Legal Ethics

  • June 10, 2025

    Ex-Conn. Attorney Sues AG Bondi To Restore Gun Rights

    A Connecticut attorney who served prison time for a tax offense has sued federal and state officials to demand the restoration of his right to possess firearms and ammunition, arguing that the prohibition on that right is unconstitutional as applied to him.

  • June 10, 2025

    Wis. Judge Can't Wield Immunity For Obstructing ICE, DOJ Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a Wisconsin federal judge to reject a state court judge's argument that judicial immunity blocks her prosecution for allegedly obstructing an ICE arrest at a Milwaukee courthouse, saying that while judges may be immune from civil liability for official acts, they are not shielded from prosecution for supposedly criminal conduct.

  • June 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms Dechert's Victory Over Hacking Suit

    The Second Circuit on Monday refused to revive a North Carolina trade executive's lawsuit alleging hacking by a private investigator on Dechert LLP's behalf, ruling in a nonprecedential opinion that a district judge's failure to review disputed portions of a magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the suit was ultimately harmless.

  • June 09, 2025

    COVID Funds Bribery Scheme Gets Ex-Calif. Official 5 Years

    A former member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors was sentenced to five years in prison Monday in California federal court after admitting to steering $10 million worth of COVID-19 relief funds to a nonprofit linked to his daughter, in return for more than $500,000 in bribes. 

  • June 09, 2025

    Judge Denies Obstructing ICE As Disciplinary Hearing Begins

    An attorney for a Massachusetts state judge, who was accused of plotting to let a man wanted by immigration agents escape out of a back door of a courthouse in 2018, said at the start of a disciplinary inquiry Monday that the judge did not know about the plan, pointing the finger at the wanted man's lawyer.

  • June 09, 2025

    'No Question' DuPont Polluted Delaware River, NJ Court Told

    New Jersey told a federal judge on Monday that it was clear E.I. du Pont de Nemours discharged "forever chemicals" into the Delaware River, wrapping up the majority of a first-of-its-kind series of bench trials over whether the company is liable for contamination at a longstanding manufacturing facility.

  • June 09, 2025

    Madigan Denied Acquittal, New Trial Ahead Of Sentencing

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday denied former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's bid for acquittal or a new trial, clearing the way for him to be sentenced for bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy later this week.

  • June 09, 2025

    FEMA Dodges Atty's Bias And Retaliation Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge dismissed an attorney's lawsuit alleging two federal agencies fired her after she complained that a male colleague harassed her, saying the excessive length and repetitiveness of her claims makes an adequate response a "practical impossibility." 

  • June 09, 2025

    Ga. Judge Argues Ethics Charges Are 'Irreparably Tainted'

    An Atlanta trial judge urged a hearing panel to throw out the ethics charges leveled against her despite the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission's arguments that her motion to quash was untimely.

  • June 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Nixes Doc's Power Of Atty Deal In Patient ERISA Suit

    The Second Circuit ruled Monday that a doctor couldn't use a power-of-attorney arrangement to sue on behalf of a patient who said their union's health plan illegally stuck them with a $150,000 medical bill, but directed a trial court to determine if the patient can pursue the case.

  • June 09, 2025

    NJ Bar Pushes To Keep Limit On Nonclient Malpractice Claims

    The New Jersey State Bar Association is asking that state's Supreme Court not to expand plaintiffs' ability to sue attorneys for malpractice when they weren't those lawyers' clients, according to a Monday announcement.

  • June 09, 2025

    5th Amendment Can't Shield Ex-Exec, Drugmakers Argue

    Generic-drug makers urged a Pennsylvania court to compel a former executive to sit for a deposition in ongoing price-fixing litigation despite his invocation of the Fifth Amendment, arguing his testimony is crucial to their defense.

  • June 09, 2025

    Fitch Even's Ex-IP Client Wants Firm's Patent Suit Tossed

    Prenatal-Hope Inc. and its chief executive officer are asking an Illinois federal judge to dismiss a suit in which law firm Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP seeks a declaration that the CEO isn't the inventor behind a prenatal test patent.

