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Legal Ethics
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April 29, 2024
Chicago IP Firm Sues Again Over Atty Impersonation
Intellectual property law firm Greer Burns & Crain Ltd. has filed a second trademark infringement suit claiming an unknown defendant has been using a nearly identical website domain name to impersonate its attorneys and request the release of court-ordered asset restraints, after winning a similar case last year.
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April 29, 2024
1st Circ. Slashes Atty's Convictions In Email Fraud Case
An Illinois lawyer convicted of receiving proceeds from a business email compromise scheme had three of six counts vacated Monday by the First Circuit, which ruled that Massachusetts wasn't the right venue for those charges.
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April 29, 2024
NY Atty Gets 10 Years In Prison For Trying To Have Ex Killed
A New York attorney convicted of arranging to pay a hitman to murder the mother of his two young children has been sentenced in California federal court to 10 years behind bars, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
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April 29, 2024
Dentons, Boies Schiller Hit With $300M Fraud Suit
The owner of a company that attempted to contract with Senegal to develop a power plant in the African nation has filed a $300 million racketeering suit against Dentons and Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, accusing the BigLaw firms of fraud and extortion in connection with their allegedly botched representation of the company.
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April 29, 2024
Colo. Judge Moves Toward Eastman DQ Over Calif. Discipline
A Colorado federal judge has ordered former Donald Trump lawyer John C. Eastman to explain why he shouldn't be disqualified from representing plaintiffs in a civil suit after a California disciplinary judge suspended his law license and recommended disbarment in March.
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April 29, 2024
4th Circ. OKs Sanctions Against Law Firm In Bestwall Ch. 11
A split Fourth Circuit panel on Monday refused to overturn more than $402,000 in sanctions against a law firm and its clients as part of bankruptcy proceedings for a Georgia-Pacific unit, saying the contempt and sanctions orders can't be appealed because they aren't final judgments.
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April 29, 2024
Ga. Judicial Watchdog Sets Date For Judge's Ethics Trial
The ethics hearing of a Georgia judge accused of calling litigants names, sexually harassing attorneys and courthouse employees, and trying to get a friend's children out of legal trouble is set for June, according to an order filed Friday in the Georgia Supreme Court.
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April 29, 2024
Pa. County Counters Sanctions Bid In Dominion Suit
Local officials in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, have urged a federal judge to punish Dominion Voting Systems Inc. for its motion filed last month calling for sanctions against two county commissioners for filing an amended complaint in a breach of contract suit.
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April 29, 2024
Smollett Atty Wants Sanctions Over Missing Therapy Records
An attorney for Jussie Smollett has asked an Illinois federal judge for another round of sanctions after two brothers who allegedly helped stage a hate crime against the actor failed to turn over discovery, saying they've refused to turn over records or answer questions in the defamation suit pertaining to their mental health treatment.
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April 29, 2024
NJ Legal Groups Fight Ban On Out-Of-State Atty Referral Fees
The New Jersey State Bar Association and other Garden State professional legal groups are looking to reverse guidance from a New Jersey Supreme Court ethics committee prohibiting the state's certified attorneys from paying referral fees to out-of-state lawyers.
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April 29, 2024
NJ Justices Spell Out Atty Fee Rules In Fee-Shifting Cases
The New Jersey Supreme Court has put out rules governing fee agreements for attorneys representing clients in statutorily based fee-shifting cases, capping off years of ethical debate stemming from a case where an individual client was charged $286,000 for legal work on a discrimination lawsuit.
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April 29, 2024
11th Circ. Should Nix Tax Court Judges' Shield, Widow Says
The widow of a supermarket butcher told the Eleventh Circuit that the U.S. Tax Court not only wrongly upheld tax liabilities against her stemming from her husband's tax filings but also erroneously affirmed unconstitutional job protections for its judges.
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April 29, 2024
Venezuela Says It Has Proof Of Special Master Improprieties
Venezuela has asked a Delaware federal judge to disqualify the special master overseeing the sale of Citgo Petroleum Corp.'s parent company to repay billions of dollars in Venezuelan debt, saying it now has proof he engaged in improper advocacy before the Biden administration.
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April 29, 2024
Turkey Cos. Seek Swift Appeal Of Burford's Ability To Sue
Some of the country's largest turkey producers have asked an Illinois federal court for permission to immediately appeal a March ruling that allows a Burford Capital investment unit to pursue price-fixing allegations against them, arguing the Seventh Circuit should weigh in on whether the investor is permitted to bring such a claim.
