Legal Ethics

  • September 23, 2026

    Goldstein Not Leaving Prison Any Time Soon, 4th Circ. Rules

    The Fourth Circuit balked late Wednesday at freeing Tom Goldstein from prison as he fights felony convictions, and it rejected fast-track review of the renowned appellate advocate's trial, indicating he'll likely spend substantial time behind bars even if his appeal succeeds.

  • September 23, 2026

    Newman's Roadblocks Guide Judicial Conduct Reform Bill

    The Judicial Conduct and Disability Act has worked well in allowing the judicial branch to govern itself for nearly 50 years, but the ongoing suspension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has exposed gaps that could be addressed with newly introduced legislation, attorneys say.

  • September 23, 2026

    'I'm Tired Of This': Judge Scolds Atty In Romantasy Suit

    A New York federal judge has reprimanded counsel for a writer in a failed copyright infringement lawsuit over the "Crave" book series, insisting the plaintiff answer all questions in a deposition over attorney fees and writing that she was "tired of this" and "indeed being jerked around."

  • September 23, 2026

    DOJ Partially Backs Apple In Epic High Court Contempt Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice told the U.S. Supreme Court in an amicus brief that the Ninth Circuit wrongly faulted Apple for charging a 27% commission on transactions linked out from apps, but it backed other parts of the California federal court's contempt order won by Epic Games.

  • September 23, 2026

    Attorneys Say Unpaid Sanction No Basis To End Antitrust Suit

    Attorneys representing a shuttered soccer league say an unpaid $24,000 sanction that a Puerto Rico federal judge imposed on them for error-riddled court filings is no reason to dismiss the league's antitrust suit against FIFA and two affiliates.

  • September 23, 2026

    Legal Groups Back Firm In NC High Court Malpractice Appeal

    Legal advocacy groups are standing behind the law firm Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo LLP in asking North Carolina's highest court to find that the state's four-year statute of repose on legal malpractice claims creates an immovable end-date to liability.

  • September 23, 2026

    Fed. Panel At Standstill Over ABA Law School Accreditor Role

    A key U.S. Department of Education committee deadlocked Wednesday over whether the American Bar Association council responsible for approving law schools should continue as a federally recognized accreditor, tabling the issue until Thursday after different proposals failed to win majority support.

  • September 23, 2026

    NM County Faces Sanctions Over Protected Disclosures

    A New Mexico federal judge said a county violated a protective order by disclosing information from confidential documents in a state court malpractice suit, saying the county's defense of "we own the documents and we can do what we want with them" did not defeat the order's restriction on the materials.

  • September 23, 2026

    Judge Rejects $2.5M Fees For Opt-Out Attys In Chevy Case

    A Michigan federal judge has rejected a motion from LG Chem and its affiliates for $2.5 million in fees for attorneys who had urged their clients to opt out of a $150 million settlement resolving allegations that Chevrolet Bolt batteries were defective, then to opt back in, saying the attorneys did nothing to materially improve or work toward the deal.

  • September 23, 2026

    Tarter Krinsky Data Breach May Have Affected Health Info

    Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP said in a letter this month that a data breach last year may have compromised protected health information the firm possessed due to its representation of an unnamed healthcare provider.

  • September 22, 2026

    Meta Flaunts 'Abuse' Of Atty-Client Privilege, Judge Told

    A California federal judge ordered Meta on Tuesday to rereview privilege designations on 300 documents in social media addiction litigation, after plaintiffs' lawyers cited a "culture of privilege abuse" epitomized by Instagram swag hats embroidered with "a/c priv" — the shorthand used to log withheld documents.

  • September 22, 2026

    Panel Hints Hill Wallack May Face Revived Malpractice Suit

    A New Jersey state appeals court panel on Tuesday appeared troubled by a trial judge's decision to toss a malpractice suit accusing Hill Wallack LLP of mishandling the defense of a family facing labor trafficking allegations, repeatedly asking counsel whether the lower court made the factual findings required before imposing the system's harshest sanction.

