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Legal Ethics
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April 02, 2024
Backlash To 3rd Circ. Nom Could Hamper More Muslim Picks
Only two Muslims serve on the federal bench, well below the prevalence of people practicing the faith within the U.S., and the recent travails of a third picked to serve on the court might bode ill for adding more.
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April 02, 2024
Crowell & Moring Attys Avoid Bias Fault In Army Deal Protest
The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a Virginia-based defense contractor's protest of a $192.7 million U.S. Army technical and engineering support deal but refused to fault Crowell & Moring LLP attorneys for representing the contractor despite conflict of interest allegations.
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April 02, 2024
Ex-NY Court Atty Says DA Has No Evidence Of Corruption
A former appeals court attorney told a Manhattan jury Tuesday that the district attorney can't back up charges that she intended to benefit her husband when she gave a "basic, procedural fact" about the status of a case to his client.
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April 02, 2024
Amazon, Apple Buyers Defend Adding New Class Reps
Attorneys for a proposed antitrust class action against Apple and Amazon say the tech giants are being unreasonable by trying to stop them from adding new class representatives to the case after the initial delegate stopped talking with his legal team.
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April 02, 2024
Feds Seek Use Of 'Intertwined' Evidence In NC Tax Fraud Trial
Federal prosecutors have asked a North Carolina district court to permit tangential evidence in a tax fraud trial, saying that the evidence is "inextricably intertwined with the charged conduct" of two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent.
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April 02, 2024
Conn. Firm Defends Infant Death Probe In Sanctions Feud
A Connecticut firm is defending its investigation leading up to a product liability lawsuit against two companies it claims produced and sold an infant lounger linked to a number of baby deaths, asking a Connecticut federal court to quash motions for Rule 11 sanctions accusing it of pursuing frivolous claims.
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April 02, 2024
Prosecutors Call Indicted Exec's Misconduct Claims 'Flawed'
Prosecutors have asked a California federal judge to reject a bid for sanctions by a former healthcare CEO indicted on novel insider trading charges, arguing that his claims related to a separate case are based on "flawed grounds."
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April 02, 2024
NFL Rips 'Unnecessary' Compel Motion In Sunday Ticket Spat
The NFL pushed back against the plaintiffs' efforts to revisit discovery documents in an antitrust class action over the league's Sunday Ticket broadcast package, arguing the motion to compel is a "manufactured and unnecessary dispute" over a discovery process that ended two years ago.
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April 02, 2024
Major Lindsey Accused Of Targeting Atty Who Sued Troutman
Legal recruiter Major Lindsey & Africa was hit with a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming it internally "blackballed" a midlevel associate who sued Troutman Pepper for racial discrimination, thereby putting the lie to Major Lindsey's "claims to champion diversity" and making the firm an "accomplice" to "systemic race discrimination" in the legal industry.
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April 02, 2024
McCarter & English's Client Contract Win Heads To Mediation
The law firm McCarter & English LLP will hold settlement talks in June with an ex-client who has already lost a jury trial over $2 million in unpaid legal bills and potentially faces $3.6 million in punitive damages after an anticipated decision by Connecticut's highest court, a federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday.
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April 02, 2024
Adams And Reese Can't Use Free Speech Law To Avoid Suit
In finding that a Texas free speech law does not shield Adams and Reese LLP from a malpractice suit brought by an electrical subcontractor, a state appellate court said Tuesday that it was the law firm's alleged "failures to communicate" that is at issue.
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April 02, 2024
Boston Bomber Case Offers Clues For Trump Jury Selection
A recent ruling that may undo the Boston Marathon bomber's death sentence holds lessons for Donald Trump's upcoming trials, where attorneys will need to make prospective jurors comfortable enough to admit bias before they're picked — and potentially avoid years of appellate fights.
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April 02, 2024
Ex-Trustees Urge Ga. High Court To Take On Legal Fee Spat
Former trustees of a furniture tycoon's trust have asked the Georgia Supreme Court to rule that the trust has a duty to defend them against claims from the trust beneficiaries, arguing that this "appeal has implications for every indemnitee/insured" in the state.
