Federal judiciary advisers Thursday sought to clarify ethical boundaries for judges wading into politically charged legal waters, saying jurists can rebut "illegitimate criticism" and urge stronger security amid fears of violence while also eschewing "demeaning" or "acerbic" rhetoric.
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Legal Ethics
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Judiciary Issues 'Rule Of Law' Ethics Guidance For Judges

By Jeff Overley

Federal judiciary advisers Thursday sought to clarify ethical boundaries for judges wading into politically charged legal waters, saying jurists can rebut "illegitimate criticism" and urge stronger security amid fears of violence while also eschewing "demeaning" or "acerbic" rhetoric.

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Goldman Sachs' CLO Resigns After Epstein Email Revelations

By Michele Gorman and Hailey Konnath

Kathryn Ruemmler, the chief legal officer for Goldman Sachs, announced plans Thursday to step down, after the U.S. Department of Justice released emails showcasing her relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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9th Circ. Judges Doubt AG-Picked Nevada US Atty Can Serve

By Dorothy Atkins

Two judges on a Ninth Circuit panel doubted Thursday the government's argument that a lower court erred by finding the U.S. Attorney General wrongly appointed Nevada's top federal prosecutor, with both judges repeatedly noting that the government's legal theory suggests that U.S. attorneys could circumvent the nomination process indefinitely.

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McCarter & English Can't Tank $22M Suit, Insurer Says

By Aaron Keller

Two insurance companies have urged a Connecticut Superior Court judge to maintain a $22.3 million professional negligence lawsuit against McCarter & English LLP, saying document production delays don't warrant killing the case less than a month before trial.

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Analysis

IP Firms Are Navigating AI Era With Range Of Guardrails

By Elliot Weld

Intellectual property law firms are taking various approaches to implementing artificial intelligence into their professional routines, with some developing their own tools, others limiting what external AI platforms that lawyers can access and one firm saying it has banned attorneys from using AI to draft legal briefs.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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POLICY & REGULATION

NY Senators Criticize DOJ Over US Attorney Firing

By Courtney Bublé

New York's senators blasted the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday for abruptly firing the newly appointed U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.

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WHITE COLLAR

Affairs, Spending Come Out In Goldstein Cross-Examination

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein was confronted Thursday with allegations of extramarital affairs, lavish spending and lies on asset disclosures, all in front of the jury in his ongoing tax fraud trial.

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DISCIPLINARY MATTERS

NYC Board Fines Atty $8.5K For Use Of Laptop, Role With City

By Emily Sawicki

A former special adviser to a New York City Human Resources Administration deputy commissioner has been hit with an $8,500 fine after admitting to use of his city laptop to send personal emails and invoking his role at a public meeting on behalf of a cannabis dispensary application.

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Watchdog Defends Ex-Alex Jones Atty's Conn. Suspension

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut judge did not abuse her discretion when she suspended an attorney who formerly represented conspiracy broadcaster Alex Jones in a $1.4 billion defamation case, the state's professional misconduct watchdog has told the Connecticut Supreme Court in asking the justices to skip Norman A. Pattis' appeal.

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LITIGATION

Law Firm Shouldn't Have To Give Up 1MDB Docs, Judge Says

By Katryna Perera

A federal magistrate judge has recommended denying former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's bid to obtain discovery from a Manhattan law firm in connection with his efforts to challenge his conviction in Malaysia, finding that the request would impose an "enormous" burden on defense counsel involved in the prosecution of the 1MDB bond bribery scandal.

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Hegseth Blocked From Reducing Sen. Kelly's Navy Rank

By Madeline Lyskawa

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., secured a court order on Thursday blocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from reducing his U.S. Navy rank after he told members of the military they don't have to follow unlawful orders.

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Inventor Says Claims Against Baker Botts Atty Should Remain

By Madison Arnold

Inventor Leigh M. Rothschild and Analytical Technologies LLC are taking issue with a Florida federal judge recommending tossing some claims in their lawsuit alleging a patent attorney defamed him, arguing Rothschild's words should be considered commercial speech.

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Judge Says Utah Tribal Court Cures Still Exist In Contract Row

By Crystal Owens

A federal judge has determined that a Utah Indigenous nation's former energy manager has yet to exhaust all tribal court remedies in a 12-year-long breach of contract dispute, saying time and the case's increased complexity can't resurrect his challenge.

