Legal Ethics

  • October 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Nixes Judicial Complaint Over Atty 'Disbar' Threat

    The Ninth Circuit has rejected a judicial misconduct complaint against a judge who allegedly suggested that he could "disbar" a lawyer.

  • October 07, 2024

    Lin Wood Denies Lying About Assets In Fight With Ex-Partners

    Former attorney Lin Wood pushed back Friday on his former partners' allegations that he concealed a $4 million asset and lied about being unable to post a cash bond during his appeal of the $3.75 million defamation verdict against him, saying they "fundamentally misunderstand the facts."

  • October 07, 2024

    Apple, Amazon Urge Sanctions For Absent Antitrust Plaintiff

    A no-show named plaintiff should be sanctioned for ignoring discovery obligations in a putative antitrust class action over Apple and Amazon's third-party vendor restrictions for iPhone and iPad sales, the two tech giants have told a Washington federal judge.

  • October 07, 2024

    Ga. Judge Faces Ethics Charges Over Yearslong Case Delays

    A Georgia probate court judge faces multiple ethics charges for supposedly delaying a series of cases, the most severe of which has sat open for more than seven years.

  • October 07, 2024

    Steam Gamer Wants Sheppard Mullin Atty Back As Arbitrator

    A Los Angeles man who joined an antitrust action against Valve Corp., the company behind online video-game store Steam, has brought a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to reinstate a Sheppard Mullin lawyer as arbitrator for dozens of California litigants, arguing his disqualification came too late and was otherwise unfounded.

  • October 07, 2024

    Defiant Philly Judge Gets Suspended For Political Posts

    A Pennsylvania judge who flouted conduct rules by making political posts was suspended without pay Monday, a matter the state's judicial ethics court called historic because of the jurist's repeated defiance of warnings.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Feds' Warrant On Trump's Twitter DMs

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a court order that allowed special counsel Jack Smith to obtain messages from Donald Trump's account on the X social media platform while barring X Corp. from alerting the former president beforehand.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Judge's Non-Recusal In Al-Qaida Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to probe whether a D.C. Circuit judge, previously a government attorney, should have recused himself from a former al-Qaida member's appeal of a life sentence for terrorism and war crimes.

  • October 04, 2024

    Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.

  • October 04, 2024

    Mondelez, BCLP Ink $750K Deal To End Data Breach Suits

    Mondelez Global LLC workers on Friday asked an Illinois federal judge to greenlight a $750,000 settlement that would resolve proposed data privacy class actions against their employer and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP stemming from a 2023 data breach.

  • October 04, 2024

    Attys Tried To Coerce Client For Larger Fee, Texas Court Rules

    A Texas appeals court found that two attorneys tried to finagle a higher fee out of their client by threatening her with a lawsuit if she didn't fork over a larger amount than was specified in their contract, with the three-judge panel overruling all the attorneys' issues.

  • October 04, 2024

    Arnold & Itkin's Zeta DQ Bid 'Disappointing,' Ex-Clerk Testifies

    A Harris County judge began mulling Arnold & Itkin LLP's bid to disqualify Transocean's counsel from Hurricane Zeta litigation after a marathon hearing Friday that included testimony from a former Arnold & Itkin law clerk-turned-defense-lawyer who said she watched the contentious proceeding with "bitter amusement" and "disappointment."

  • October 04, 2024

    Circle K Avoids Trial, Settles Suit Over Gas Pump Death

    The family of a woman who was killed at a Circle K gas pump that caught fire has settled its claims against the convenience store and gas station company and its attorneys on the eve of trial, an attorney confirmed Friday.

  • October 04, 2024

    Atty Who Defied License Ban Asks Court To Rethink Jail Time

    A disbarred attorney asked the Florida Supreme Court on Friday to reconsider its decision to send him to jail for 60 days for allegedly repeatedly practicing law without a license, including continuing to market himself as a licensed attorney.

  • October 04, 2024

    Genasys Seeks Sanctions For Destroyed Evidence In IP Case

    Genasys Inc. has asked a California federal court to issue terminating sanctions against two former employees for allegedly destroying evidence in a case where the long-range acoustic device company is accusing them of stealing trade secrets to form a competing business.

  • October 04, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Topples Verdict In Tire Design IP Litigation

    The Federal Circuit on Friday determined that a federal court in Chicago had it wrong about what kind of conduct in litigation is granted "absolute litigation privilege," upending a multimillion-dollar jury verdict on liability over language in settlement agreements in a dispute over tire designs.

