Legal Ethics

  • December 09, 2025

    Democrats Push For $1.76B To Fix Defender Budget Shortfall

    Almost 50 Democratic lawmakers are urging congressional appropriators to fix the long-standing budget shortfall for federal defenders in the upcoming full-year budget.

  • December 08, 2025

    Ex-Archetype Capital Exec Hit With Trade Secret Injunction

    A Nevada federal court on Friday temporarily blocked the former executive of a litigation finance business from using its trade secrets, finding the evidence indicates that his new law firm employer leveraged its proprietary mass tort review system. 

  • December 08, 2025

    Ex-Josh Cellars President Fights Gibson Dunn Withdrawal Bid

    The former president of the company behind the Josh Cellars wine brand disputed Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's version of events around his allegedly unpaid legal bills, saying he has questions about the reasonableness of the firm's charges, which must be arbitrated per his contract with the firm.

  • December 08, 2025

    Habba Resigns As Acting US Atty After DQ Ruling At 3rd Circ.

    Alina Habba stepped down Monday as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey following a Third Circuit ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the position, with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiling that a trio of officials will take on her responsibilities.

  • December 08, 2025

    Carlton Fields Steps Aside In 'Irreconcilable' Miss America Case

    A Florida federal judge allowed Carlton Fields and its attorneys on Monday to withdraw from representing the plaintiffs in a dispute over the ownership of the Miss America pageant, after the firm said "irreconcilable differences" drew it to ask to step down.

  • December 08, 2025

    Litigation Funder Says Attys Hid Deal To Evade $1.5M Payout

    A Florida-based litigation funder has sued two California attorneys and a law firm, alleging they secretly settled a client's civil dispute and steered the money so they wouldn't have to repay over $1.5 million.

  • December 08, 2025

    Atty Tied To High-Profile Conn. Murder Case Gets Suspended

    A Connecticut attorney was suspended from practicing law for one year on Monday after formally pleading guilty to interfering with an officer investigating the high-profile disappearance and presumed death of Jennifer Farber Dulos, even though the lawyer maintained his innocence over the alleged conduct.

  • December 08, 2025

    Senators Kelly, Slotkin Set Up Legal Defense Funds

    After appearing in a video encouraging members of the military and intelligence community to not follow illegal orders, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have established legal defense funds.

  • December 08, 2025

    Ga. Judge Rejects Judicial Bias Claims In Katt Williams Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has declined to reconsider his ruling tossing a suit by four women against comedian Katt Williams, rejecting claims that judicial bias infected the ruling and defending his decision to refer their attorney to the state bar for filing a brief with numerous fake case citations generated by artificial intelligence.

  • December 08, 2025

    Paralegal Seeks Contempt Order Over Firm's Emails For OT

    A Texas law firm should face sanctions after it flouted a court's order to turn over emails that could determine how much overtime a former paralegal worked, the former employee told a federal court, saying the firm provided "unusable garbage."

  • December 08, 2025

    $32M Malpractice Suit Was Filed Too Late, Judge Says

    A federal magistrate judge recommended tossing a lawsuit accusing Zeichner Ellman & Krause LLP and one of its partners of aiding a scheme to divert tens of millions of dollars from the Orly Genger 1993 Trust, finding on Friday that every claim lodged by the trust's assignee is barred by the statute of limitations.

  • December 05, 2025

    Character.AI Exec Can't Exit Teen's Suicide Suit, Mom Argues

    The co-founder of Character.AI should not be allowed to escape a wrongful death lawsuit accusing the platform and its creators of building a large language model that encouraged a 14-year-old boy to kill himself, the teen's mother argued in Florida federal court, saying the founder essentially controlled the company, so much so that it was his alter ego.

  • December 05, 2025

    Calif. Court Reverses Arbitration Denial In Injury Firm Dispute

    A California state appeals court has reversed a lower court's decision denying an injury firm co-founding partner's petition to compel arbitration in a dispute with his former law partner over referral and attorney fees, finding that an arbitration clause may be enforceable.