  • June 09, 2025

    Alibaba Wants Patent Suit Axed Over Atty's 'Extreme' Conduct

    Cloud products and services company Alibaba Cloud US LLC has moved to dismiss a patent suit against it by Cooperative Entertainment Inc. as a sanction for "extreme" conduct by its attorney, which continued after he was referred to a disciplinary committee.

  • June 09, 2025

    Boies Schiller Faces DQ Bid In Law Firms' Battle In Florida

    Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and its attorney Sashi C. Bach are facing a disqualification bid in a Florida state court case between pharmaceutical mass tort firms and their former counsel, with the suing firms arguing that Boies Schiller cannot represent its co-defendants because of a conflict.

  • June 09, 2025

    Pro Bono Civil Counsel Not A Guarantee, 7th Circ. Rules

    In a precedential ruling, the Seventh Circuit has found that a federal court in Peoria, Illinois, did not err when it ended the search for a pro bono attorney to represent a prisoner in a civil rights suit over medical care provided behind bars because it could not find willing counsel.

  • June 09, 2025

    Pa. Firm, Insurer End Suit Over Legal Malpractice Coverage

    A Philadelphia law firm has dropped its bad faith lawsuit against an insurer stemming from a dispute over coverage for a legal malpractice case that ended in a $600,000 judgment against the estate of one of the attorneys, according to a recent filing.

  • June 09, 2025

    Feds Can Sell Russian Oligarch's Seized $230M Superyacht

    A New York federal judge has determined the government can proceed with an auction of a superyacht that once belonged to a sanctioned Russian billionaire, rejecting an argument that a potential sale would undercut the vessel's full value.

  • June 09, 2025

    Fla. Bar Rejects Ethics Probe Of Bondi While She's In Office

    The Florida Bar has told a group of lawyers, law professors and former judges that it will not open an ethics investigation into Pam Bondi's actions as attorney general, saying in a letter that it doesn't "investigate or prosecute sitting officers appointed under the U.S. Constitution while they are in office."

  • June 09, 2025

    Nadine Menendez Says Counsel Shake-Up Erases Conviction

    Former Sen. Robert Menendez's wife, Nadine Menendez, has asked a Manhattan federal judge to vacate the jury's guilty verdict in her bribery case, arguing that her Sixth Amendment rights were violated when she was denied her choice of legal representation.

  • June 06, 2025

    Willkie Atty's Ex-Landlord Says NY Post Leak Wasn't His Idea

    A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner's onetime landlord asked for a pretrial victory in a federal feud with his former tenants, telling a Connecticut court Friday he did not participate in his ex-attorney's leak of unflattering allegations about A. Mark Getachew and his wife to the New York Post.

  • June 06, 2025

    Stewart Says PTAB Should 'Never' Cancel IP As A Sanction

    The acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revived Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics LLC patent claims on Thursday that her predecessor had invalidated to punish Longhorn for misconduct.

  • June 06, 2025

    Teachers Want $218K In Costs After Pay Bias Trial Win

    Counsel representing two female teachers should receive nearly $218,000 in costs following a jury trial in which the workers were awarded $165,000 over claims that a Pennsylvania school district paid them less than men, the teachers told a federal court.

  • June 06, 2025

    Ex-Wells Fargo Atty Wins Arbitration Bid In Trade Secrets Suit

    A former senior in-house counsel for Wells Fargo Advisors won his bid to make the bank arbitrate claims he absconded with confidential information and coordinated a mass resignation of other staff when he left to work at a competing advisory firm.

  • June 06, 2025

    Flaws Remain In Bar Fitness Queries, Summit Panelists Say

    Many current state bar character and fitness tests fail to identify bad actors, and at the same time, certain aspects of the queries can hurt efforts to increase diversity in the profession, according to panelists at the American Bar Association's 2025 Virtual Equity Summit on Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • 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.

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