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April 02, 2024
Law Firm Can't Make Atty Arbitrate Pay Spat, NC Panel Rules
A local law firm can't force a former shareholder to arbitrate his suit alleging he was stiffed on pay, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, saying it would be a stretch to find his claims stem from two side agreements containing arbitration clauses.
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April 02, 2024
Cole Scott Beats DQ Bid Over Partner's Past Work
The plaintiff in a car wreck injury lawsuit cannot disqualify Cole Scott & Kissane PA defense counsel from the case, a Florida federal judge has determined, finding that a firm partner's previous representation of the plaintiff in a separate suit was not enough of a connection to warrant the firm's removal.
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April 02, 2024
100-Plus Groups Rally Behind Adeel Mangi For 3rd Circ.
Over 100 federal and state advocacy groups sent a letter to senators on Tuesday urging them to support Adeel Mangi, nominee for the Third Circuit, who would be the first Muslim federal appellate judge if confirmed, amid increasing opposition to him.
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April 01, 2024
Trump's Gag Order Expands Over 'Attacks' On Judge's Family
Donald Trump has a constitutional right to respond to alleged political attacks, but he does not have a right to attack family members of the state judge overseeing his criminal case in New York, the judge ruled late Monday, expanding the former president's gag order in his hush money case.
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April 01, 2024
L'Oreal Wins Toss Of Trade Secret Suit Over Misconduct
A California federal judge tossed long-running trade secrets litigation against L'Oreal on Friday, saying that a hair coloring startup's misconduct in the case "casts doubt on the veracity and integrity of all evidence" and that axing the suit altogether is the "only appropriate sanction."
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April 01, 2024
Ga. Judicial Watchdog Wants Probate Judge Off The Bench
A three-member panel of Georgia's Judicial Qualifications Commission has recommended a Douglas County probate judge be removed from the bench following accusations that she violated the state's Code of Judicial Conduct on social media and jailed a woman seeking to amend her marriage record.
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April 01, 2024
Nat'l Security Info Ordered Sealed In $12M Somali Fraud Case
A Maryland federal judge has ordered protocols to seal confidential State Department materials amid the government's criminal fraud case charging a Maryland lawyer with misappropriating more than $12 million in Somali state assets.
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April 01, 2024
Loophole Ties Conn. Firm To Home Sale Row, Judge Told
A narrow exception to Connecticut's unfair trade practices law means an estate lawyer can be sued over how his firm handled money after the seller of a Vermont home suddenly died and his significant other was left in the lurch, an attorney for the girlfriend told a Connecticut judge on Monday.
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April 01, 2024
Shell Ordered To Hand Over Docs In Conn. Climate Dispute
Shell Oil Co. must hand over several documents by the end of April in litigation concerning the company's alleged failure to take into account climate change risks at a fuel storage facility in New Haven, Connecticut, a federal magistrate judge has ruled in an attempt to end the parties' long-running discovery dispute.
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April 01, 2024
Kirkland Atty Escapes Malpractice Suit Over Loan Docs
A Kirkland & Ellis LLP attorney has secured an early win in a legal malpractice case alleging he botched an estate planning matter and lost his client millions in a later divorce, with a New Jersey federal court finding the client couldn't prove "proximate causation" of alleged damages in light of her subsequent divorce settlement.
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April 01, 2024
Judge Won't Make EEOC Pay Atty Fees For Unsuccessful Suit
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesn't have to pay a Georgia hospital's attorney fees after jurors found in favor of the medical center on disability bias claims, a federal judge ruled, saying the jury's siding with the hospital didn't make the agency's suit frivolous.
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April 01, 2024
Murdaugh Gets 40 Years For Financial Crimes In Fed. Court
Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced former South Carolina lawyer serving a life sentence for murder, was hit with a concurrent 40-year prison term in federal court Monday after pleading guilty to stealing at least $9 million from clients.
