Legal Ethics

  • September 30, 2026

    Ill. Judge To Hear Fight Over Prosecutor Contempt Probe

    An Illinois federal judge is set to hear arguments Thursday on whether fallout from a failed prosecution of six anti-ICE protesters should extend beyond dismissed charges and internal reforms to an evidentiary sanctions hearing and a deeper probe into possible criminal contempt by Chicago federal prosecutors.

  • September 30, 2026

    NY DA: Construction Exec Offered 'Quid Pro Quo' To Atty

    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office seized the phone of The Rinaldi Group's managing director as part of a criminal investigation into allegations that he proposed a "quid pro quo" to a defense attorney representing another longtime TRG executive in a bribery case, a prosecutor has told a state court judge.

  • September 30, 2026

    Biz Groups Urge 5th Circ. To Back Texas Derivative-Suits Limit

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Association of Business on Wednesday urged the Fifth Circuit to uphold the dismissal of a Southwest Airlines shareholder's derivative suit, saying Texas law properly blocks such suits for those who hold less than 3% of shares.

  • September 30, 2026

    DOJ Accuses Judges Of Ethics Violations With Press Remarks

    Several Minnesota federal judges ran afoul of their ethical obligations when they commented on President Donald Trump's immigration policies in a recent news article, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a judicial misconduct complaint filed Wednesday.

  • September 30, 2026

    DOJ Atty Picked For Judgeship Probed On Fulton County Raid

    A top U.S. Department of Justice official tapped for a federal judgeship faced questions from Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday about the department's investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, over Trump's allegations of fraud in the 2020 election.

  • September 30, 2026

    Mid-Atlantic Law Firm Hit With Data Breach Class Action

    A Virginia woman filed a proposed class action on Tuesday accusing Midkiff Muncie & Ross PC of failing to protect her personal information from a cyberattack that the mid-Atlantic firm says it discovered in December.

  • September 30, 2026

    Texas AG Says ABA Stifling Law School Competition

    The Texas Attorney General announced an investigation into the American Bar Association relating to alleged anticompetitive conduct in the association's accreditation of law schools, claiming Wednesday that the ABA "weaponized its accreditation authority" to push "unconstitutional racial and gender preference requirements."

  • September 30, 2026

    Sen. Blackburn Sues Smith For Seizing Phone Records

    U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn alleges in a federal complaint filed Wednesday that Jack Smith illegally subpoenaed her phone records as part of an investigation into alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

  • September 30, 2026

    Cigna, Fla. Atty Resolve $21M Claim In Ch. 7 Case

    A Florida federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved a settlement between a lawyer and Cigna in a Chapter 7 lawsuit, resolving a $21 million claim the health insurer once disputed as nondischargeable for only a fraction of the amount. 

  • September 29, 2026

    Geico Call Class Sunk After Plaintiff Tosses Phone In River

    A Maryland federal judge has refused to certify a class of thousands of insurance claimants who received allegedly unauthorized prerecorded medical appointment reminders from a scheduling vendor retained by Geico, finding that factors such as the plaintiff's decision to throw his cellphone into the Mississippi River made him an inadequate class representative.

  • September 29, 2026

    Tommy's Boats Owner Says Atty Error Led To $65M Judgment

    The owner of defunct boat and water sports dealer Tommy's Boats sued the company's former attorneys from Miller Johnson Snell & Cummiskey in Michigan state court, accusing them of failing to ensure its supplier would buy back unsold inventory in the event of a loan default, an alleged oversight that left the owner personally liable for $65 million.

  • September 29, 2026

    NY, Florida, Mass. Bar Officials Duck Disbarred Atty Suit

    A New York federal judge threw out a permanently disbarred attorney's due process claims against New York state, Massachusetts and Florida disciplinary officials Monday, finding no New York ties to the out-of-state officials and concluding the New York disbarment came not from disciplinary officials but from a state court.

  • September 29, 2026

    Summer Vacation Rules Save Texas Slip-And-Fall Suit

    A Texas appeals panel on Tuesday revived a woman's slip-and-fall suit, finding the trial court judge abused their discretion by ignoring her attorney's summer vacation designation and dismissing the case with prejudice when he was unprepared at trial.

  • September 29, 2026

    DC Circ. Weighs Limits On Boasberg's Contempt Inquiry

    A top Justice Department official told an en banc D.C. Circuit panel that a district judge should refer former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for contempt over the 2025 deportation flights to El Salvador and move on, saying the judge had no authority to wrap others into his inquiry.

