Legal Ethics

  • November 04, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Habeas Petition Over Counsel's Mistake

    A divided Second Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that because a convicted sex trafficker's counsel during his first criminal appeal made an admittedly "inexcusable" mistake, the convict should be granted a second chance via a habeas petition to challenge his sentence.

  • November 04, 2025

    DOJ Ignores Court Discovery Order In Letitia James Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has refused to provide New York Attorney General Letitia James access to documents related to her October indictment on mortgage fraud charges, arguing Tuesday that a Virginia federal judge was too early in making the discovery order.

  • November 04, 2025

    Ga. Justices Disbar Atty Over Abandonment Of Six Cases

    The Georgia Supreme Court disbarred a suspended attorney on Tuesday for accepting a total of $33,900 from six clients but failing to handle their cases, finding that the attorney also failed to respond to the disciplinary process.

  • November 04, 2025

    Winston & Strawn Fights 'Anti-Woke' Fintech $1.7B Crash Suit

    Winston & Strawn LLP is asking a Texas bankruptcy court to toss a lawsuit from the trustee of self-styled "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi, saying that holding the law firm responsible for the company's failure would set "extraordinary and dangerous precedent."

  • November 04, 2025

    Conn. Firm Bookkeeper Asks To Delay Embezzlement Trial

    A former law firm bookkeeper accused of embezzling $835,000 from the legal practice and from its managing partner's rental business asked a Connecticut federal judge on Monday to delay a scheduled January jury trial because of a health issue that requires surgery.

  • November 04, 2025

    Baker Donelson Tries Again To Escape Miss. Timber Ponzi Suit

    Baker Donelson has moved for summary judgment against claims the firm allowed a timber company's nine-figure Ponzi scheme to unfold under its nose, with other defendants and the receiver also seeking rulings in their favor in the Mississippi federal suit.

  • November 04, 2025

    Ga. Justices Uphold Ex-Atty's Matricide Conviction

    The Supreme Court of Georgia on Tuesday upheld the murder conviction of a disbarred Peach State attorney who was found guilty of killing his mother on the day he was due to report to prison for stealing clients' money, ruling that "ample" circumstantial evidence tied him to the scene of the crime.

  • November 04, 2025

    2nd Circ. Hints Bankman-Fried's $11B Forfeiture Is Overkill

    The Second Circuit suggested Tuesday that the government's $11 billion forfeiture order against Sam Bankman-Fried may be unconstitutionally large, noting that the staggering amount tops the raft of cases tasking the court with determining if such money judgments pass Eighth Amendment muster.

  • November 03, 2025

    Feds Defend Cases Against James Comey, Letitia James

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday took a swing at bids by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James to get their indictments thrown out, telling a federal judge the appointment of interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was valid.

  • November 03, 2025

    'Frankly, They're Irrelevant:' ABA Ratings In Trump's 2nd Term

    The American Bar Association, long considered the gold standard for rating judicial nominees, no longer gets to interview them as Trump officials claim the group's "not qualified" rating for some nominees during Trump's first term shows it is a biased and "leftist" organization. Ironically though, ABA ratings for President Donald Trump's second-term picks are mostly positive so far.

  • November 03, 2025

    OpenAI Sets Policy Against Legal, Medical Advice

    OpenAI has updated its user policy across its artificial intelligence platforms, including ChatGPT, saying its products can't be used by individuals to provide any legal or medical advice.

  • November 03, 2025

    2nd Circ. Denies Reed Smith Relief In Eletson Discovery Feud

    The Second Circuit has rejected a bid from Reed Smith to pause a lower court ruling ordering the new owner of international shipping company Eletson Holdings to turn over documents requested by competitor Levona Holdings Ltd, finding the law firm failed to make its case to hold off on granting access to the documents.

  • November 03, 2025

    Paymentus Faces Trial Over Fintech Atty's Age Bias Claims

    A former in-house attorney for billing company Paymentus Corp. can bring her retaliation, age discrimination and wrongful discharge claims to trial after a North Carolina federal judge on Monday granted only partial summary judgment in the company's favor.

  • November 03, 2025

    Fla. Law Firm Escapes Data Breach Class Suit

    A Florida federal judge Monday tossed a proposed class action suit claiming Miami-headquartered national law firm Zumpano Patricios PA failed to protect sensitive information prior to a data breach, ruling that a threat of misuse of the information was not enough to confer standing for the plaintiffs.

  • November 03, 2025

    Judge Reminds Gov't To Follow Media Rules In James Case

    A Virginia federal judge has reminded the parties in the government's alleged bank fraud case against New York Attorney General Letitia James not to publicly discuss grand jury proceedings after U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan texted with a reporter about the case in October.