Expert Analysis
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Steps Lawyers Can Take Following Involuntary Terminations
Though lawyers can struggle to recover from involuntary terminations, it's critical that they be able to step back, review any feedback given and look for opportunities for growth, say Jessica Hernandez at JLH Coaching & Consulting and Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub.
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High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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3 Job Satisfaction Questions For Partners Considering Moves
The post-pandemic rise in legal turnover may cause partners to ask themselves what they really want from their workplace, how they plan to grow their practice and when it's time to make a move, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
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4 Exercises To Quickly Build Trust On Legal Teams
High-performance legal teams can intentionally build trust through a rigorous approach, including open-ended conversations and personality assessments, to help attorneys bond fast, even if they are new to the firm or group, says Ben Sachs at the University of Virginia School of Law.
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Navigating Compensation Of Special Counsel In Bankruptcy
With professional liability litigation and disputes over attorney fees on the rise, nonbankruptcy lawyers must know how to determine if a client or opposing party is in bankruptcy, when to make such determinations, and what to do once they have that information, says Danielle Mashburn-Myrick at Phelps Dunbar.
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8 Steps To Improve The Perception Of In-House Legal Counsel
With the pandemic paving the way for a reputational shift in favor of in-house corporate legal teams, there are proactive steps that legal departments can take to fully rebrand themselves as strong allies and generators of value, says Allison Rosner at Major Lindsey.
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Procedure Rule 7.1 Can Simplify Litigators' Diversity Analysis
A recent amendment to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 will help trial courts determine whether the parties to a case are diverse, and may also allow litigators to more quickly determine whether they can remove certain cases to federal court, says Steve Shapiro at Schnader Harrison.
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Nimitz Patent Fight Offers Peek Behind NPE Liability Curtain
Nimitz's patent assertion campaign against BuzzFeed and others inadvertently provides unprecedented insight into how nonpracticing entities shield themselves from penalties of bad faith litigation, reminding litigants to consider pressing for disclosure of entities that control a litigation but aren't the named plaintiff, says Aakash Patel at Flaster Greenberg.
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Atty Conflict Discussions In Idaho Murder Case And Beyond
A public defender's representation of the accused University of Idaho murderer after prior representation of a victim's parent doesn't constitute a violation of conflict of interest rules, but the case prompts ethical questions about navigating client conflicts in small-town criminal defense and big-city corporate law alike, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Charles Loeser at HWG.
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Opinion
Dobbs Leak Highlights Need For High Court Ethics Code
While a recent investigation failed to identify who leaked the U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the situation underscores the need for the justices to bind themselves to the same ethics rules that constrain other federal judges, says Scott Gerber at Ohio Northern University.
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Why The Original 'Rocket Docket' Will Likely Resume Its Pace
Though the Eastern District of Virginia, for decades the fastest federal trial court in the country, experienced significant pandemic-related slowdowns, several factors unique to the district suggest that it will soon return to its speedy pace, say Dabney Carr and Robert Angle at Troutman Pepper.
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Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Crime And Custody Coverage
Cryptocurrency firm FTX's recent implosion provides a case study for potential crypto exposure under traditional insurance policies, and suggests carriers should ask some basic underwriting questions, including whether a company engages in transactions involving cryptocurrencies or holds digital assets in custody, says Anjali Das at Wilson Elser.
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The Discipline George Santos Would Face If He Were A Lawyer
Rep. George Santos, who has become a national punchline for his alleged lies, hasn't faced many consequences yet, but if he were a lawyer, even his nonwork behavior would be regulated by the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and violations in the past have led to sanctions and even disbarment, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.
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Why FERC's Proposed Duty Of Candor Rule Is Problematic
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is considering adopting a new regulation that would prohibit the submission of any inaccurate or false information when communicating with the agency, which would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns, say attorneys at Skadden.
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A Litigation Move That Could Conserve Discovery Resources
Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben proposes the preliminary legal opinion procedure — seeking a court's opinion on a disputed legal standard at the outset, rather than the close, of discovery — as a useful resource-preservation tool for legally complex, discovery-intensive litigation.