Legal Ethics

  • July 22, 2026

    DC Bar Leaders Say DOJ Ethics Suit Encourages Misconduct

    Washington, D.C., attorney regulators continue to garner support in their effort to toss a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged "weaponizing" of executive branch lawyer discipline, with D.C. bar organizations, scores of legal scholars and more than 500 former DOJ attorneys backing the disciplinary authorities.

  • July 22, 2026

    Holland & Knight Hit With $1.2B Malpractice Suit

    A real estate firm is accusing Holland & Knight LLP and three attorneys of malpractice in a new complaint filed in Florida state court and is seeking up to $1.2 billion in damages after more than 30 states opened investigations into the company's practices.

  • July 21, 2026

    7th Circ. Told To Keep Judge's MAGA Firing Fight In Fed. Court

    A retired judge looking to hold the Illinois Supreme Court liable for canceling his temporary reinstatement over a pro-MAGA opinion column told the Seventh Circuit Monday that his case belongs in federal court, saying he has no unbiased state court forum because his claims "would inevitably reach defendants themselves."

  • July 21, 2026

    Truck Bound By Pact Not To Sue Arbitrator, NY Judge Says

    A New York federal judge refused to remove a "side-switching" arbitrator from a dispute over coverage for millions of dollars' worth of asbestos bodily injury claims, ruling that Truck Insurance Exchange's lawsuit is barred under a "hold harmless" pact it inked with the counterparty, a group of foreign reinsurers.

  • July 21, 2026

    Atty Immunity Should Cut Firm From Fee Suit, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge has recommended letting California law firm Bartko Pavia out of a lawsuit brought by litigation boutique Williams Simons & Landis PC over alleged unpaid legal fees, saying attorney immunity shields the California firm.

  • July 21, 2026

    Trump Must Produce Trust Records In BBC Defamation Suit

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust to produce financial records relating to $10 billion of damages allegedly caused by BBC's documentary about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying that Trump's properties and businesses are now issues in the case.

  • July 21, 2026

    Dems Press Skadden On Trump Pro Bono Pact, Intel Deal Work

    A group of Democrats demanded Tuesday that Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration in light of allegations the firm advised both Intel Corp. and the U.S. Department of Commerce when the administration received a 10% company stake.

  • July 21, 2026

    Feds Seek 3 Months For Ex-Girardi Atty's Role In Theft

    A former Girardi Keese attorney who helped disgraced plaintiff's attorney Tom Girardi steal millions of settlement dollars from plane crash clients should serve three months in prison to account for the seriousness of his conduct, federal prosecutors in Chicago say.

  • July 21, 2026

    Pa. Justices Reverse Joint Fee Liability For Custody Atty

    An attorney representing a mother in a contentious child custody dispute does not owe the father and his attorney more than $10,000 in fees, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, finding the Superior Court misapplied a previous opinion.

  • July 21, 2026

    Bronx Public Defenders Set Strike Deadline

    More than 300 unionized workers at legal aid organization The Bronx Defenders are set to walk out on July 27 if they cannot agree on a contract with the legal nonprofit's management, according to a Tuesday announcement.

  • July 21, 2026

    Georgia Judge Accused Of Improperly Jailing Tardy Atty

    Georgia's judicial watchdog has accused a DeKalb County Superior Court judge of violating multiple ethical rules, alleging that she improperly jailed a tardy attorney, wrongly threatened to jail two prosecutors and refused to return indictments in cases where she was the presiding judge.

  • July 21, 2026

    Defaults Didn't Deny Users Ad-Free Search, Google Says

    Google again is pushing a California federal judge to toss consumer antitrust claims accusing it of shutting out rival search engines that offer better privacy safeguards and no ads, arguing they still haven't shown harm, and thus standing to sue, from the contracts making it the default search engine.

  • July 21, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Caused 'Chaos' With Deal, Jury Hears

    The former chief financial officer of Patriot National Inc. testified to a Florida jury on Tuesday that "chaos" broke loose as funds that Simpson Thacher helped steward for the insurance services company hit public markets and executives found out that its terms differed from their understanding of them.

  • July 21, 2026

    Hospitals Say Saul Ewing Atty's Board Role Taints FCA Suit

    A Saul Ewing LLP attorney should be disqualified from leading a whistleblower suit over a nurse's alleged diversion of prescription narcotics, as the former Heritage Valley Health System in western Pennsylvania said he was previously a member of its board of directors.