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April 29, 2024
Feds Accused Of 'Outrageous' Misconduct In Ozy Media Case
Ozy Media and the defunct startup's founder want a New York federal judge to toss a criminal fraud case against them, accusing the government of prosecutorial misconduct and violating attorney-client privilege protections.
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April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
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April 26, 2024
Trump Casts Tabloid Deal As 'Standard Operating Procedure'
Donald Trump's attorneys tried to undermine Manhattan prosecutors' lead witness in his criminal trial on Friday, casting his deal to boost his presidency with the help of a friendly tabloid baron as nothing more than a savvy business relationship that was perfectly legal.
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April 26, 2024
L'Occitane's Claim Zimmerman Reed Weaponized Law Tossed
A California federal judge has thrown out L'Occitane's allegations that Zimmerman Reed LLP and thousands of clients conspired to "weaponize" a California wiretapping law against the luxury retailer, while chastising both sides' counsel in a footnote for their "overwrought, unjustified and misguided" arguments during litigation.
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April 26, 2024
Wash. Judge To Resign, Denies Domestic Abuse Allegations
A Washington state superior court judge announced he will resign next month after the state judicial conduct commission accused him last fall of domestic abuse against his ex-wife and a court clerk, saying the commission has pressured him to admit to wrongdoing that never happened.
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April 26, 2024
Confusion Over Law Led To Doc Fight, Astroworld Judge Says
A special master appointed to the civil litigation stemming from the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival told attorneys Friday that a "good faith misunderstanding" of criminal statutes has likely led to several discovery disputes, encouraging the parties to try to come to an agreement about what portion of the Houston Police Department's investigative file on the tragedy is discoverable.
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April 26, 2024
Texas Justices Rule Trial Court Must Admit Out-Of-State Attys
An El Paso court that barred two out-of-state attorneys from appearing pro hac vice because they seemed to have signed a filing prior to being admitted must let the lawyers into the case, the state high court ruled Friday, finding the trial court abused its discretion in blocking them.
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April 26, 2024
50 Cent's GC Beats Wiretap Claim In Liquor Feud, For Now
A Manhattan judge on Friday threw out a claim that the general counsel for rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson illegally recorded a former Beam Suntory Inc. sales contractor during an embezzlement investigation, but allowed the consultant to revise his pleading.
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April 26, 2024
Latham, Akin Beat NJ Suit Over Alleged IP Theft Scheme
A New Jersey federal court on Friday tossed a lawsuit claiming attorneys from Latham & Watkins LLP and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP manipulated patent litigation to steal a former Cornell University graduate student's DNA sequencing intellectual property, calling that graduate student's claims "conspiracy theories."
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April 26, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 4 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 four.
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April 26, 2024
11th Circ. Finds No Anti-Black Juror Bias In Murder Trial
The Eleventh Circuit has denied a new trial to a Mexican man arguing prosecutors used all but one of their peremptory strikes to exclude potential jurors who were Black or Hispanic at the trial in Georgia where he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a whistleblower connected to his work.
Expert Analysis
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Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities
Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
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In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023
Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
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Opinion
Animal Rights Are About Saving Nature, And Our Own Future
The climate crisis makes it clear that animal law — conceived of as an ecocentric approach to protecting the most vulnerable nonhumans who depend on the natural environment — is essential to restoring the Earth and safeguarding the future of humanity, says Carter Dillard at the Fair Start Movement.
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The Ethics Of Accepting Advanced Legal Fees In Crypto
State and local bar associations have been weighing in on whether attorneys may accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment in advance of providing legal services, but the answer is frequently a fact-specific inquiry that demands close reading of the rules of professional conduct, say Matthew Feinberg and Jeffrey Cunningham at Goldberg Segalla.
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How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season
Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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5 Gifts That May Run Afoul Of Government Ethics Rules
As the holiday season ramps up, it’s essential to keep in mind that government officials and employees are all subject to specific gift rules, and related violations can lead to consequences far worse than coal in one’s stocking, say Mark Renaud and Rob Walker at Wiley.
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3 Defense Takeaways From The Bankman-Fried Trial
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction offers several key lessons for future white collar defendants, from the changing nature of cross-examination to the continued risks of taking the stand, say Jonathan Porter and Gregg Sofer at Husch Blackwell.
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Series
Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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The Basics Of Law Firm Cyber Liability Insurance Applications
Cyber liability insurance has become a common consideration for law firms as cyber threats have escalated, but these insurance forms can be quite complicated given the nature of the industry and associated risks, so simply filling out the form won't necessarily result in an ideal policy for your firm, says Kevin Haight at WAMS.
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Series
Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
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.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
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.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.