  • November 03, 2025

    DC Public Defender Funding To Halt Because Of Shutdown

    Funding for public defender services in Washington, D.C., is about to run out as the government shutdown drags on, according to a recent letter from members of the D.C. Courts Joint Committee on Judicial Administration.

  • November 03, 2025

    'Exercise More Restraint,' Judge Tells OpenAI Co-Founder

    A California federal judge had little patience for an OpenAI co-founder trying to limit his forced participation in Elon Musk's lawsuit challenging the ChatGPT maker's transition to a for-profit structure, admonishing the former executive for contesting a magistrate judge's order with motions filed while federal courts work unpaid.

  • November 03, 2025

    Cannabis Cos. Allege Hinckley Allen Malpractice Cost $25M

    A group of cannabis companies have claimed that Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP's alleged malpractice stemming from the purported decision to prioritize the personal interests of a manager in a 2017 investor suit ended up costing them over $25 million in damages.

  • November 03, 2025

    Black Man Granted New Trial In Mass. Over Lawyer's Bias

    A Black man who pled guilty to firearms offenses in 2018 after consulting with his lawyer — who was found to have made racist social media posts — is entitled to a new trial, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court said Monday, unanimously reversing a lower court's decision.

  • November 03, 2025

    Ex-Paxton Attys Defend Conspiracy Suit Tied To Impeachment

    Three of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's top deputies are not immune from allegations that they conspired to retaliate against former colleagues who raised allegations of witness tampering and other ethical misdeeds during Paxton's impeachment, those former colleagues have told a Texas federal court.

  • November 03, 2025

    ABA Changes DEI Scholarship Requirement Amid Lawsuit

    A law school scholarship once meant for a "member of an underrepresented racial and/or ethnic minority" is now open to applicants who "have demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion," according to a change broadcast by an organization suing the American Bar Association over the scholarship's "categorical exclusion" of whites.

  • November 03, 2025

    Expert Sues DC Atty For Allegedly Pirating $30K J6 Report

    A Texas-based expert report author has accused a Washington, D.C., attorney and her firm of unlawfully copying and distributing a copyrighted report regarding jury pool attitudes toward cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol in at least three separate criminal cases, unlawfully bypassing a $30,000 licensing fee.

  • October 31, 2025

    JPMorgan Kept Biz With 'Child Sleaze' Epstein Despite Flags

    JPMorgan Chase reported Jeffrey Epstein's suspicious cash transactions suggesting sex-trafficking years before the financier faced felony charges, but the bank continued to do business with him even as banking executives joked internally about Epstein as a "known child sleaze," according to documents unsealed in New York federal court Friday.

  • October 31, 2025

    Alaska Joins Utah In Firing Motley Rice From Opioid Case

    Alaska joined Utah this month in terminating its contract with Motley Rice LLC, which the state hired nearly a decade ago to pursue litigation over the opioid crisis, saying the law firm didn't disclose it was simultaneously representing other clients in separate opioid litigation.

  • October 31, 2025

    Ex-Knick Must Pay Madison Square Garden $642K Legal Fees

    Charles Oakley must pay Madison Square Garden a little more than $642,000 for legal fees stemming from its pursuit of the former New York Knick's deleted text messages in his battery suit against the arena, a federal magistrate judge ruled Friday, cutting down the arena's requested $1.5 million.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • Disciplinary Rule Updates Every Texas Lawyer Needs To Know

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    Sweeping amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that recently went into effect provide essential clarity and modernity to rules governing conflicts of interest, client confidentiality and duties to prospective clients, says Robert Tobey at Johnston Tobey.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • Opinion

    Firing Of Jack Smith's Team Is A Threat To Rule Of Law

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    The acting attorney general’s justifications for firing prosecutors who worked on the criminal cases against President Donald Trump rest on a mischaracterization of legal norms, and this likely illegal move augurs poorly for the rule of law, say Bruce Green at Fordham University and Rebecca Roiphe at New York Law School.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

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    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • Navigating Arbitration Confidentiality Challenges In Age Of AI

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    Artificial intelligence is already significantly involved in various aspects of arbitration and posing challenges for maintaining confidentiality, but relatively quickly implementable practices can be utilized as safeguards as AI tools continue to be integrated, says David Coher at CoherADR.

  • The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024

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    Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • What Insurers Should Know About AI Use In Litigation

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    As the use of artificial intelligence in litigation evolves, insurers should note standing court orders, instances of judges utilizing AI to determine policy definitions and the application of evidentiary standards to expert evidence that incorporates AI, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

  • 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.

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