Legal Ethics

  • May 03, 2024

    Hope Hicks Tells Jury Of 'Access Hollywood' Tape Fallout

    Hope Hicks, a former senior aide to Donald Trump, took the witness stand Friday in the former president's Manhattan hush money trial and described the fallout during the 2016 campaign after the release of the notorious "Access Hollywood" video and as word of his alleged extramarital affairs began to spread.

  • May 03, 2024

    Calif. Appeals Court Calls Firm's Conduct 'Woefully Uncivil'

    A California state appeals court has backed sanctions against The Vanderpool Law Firm in a dispute with Masimo Corp., finding that the firm had engaged in misconduct during discovery and noting that it was "woefully uncivil" in its emails with opposing counsel.

  • May 03, 2024

    Harvey Weinstein Denied Win In $1M Fee Fight With Jose Baez

    A New York state judge on Friday denied an early win to Harvey Weinstein in his $1 million fee dispute with criminal defense attorney Jose Baez, saying the incarcerated former media mogul produced nothing but a "self­-serving affidavit" and "haphazard printout" to make his arguments. 

  • May 03, 2024

    Ga. Senate Committee Hints At Changing DA Hiring Law

    A Georgia Senate special committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the election interference case against former President Donald Trump, questioned three county officials Friday about the kind of oversight Willis' office faced from the county and hinted that state law related to the hiring of special prosecutors may soon change.

  • May 03, 2024

    Gen AI Shows Promise — And Peril — For Pro Se Litigants

    Research on the capabilities of generative AI tools to help self-represented people has shown potential, but there is broad disagreement about how and when pro se litigants should be using them alone.

  • May 03, 2024

    NY Judge Urged To Detain Chinese Tycoon Who Owes $500M

    A trio of Chinese investors have urged a New York federal judge to prevent a Chinese cinema magnate from being deported, saying he will otherwise skip town without paying more than $500 million in arbitral awards and nearly $164,000 in attorney fees.

  • May 03, 2024

    Sidley Liable For Ex-Partner's Tax Sheltering, Ga. Judge Told

    Counsel for a family of business magnates who say they were duped into an illegal tax shelter scheme over 25 years ago by Sidley Austin urged a Georgia federal judge Friday to let their suit against the firm continue, arguing its defense that the suit is time-barred should be done away with.

  • May 03, 2024

    Colo. Jury Hits Berkshire Unit With $7M Monopoly Verdict

    A Colorado federal jury on Friday awarded the rival of a Berkshire Hathaway-owned construction supplier $6.7 million for the larger company's monopolistic practices, hours after a judge scolded the Berkshire company's lawyer because he "crossed a line" during closings.

  • May 03, 2024

    California Judge Ousted For 'Willful,' 'Prejudicial' Misconduct

    A California state judge has been removed from the bench after an investigation found that he conducted a campaign of retaliation against court employees he suspected of being "moles" in a probe against him and lied about his actions to investigators afterward.

  • May 03, 2024

    Feds Say They Didn't Break Law Pursuing Ozy Media, Owner

    Prosecutors are urging a New York federal judge not to grant a defunct media startup and its owner Carlos Watson's request to dismiss the criminal fraud case against them as parties prepare to start picking their jury later this month.

  • May 03, 2024

    Graham Blasts Mass. Judge Nom For 'Radical' Policing Letter

    Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted a Massachusetts judicial nominee on Friday for failing to disclose prior to his nomination hearing that his name appears on the letterhead of a 2020 public statement issued in the wake of protests following the murder of George Floyd by police.

  • May 03, 2024

    Robbins Geller Attys To Take Stand In $8M Sanctions Dispute

    A petroleum refiner will put current and former Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys on the stand May 7 in an extraordinary evidentiary hearing testing what the plaintiffs' lawyers knew about an analyst's now-discredited findings as they pursued since-nixed price-fixing claims.

  • May 03, 2024

    Ex-Defender Can't Make Feds Release Harassment Reports

    A North Carolina federal court rejected a former assistant federal defender's bid to have the federal government release certain #MeToo evidence following a trial over her claims of a botched sexual harassment probe, saying she was "woefully late" in deciding to challenge its confidentiality status.