  • October 04, 2024

    Election Litigation Looms Over New Supreme Court Term

    The U.S. Supreme Court justices return to the bench Monday for a new term, even as the dust continues to settle from the shifts in administrative law and foundational changes to presidential immunity that headlined their last sitting. But experts say any hope that this term may be calmer is wishful thinking, in large part due to all-but-certain litigation over the presidential election.

  • October 04, 2024

    Retired Judge Says Unpaid Services Suit's Claims 'Untimely'

    Retired U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner asked an Indiana federal court on Friday to grant him a summary judgment win in litigation alleging he stiffed a man out of a six-figure salary after hiring him to run a now-defunct pro bono legal services organization, saying the suit's claims are "untimely."

  • October 04, 2024

    Oversight Dems Probe Chief Justice On Jan. 6 Case Handling

    Two House Democrats on the oversight committee questioned U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Friday on recent reporting he replaced Justice Samuel Alito as the author of a decision on a Jan. 6 case after the public learned the latter justice's wife flew flags at their homes with ties to the "Stop the Steal" movement.

  • October 04, 2024

    Fla. Firm Wins Wage Dispute After Paralegal Abandons Suit

    A federal judge threw out a paralegal's lawsuit alleging that a West Palm Beach, Florida, law firm underpaid her and then retaliated against her by cutting her hours when she complained, saying she has refused to continue to participate in the litigation.

  • October 04, 2024

    EB-5 Partner Accuses NC Atty Of Aiding Investor Coup

    A company created to protect an investment project supporting green card applications for Chinese nationals accused a North Carolina attorney in state court of helping shareholders try to place the company into receivership and take control of a $30 million fund.

  • October 04, 2024

    Epic Doubts Apple's Privilege Assertions In Antitrust Fight

    Epic Games told a California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in its antitrust compliance fight with Apple on Friday that it's concerned Apple has wrongly asserted privilege in more than half the documents it has declined to produce, while adding "we don't want to spend months here duking this out."

  • October 04, 2024

    RI Atty Faces Discipline For Unauthorized Practice In Conn.

    An attorney from Rhode Island is facing possible disciplinary action in Connecticut after she represented a client in a juvenile court matter in the Constitution State without being licensed to practice in the state.

  • October 04, 2024

    Up First At High Court: Civil Rights, Ghost Guns, Atty Fees

    The U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes Monday to start a brand-new term, with the justices first hearing arguments related to prerequisites for litigating federal rights in state courts, ghost gun regulations, and whether a death row inmate is entitled to a new trial after a state admits that prosecutorial misconduct might have led to his conviction.

  • October 04, 2024

    Panel Agrees Atty 'Acted Incompetently' In Filing Slipup

    Connecticut's Statewide Grievance Committee had clear and convincing evidence that civil litigation attorney John W. Mills of Mills & Cahill LLC acted incompetently in failing to name his client's business as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against her accountant's estate or provide proof of her individual damages, a state appellate panel ruled Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Perspectives

    6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice

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    An attorney taking on their first pro bono immigration matter may find the law and procedures beguiling, but understanding key deadlines, the significance of individual immigration judges' rules and specialized aspects of the practice can help avoid common missteps, says Steven Malm at Haynes Boone.

  • Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga

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    Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.

  • Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?

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    Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.

  • Wachtell-X Ruling Highlights Trend On Arbitrability Question

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    A growing body of case law, including a California state court's recent decision in X Corp. v. Wachtell, holds that incorporation of specific arbitral body rules in an arbitration provision may in and of itself constitute clear and unmistakable evidence of delegation of arbitrability to an arbitrator, and thus such clauses should be drafted carefully, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • 7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond

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    The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.

  • On The Edge: Lessons In Patent Litigation Financing

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    A federal judge's recent request that the U.S. Department of Justice look into IP Edge patent litigation, and that counsel be disciplined, serves as a reminder for parties asserting intellectual property rights — and their attorneys — to exercise caution when structuring a litigation financing agreement, say Samuel Habein and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

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    Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Opinion

    Stronger Attorney Rules Are Needed To Avoid A Jan. 6 Repeat

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    Given the key role lawyers played in the events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, the legal profession must shore up its rules before this year’s presidential election to make clear that lawyers who undermine the rule of law will face severe penalties, including disbarment, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

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    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • Why Fed. Circ. Affirmed Attorney Fee Award In PersonalWeb

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    A recent Federal Circuit decision to leave a $5.2 million fee award in place in the PersonalWeb patent case underscores district courts' discretion to sanction unreasonable arguments and litigation tactics under the U.S. Code's attorney fee provision, say attorneys at Shearman. 

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

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    Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

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    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.

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