  • December 05, 2025

    Ex-Derailment Deal Admin Faces Irked Judge In Contempt Bid

    The ex-administrator of Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement over the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment met skepticism as it admitted to a federal judge Friday that it had made some mistakes in distributing funds, but denied class counsel's key contention that $120 million for personal injury claims had to be divided evenly among all the claimants.

  • December 05, 2025

    Conn. Court Grants New Hearing In Double Homicide

    A Connecticut man convicted of murdering and robbing two women in 2007 to support a drug habit should have been afforded a hearing concerning his motion to dismiss his attorney before his habeas petition was denied, the state's appellate court announced Friday.

  • December 05, 2025

    Cannabis Co. Says Rival Used AI-Fabricated Suit To Ruin Biz

    Medical marijuana company Leafwell Inc. said Friday that competitor My Florida Green used artificial intelligence to fabricate legal claims and draft a factually and legally deficient complaint as part of a scheme to extort Leafwell and ruin its business, according to a suit filed in Florida federal court.

  • December 05, 2025

    Immigration Lawyers Battle Burnout Amid Deportation Surge

    As the Trump administration carries out a mass deportation campaign across the country, immigration attorneys faced with heavy demand and changing norms are feeling the impact of burnout and stress on their practices and emotions, they told Law360.

  • December 05, 2025

    Judge Won't Exit Agri Stats DOJ Case Over Clerk Connection

    A Minnesota federal judge refused to recuse himself from a case accusing Agri Stats of helping meat processors exchange sensitive information based on a clerk's past work on related cases, after refusing a similar request in a case over pork prices.

  • December 05, 2025

    Utah Atty Avoids Monetary Sanction For 'Hallucinated' Cases

    A Utah federal judge handling a trademark infringement matter has sanctioned an attorney for filing court documents with "hallucinated" cases, but instead of issuing a fine, the lawyer was ordered to read all the cases and authorities cited in the opinion and file a summary statement within 30 days.

  • December 05, 2025

    Rosen Law Firm Sanctioned Over 'Frivolous' Investor Suit

    A Wisconsin federal judge has sanctioned The Rosen Law Firm PA for failing to conduct an adequate investigation before filing a "frivolous" securities complaint against an airline holding company.

  • December 05, 2025

    Biz Didn't Own Patent, Judge Rules, Sinking Suit Against Bank

    A Texas federal judge has ruled that a patent-holding company did not actually own a patent it was asserting against a Canadian bank since the agreement transferring the patent rights to it was void as a matter of law, dismissing the company's allegations of infringement.

  • December 05, 2025

    Judges Beat Ethics Suits For Dropping Retirement Post-Trump

    A Fourth Circuit judge and two district court judges have defeated ethics complaints from a conservative legal organization alleging they improperly reversed their decisions to take senior status after President Donald Trump was elected.

  • December 05, 2025

    Fla. Court Upholds Atty Disqualification In $1M Estate Dispute

    A Florida state appellate court on Friday affirmed the disqualification of an attorney who abandoned his client and began representing his client's adversaries in a $1 million probate case, finding that he likely violated ethics rules regarding conflicts of interest.

  • December 05, 2025

    Stone Hilton Wants Cruz Subpoena Tossed In Harassment Suit

    Stone Hilton PLLC is asking a Texas federal court to toss a subpoena from a former executive assistant for information about a firm partner's past tenure with the office of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, saying the purpose of the request is to "intimidate, burden and harass."

  • December 05, 2025

    NY Court Grants Murder Retrial Due To Jury Instruction Error

    A man sentenced to up to life in prison for murder after stabbing another man in a bar fight has been granted a new trial by a New York appeals court, which said his jury should have been allowed to consider whether he had acted in self-defense.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Despite Political Divide, FEC Found Common Ground In '24

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    The Federal Election Commission, although evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, reached consensus in consequential advisory opinions, enforcement actions and regulations last year, offering welcome clarity on some key questions facing campaigns, PACs and parties, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025

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    If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Key Ethical Issues For Gov't Attys Moving To Private Practice

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    Transitioning from government service to private practice presents complex ethical challenges for attorneys, including navigating conflicts of interest, confidential information rules and post-employment restrictions, say attorneys at HWG.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

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    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

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