  • July 21, 2026

    Ex-Justice Screened From Vik's $65M Deutsche Bank Suit

    Former Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson has been screened from participating in billionaire Alexander Vik and his daughter's vexatious litigation and $65 million stock sale turnover lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, according to the financial institution's lawyers at Day Pitney LLP.

  • July 21, 2026

    Judge Wary Of Philly Firm's Uber, FedEx Antitrust Claims

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday appeared doubtful that Uber and FedEx engaged in anticompetitive conduct when they accused Philadelphia injury firm Simon & Simon of a medical records falsification scheme meant to boost injury claims, pointing out during a hearing that the companies and the firm operated different types of businesses.

  • July 21, 2026

    Blanche Denies Conflict With Family's Firearms Company

    Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has close ties through his wife's family to a gun manufacturer that does federal contracting, but he told senators in questions following his confirmation hearing there is no conflict of interest, despite his service on a Justice Department task force aimed at rolling back gun control initiatives around the country.

  • July 20, 2026

    Google Data Sharing With Temu Violates DOJ Rule, Suit Says

    Google shares internet users' sensitive information with Chinese e-commerce giant Temu and a technology firm the Pentagon calls a "Chinese military company," violating a U.S. Department of Justice rule preventing the bulk transmission of data to "countries of concern," according to a proposed class action in California federal court.

  • July 20, 2026

    Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Against Criminal Defense Atty

    A Washington state appellate panel Monday revived legal malpractice claims against a public defense attorney who failed to correct an erroneous sentencing document that placed his client on supervised probation, when a plea deal instead called for unsupervised probation.

  • July 20, 2026

    Investors Seek $1.34M Judgment Against Cannabis Venture

    An investment company is looking to secure a $1.34 million default judgment against the cannabis venture that previously sued it for $40 million, according to a notice filed by the investor that said the cannabis entity's suit was tossed.

  • July 20, 2026

    Scientist Seeks To Enforce Journalist's 2024 Contempt Order

    Yanping Chen, a scientist who accused an FBI agent of leaking her confidential immigration records to former Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge, is asking a D.C. federal judge to finally enforce a yearsold contempt order against Herridge now that the appeals process has run its course.

  • July 20, 2026

    Amazon Says Atty's Defense In TM Suit Still Baseless

    Amazon has asked a Washington federal judge to reject a renewed motion to dismiss from a California attorney being sued for alleged participation in a trademark fraud scheme, claiming she was rehashing arguments from her prior motion, which the company said was riddled with artificial intelligence-generated hallucinations.

  • July 20, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Points To Audit Issues In Malpractice Trial

    A corporate founder seeking more than $100 million in a malpractice case against Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP endured a withering cross-examination in Florida state court Monday over his companies' money flows and an auditor's refusal to certify their financial statements two years after the fundraising transaction he believes the firm botched.

  • July 20, 2026

    NJ Federal Court Won't Step Into State Atty Ethics Cases

    A New Jersey federal judge on Monday declined to wade into disciplinary actions pending against two state lawyers who claim that the process is being used to retaliate against them, finding that they haven't shown the bad faith required to circumvent the state's authority and pause the cases.

  • July 20, 2026

    Ga. Appellate Court Affirms Contempt Order Against Atty

    The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed a state court's decision to hold a Georgia attorney in contempt of court for a late appearance at a hearing for his client's criminal case, rejecting the attorney's claims that he wasn't given due process and was discriminated against because he's Black.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Presidential Pardon Brokering Can Create Risks For Attys

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    The emergence of an apparent “pardon shopping” marketplace, in which attorneys treat presidential pardons as a market product, may invite investigative scrutiny of counsel and potential criminal charges grounded in bribery, wire fraud and other statutes, says David Klasing at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • Prisoners' Access To Health Info Should Have No Bars

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    To safeguard against unnecessary deaths in custody, courts and policymakers should clarify that incarcerated individuals’ constitutional right to medical care also includes access to sufficient information about their medical conditions, lifting current restrictions that can lead to crucial information being withheld, says Jaehyun Oh at Jacob Fuchsberg Law.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

  • Navigating Privilege Law Patchwork In Dual-Purpose Comms

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    Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to resolve a circuit split in In re: Grand Jury, federal courts remain split as to when attorney-client privilege applies to dual-purpose legal and business communications, and understanding the fragmented landscape is essential for managing risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 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.

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