Creation Of AI Policies
In-house lawyers should craft a single artificial intelligence governance policy for their organizations, build cross-functional teams to assess AI needs and risks and audit and update their AI policy frequently to keep pace with the technology's rapid evolution, according to experts on an Association of Corporate Counsel conference panel.
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October 08, 2024
Texas Class Wants Funding Firms To Face Hurricane Ad Suit
A Texas magistrate judge was wrong to recommend dropping litigation funding companies from a suit alleging a law firm deceptively advertised to hurricane victims, with a proposed class of storm victims arguing the funders must have been aware of the scheme when they loaned the firm $20 million.
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October 08, 2024
Ga. Firm Says 'Right To Petition' At Stake In HOA Row
An Atlanta-area real estate law firm urged the Georgia Court of Appeals Tuesday to stand by a trial court's decision to kill a lawsuit filed by two property owners who lost to the firm in court some 17 years ago.
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October 08, 2024
Trump Held Back FBI's 2nd Kavanaugh Probe, Report Says
The FBI's follow-up investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation process in September 2018 was restrained by the Trump White House, according to a report released by a Democratic senator on Tuesday.
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October 07, 2024
Missed Deadline Ends Ga. Nightclub's Appeal Of Atty DQ
The Georgia Court of Appeals said it won't hear a challenge to a Fulton County judge's decision to disqualify a lawyer from a property dispute after it was revealed the attorney advised one of the defendants to carry out alleged property destruction central to the case.
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October 07, 2024
Mich. Supreme Court Snapshot: Insulin Prices, Disney Audit
The Michigan Supreme Court's first oral argument session of the 2024-25 term promises to be a busy one, involving an investigation into Eli Lilly's insulin prices with big implications for the scope of Michigan's consumer protection law and Disney's appeal of an order to turn over decades-old uncashed checks to the state treasurer.
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October 07, 2024
New Bill Would Enact 'Commonsense' Litigation Disclosures
A top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee announced Monday he introduced legislation to require the disclosure of parties receiving payments in civil lawsuits, a phenomenon known as "third-party litigation financing," in order to prevent abuses in the legal system.
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October 07, 2024
5 Decisions To Know By Outgoing Mass. Chief Judge
Chief Massachusetts U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, who announced Monday that he will step back from full-time judicial service next summer, has presided over numerous significant cases in recent years, including a dispute over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's disgorgement powers and a birth defects suit against GlaxoSmithKline.
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October 07, 2024
Trio Of 1st Circ. Criminal Cases Turned Away By Top Court
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review three white collar cases on appeal from the First Circuit, including challenges to a cryptocurrency founder's conviction for investor theft and an Illinois attorney's fraud and money laundering conspiracy verdict.
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October 07, 2024
US Trustee Pans Guo Ch. 11 Trustee's Secret Deal For Firm
The U.S. Trustee's Office on Monday objected to a Chapter 11 trustee's attempt to file under seal a deal with a law firm in the sprawling $374 million bankruptcy of convicted Chinese exile Miles Guo, saying voluminous case law prevents shrouding such settlements with secrecy.
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October 07, 2024
Whistleblower Must Show Docs In Fla. House-Flipping Scheme
A Florida state court judge Monday ordered a woman who uncovered a house-flipping scheme allegedly run by the husband of a former Miami city attorney to produce documents in the case, including communications with journalists, in an attempt to show whether any misconduct occurred over the course of the investigation.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Verizon Benefits Ruling Clears Up Lien Burden Of Proof
A Rhode Island federal court recently ruled that a Verizon benefits plan could not recoup a former employee’s settlement funds from the attorney who represented her in a personal injury case, importantly clarifying two Employee Retirement Income Security Act burden of proof issues that were previously unsettled, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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Opinion
High Court's Gifts Problem Taints Public Corruption Cases
A history of U.S. Supreme Court justices failing to disclose luxurious gifts from wealthy donors coincides with a troubling line of court precedent overturning jury convictions in public corruption cases, indicating that perhaps justices aren't presently fit to be making these decisions, says Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
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Series
Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.
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Considerations For Lawyer Witnesses After FTX Trial
Sam Bankman-Fried's recent trial testimony about his lawyers' involvement in FTX's business highlights the need for attorney-witnesses to understand privilege issues in order to avoid costly discovery disputes and, potentially, uncover critical evidence an adversary might seek to conceal, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.
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Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success
Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.
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Series
Competing In Triathlons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While practicing law and competing in long-distance triathlons can make work and life feel unbalanced at times, participating in the sport has revealed important lessons about versatility, self-care and perseverance that apply to the office as much as they do the racecourse, says Laura Heusel at Butler Snow.
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Opinion
History Reveals Folly Of Absolute Presidential Immunity
As a federal appeals court grapples with former President Donald Trump’s claims that he’s immune from prosecution on election interference charges, it’s a fitting time for lawyers to reflect on the rule of law — from 13th century jurisprudence to Watergate and the Clinton impeachment — and how the idea of absolute presidential immunity is unwise, says attorney Steven Reske.
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Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument
Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.