  • September 22, 2026

    Atty Urges 4th Circ. To Reverse Liability For Client's Taxes

    A Baltimore attorney asked the Fourth Circuit to reverse a lower court's order that he cover unpaid federal income taxes owed by his client's holding company, saying he didn't engage in self-dealing.

  • September 22, 2026

    Ga. Justices Mull Reviving Injury Firm Client Solicitation Suit

    Georgia's justices pressed a personal injury law firm Tuesday on whether an attorney's racketeering case accusing it of using confidential crash reports to land clients was rightly dismissed, hinting that the lower courts might have held the claims to too high a bar.

  • September 22, 2026

    Ga. Justices Say Missed Deadline Warrants Atty's Suspension

    Georgia's highest state court imposed a six-month suspension on an attorney because of his handling of a personal injury case, finding Tuesday he violated state rules by not filing required written expert reports and failed to pay for sanctions in a timely manner.

  • September 22, 2026

    Fla. Justices Seek No-Pay Discipline In Judge's Ethics Case

    The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to sign off on a public reprimand and suspension for a state judge who admitted to ethics violations in connection with her election campaign, saying it would do so only if the suspension was without pay.

  • September 22, 2026

    Split Ga. High Court Dismisses Former Judge's Ethics Cases

    A split Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday found that a former state judge committed several ethics violations, including wrongly jailing a witness in a divorce case, but tossed the charges because she resigned from the bench, although dissenting justices said the court should use its authority to discipline her.

  • September 22, 2026

    NJ Prosecutor's Office Claims Immunity In Video-Sharing Case

    A New Jersey county prosecutor's office urged a state court to toss a suspended police officer's suit alleging it improperly shared a video of her meeting with its investigators about gender discrimination and internal affairs complaints.

  • September 22, 2026

    Law Firm Says Illinois Tollway Owes Limo-Crash Defense Fees

    The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is being sued in Illinois state court by a Chicago law firm claiming the agency has failed to pay attorney fees for its defense in litigation over a catastrophic 2016 limousine crash.

  • September 22, 2026

    Womble Bond Can't Quit Dutch Client With TM Trial Looming

    Womble Bond Dickinson can't withdraw from a trademark feud that's dragged on for more than five years between U.S. and Dutch software companies, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, saying the firm's exit at this late stage "would be completely disruptive."

  • September 22, 2026

    NJ Justices Take On Atty DQ In Injury Cases After J&J Ruling

    New Jersey's Supreme Court has agreed to review the disqualification of an attorney from representing plaintiffs in several cases over injuries at Sky Zone trampoline parks after a trial court ruled the attorney's retention of a former company safety official as an expert could prejudice proceedings.

  • September 22, 2026

    Judge Sinks Patent Judgments Against Chilisin In Cyntec Suit

    A California federal judge has nullified judgments against Chilisin Electronics Corp. in a patent case from Cyntec Co. over Cyntec's failure to disclose an agreement to license a pair of its patents to Apple, while also agreeing to sanction Cyntec's counsel.

  • September 22, 2026

    Mich. Fed. Judge On 1-Year Leave Over Drunken Driving Case

    U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington is taking a one-year paid leave of absence from the bench following his misdemeanor conviction for drunken driving, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan announced Tuesday.

  • September 21, 2026

    Tesla Atty Misled Witness Days Before Bias Trial, Judge Hears

    The California Civil Rights Department asked a California judge for a protective order Monday on the first day of a bench trial over claims Tesla Inc. fostered racism at its Fremont factory, after a witness testified that an in-house Tesla attorney recently called him and misled him into believing he represented the agency.

  • September 21, 2026

    Costco Says It Didn't Say 'Zero Heavy Metals' In Protein Powder

    "Good, clean nutrition" doesn't actually mean "free of lead," Costco Wholesale Corp. told a Washington federal court on Friday as it pushed for dismissal of a proposed class action claiming its Orgain protein powders contained dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • 6th Circ. FirstEnergy Ruling Protects Key Legal Privileges

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    The Sixth Circuit’s recent grant of mandamus relief in In re: First Energy Corp. confirms that the attorney-client privilege and work-product protections apply to internal investigation materials, ultimately advancing the public interest, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

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    Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

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    After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

  • Series

    Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

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