  • May 03, 2024

    Law Firm Pans Photographer's IP Suit Over Website Image

    The Schmidt Firm asked a Texas federal judge Friday to ax a professional photographer's allegations the Dallas-based firm illegally posted his copyrighted image of convicted sexual abuser and ex-Columbia University obstetrician-gynecologist Robert Hadden on its website without permission.

  • May 03, 2024

    Menendez Says Feds' Talk Of Psychiatrist Invaded Privacy

    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez says prosecutors in his corruption case violated a New York federal court order and may have tainted the jury pool by allegedly revealing his sensitive private health information in a publicly filed motion opposing the New Jersey politician's request to introduce expert testimony by a psychiatrist.

  • May 03, 2024

    Coverage Recap: Day 7 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

    Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day seven.

  • May 03, 2024

    NJ Atty Beats DQ Bid In Tech Software Dispute, For Now

    A New Jersey federal judge has shot down a bid to disqualify a Callagy Law attorney from a suit involving two groups of technology industry investors and entrepreneurs following a business deal gone sour, rejecting as premature the defense's argument that his testimony is necessary to its case.

  • May 03, 2024

    Ohio Atty Gets 3rd Suspension After Not Reporting Conviction

    A Cleveland-area attorney trying to get reinstated after neglecting bankruptcy cases was suspended yet again by the Ohio Supreme Court, which said he failed to report a drug conviction to his county bar association for almost eight months.

  • May 02, 2024

    NY Jury Hears Trump On Tape Discussing $150K Payment

    Manhattan jurors in Donald Trump's criminal trial heard secretly recorded conversations of the former president discussing what prosecutors say is a $150,000 hush money payment for a former Playboy model intended to boost his 2016 election campaign.

  • May 02, 2024

    'Inflammatory' Words Spark Sanctions Bid In Child Death Suit

    Catholic Charities Corp. and the estate of a 5-year-old boy who an Ohio jury said died in part because of the nonprofit's negligence sparred over whether it violates a "golden rule" of litigation for the jury to picture the boy's suffering, with the nonprofit seeking sanctions over what it considered to be "inflammatory" statements by the estate's attorney.

  • May 02, 2024

    No Atty Fees For Objectors To $5.6B Swipe Fees Settlement

    Class members who initially objected to a $5.6 billion settlement with Visa and Mastercard cannot collect nearly $1 million in attorney fees, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday, saying they haven't shown their objections to the original 2013 settlement substantially benefited the class.

  • May 02, 2024

    Ethics, Military Orgs. Back Review Of Judge's Non-Recusal

    An ethics institute at the University of Pennsylvania and a military justice organization told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that a D.C. Circuit judge deprived a former al-Qaida member of a fair hearing when the judge did not recuse himself from the Guantanamo detainee's appeal.

  • May 02, 2024

    Attys Due For Spam Suit Sanction, But Not $750K, Judges Say

    Class counsel's misconduct in helping instigate a spam text suit against stock-trading app Robinhood Financial LLC warranted sanctions, a Washington state appeals court panel ruled Thursday, but the judges said the $750,000 penalty went over the top in deterring the bad behavior.

  • May 02, 2024

    Suspended Detroit Judge Running To Get Her Seat Back

    A Detroit judge suspended by the Michigan Supreme Court for "repeated, deliberate misconduct" is running for an open judicial seat at her former court in the August primary election.

  • May 02, 2024

    Split 10th Circ. Spikes $17.3M Atty Fee Over Class Notice

    A split Tenth Circuit panel has vacated for a second time a $17.3 million attorney fee award for reaching a $52 million class action settlement over gas well royalty payments, with the majority writing that the lower court erred by not requiring a new class notice regarding the revised fee bid.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

  • Opinion

    Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave

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    To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.

  • Series

    Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance

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    Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories

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    The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.

  • Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Asserting 'Presence-Of-Counsel' Defense In Securities Trials

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    As illustrated by the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, defense attorneys in securities trials might consider arguing that counsel had some involvement in the conduct at issue — if the more formal advice-of-counsel defense is unavailable and circumstances allow for a privilege waiver, say Joseph Dever and Matthew Elkin at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Key Takeaways From DOJ's Recent FARA Advisory Opinions

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    The U.S. Department of Justice recently published several redacted advisory opinions on the Foreign Agents Registration Act, clarifying its current thinking on when a person or entity is required to register as a foreign agent under the statute, and when they may qualify for an exemption, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley Rein.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

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