  • September 29, 2026

    Ga. Judge Flags Suspected AI Misuse In Pipe Coverage Row

    A Georgia federal judge chided counsel for a former golf clubhouse owner in an insurance coverage dispute over burst pipes for what the court called errors "typical" of AI hallucinations.

  • September 29, 2026

    NY Court Officials Must Disclose Secret Guidance To Judges

    The New York State Office of Court Administration must hand over a batch of memos instructing state judges how to interpret the law after fighting for years to keep them under wraps, a New York state appeals court ruled Tuesday.

  • September 29, 2026

    NJ Panel Questions Atty's Authority In $600K Injury Settlement

    A New Jersey appellate panel Tuesday vacated a trial court's orders enforcing a $600,000 settlement in a personal injury case, sending the case back for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether counsel for one of the settling defendants had the authority to settle.

  • September 29, 2026

    NJ Atty Can Pursue Defamation Suit Over Social Media Posts

    A New Jersey federal judge denied a Texas-based social media personality's request that she rethink her decision to allow a New Jersey attorney's defamation suit to continue.

  • September 29, 2026

    Embattled Ga. Judge Looks To Oust JQC Panel Member

    A Georgia state judge said a Judicial Qualifications Commission panel member needs to step away from an ethics case against her because of the member's close friendship with a potential witness. 

  • September 29, 2026

    Baker Botts Atty Disputes Inventor's Claim Of Defamation Deal

    A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney is pushing back on an inventor's claim that they reached a settlement agreement in the inventor's defamation suit in Florida federal court.

  • September 29, 2026

    Philly Plaintiffs' Firm Says Uber Can't Support RICO Claims

    Philadelphia personal injury firm Simon & Simon PC is again urging a Pennsylvania federal judge to throw out Uber Technologies Inc.'s racketeering claims alleging Simon & Simon masterminded a scheme to inflate settlements, saying none of the ride-sharing company's arguments or evidence show it was injured.

  • September 29, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Pause Sanctions Against Trump In IRS Case

    An Eleventh Circuit panel refused Tuesday to pause a district court's sanctions order barring President Donald Trump and others from citing the agreement he made to settle his $10 billion suit against the Internal Revenue Service while they appeal the order.

  • September 29, 2026

    Prosecutor's CLE Records Blocked In Death Penalty Case

    A death row prisoner can't subpoena Continuing Legal Education records for a prosecutor who worked on his case, because a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge held that the decades-old records — if they still exist — are unlikely to contain evidence supporting the defense's allegations of racism at the district attorney's office.

  • September 29, 2026

    Agtech Biz Founder Loses Chancery Judge Recusal Bid

    A Delaware Chancery Court magistrate has denied a motion from HerdDogg Inc.'s founder to recuse himself from presiding over litigation she brought seeking to place the agricultural technology company into receivership, saying "unequivocally" that the founder had not shown disqualification would be appropriate.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Attys Face New Penalties For Paying To Recruit Clients

    Lawyers convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — in California will now face a $25,000 civil penalty and face disbarment under a bill signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Expert Analysis

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • DOJ Faces Potential Discovery Pitfalls In Comey Prosecution

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    The unusual circumstances surrounding the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey increase the odds of a discovery misstep for the U.S. Department of Justice, offering important reminders for defense counsel on how to ensure the government fulfills its obligations, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

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    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • Trader Joe's Ruling Highlights Trademark Infringement Trends

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Trader Joe's Co. v. Trader Joe's United explores the legal boundaries between a union's right to advocate for workers and the protection of a brand's intellectual property, and illustrates a growing trend of courts disfavoring early dismissal of trademark infringement claims in the context of expressive speech, say attorneys at Mitchell Silberberg.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Arbitrator's Conviction Upheld

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    The Supreme Court of Spain recently upheld the criminal conviction of arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa for grave disobedience to judicial authority, rejecting the proposition that an arbitrator's independence can prevail over a court order retroactively disabling the very judicial act conferring arbitral jurisdiction, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • In NY, Long COVID (Tolling) Still Applies

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    A series of pandemic-era executive orders in New York tolling state statutes of limitations for 228 days mean that many causes of action that appear time-barred on their face may continue to apply, including in federal practice, for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Reel Justice: 'One Battle After Another' And The Limits Of Zeal

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    The political thriller “One Battle After Another,” following a former revolutionary who became a recluse, offers a potent metaphor for attorneys on diligence and the ethical boundaries of zealous advocacy, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.

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