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Rein Tech Prez Again Sanctioned For Patent Order Violations

By Elliot Weld

A Delaware federal judge on Thursday permanently barred a patent attorney from participating in water meter patent prosecutions and barred his company from asserting water meter patent claims against a rival it claims infringed them, saying "serious" sanctions were warranted for a repeat violation of a protective order.

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NY Court Orders Ineffective-Counsel Hearing In Murder Case

By Parker Quinlan

A New York appeals court ordered a lower court to hold a hearing for a man convicted of murder to present his case that he was given ineffective assistance of counsel when his trial attorney refused to request a lesser included offense in his case.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Trail Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Navigating the muddy, root-filled path of trail marathons and ultramarathons provides fertile training ground for my high-stakes fractional general counsel work, teaching me to slow down my mind when the terrain shifts, sharpen my focus and trust my training, says Eric Proos at Next Era Legal.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen a former U.S. defense contractor convicted of tax evasion face legal action, French football club Olympique Lyonnais sued following a $97 million ruling against its owner John Textor, consulting giant Kroll targeted by a South African airline, and H&M hit with a claim alleging it copied protected sunglasses designs. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

WilmerHale and Gillam & Smith LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Texas federal jury cleared Apple of infringement claims over patents covering 4G wireless technology, in a case that previously led to jury verdicts of $506 million and $300 million.

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Brief

Indiana AG Declines Intervention In Posner Wage Suit

By Emily Sawicki

Indiana's attorney general has declined to intervene in a pro se plaintiff's suit seeking to revive $170,000 in wage claims against retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner, finding the case did not pose a "substantial" constitutional challenge to a state statute mandating that delayed contracts must be written and signed to be enforced.

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Louisiana Atty Takes Responsibility For AI Usage Snafu

By Christine DeRosa

After facing the threat of sanctions alongside three of his co-counsel, a Louisiana attorney told a federal judge that he was solely responsible for an error-riddled brief written with the assistance of artificial intelligence. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Taking heat from Republican senators over not notifying members of Congress about subpoenas for their phone records, Verizon's general counsel has pledged that in the future, the company will fight gag orders requiring it to keep silent. And taking heat from shareholders and colleagues over her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Goldman Sachs' chief legal officer has agreed to leave the firm in June.

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Colorado Atty Delayed Filing, Gave Faulty Advice, Suit Says

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado attorney waited nearly five years to file a lawsuit on behalf of two clients and provided faulty advice, the former clients alleged Thursday in a malpractice lawsuit in state court.

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'Acqui-Hires' In AI Drawing Antitrust Scrutiny, Tech Attys Say

By Bonnie Eslinger

Attorneys with Nvidia, Google and Uber took the stage at a conference hosted Thursday by Baker McKenzie to discuss emerging trends in antitrust enforcement, including how booming AI investment has produced new regulatory scrutiny of "acqui-hires," in which large companies acquire startups primarily to hire their teams.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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6th Circ. Says Ch. 13 Motion Came 84 Minutes Too Late

By Vince Sullivan

A 2-1 split panel of the Sixth Circuit affirmed two lower court rulings from Michigan federal judges denying a Chapter 13 debtor's motion to dismiss his bankruptcy case because the request came 84 minutes after a bankruptcy court converted the case to a Chapter 7.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Addleshaw Goddard

Agnifilo Intrater

ArentFox Schiff

Arnold & Porter

Avyno Law

Baker Botts

Baker Donelson

Baker McKenzie

Barclay Damon

Beasley Allen

Ben Crump Law

Brafman & Associates

Brockstedt Mandalas

Buchalter LLP

Buether Joe

CMS Cameron McKenna

Clyde & Co

Conyers Dill

Covington & Burling

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

Dean Omar

Dentons

DiCello Levitt

Eichhorn & Eichhorn

Faegre Drinker

Fenchurch Law

Finnegan

Gibbs Mura

Gibson Dunn

Gillam Smith

Gowling WLG

Greenberg Traurig

HJV Car Accident Personal Injury Lawyers

Hacker Stephens

Hanna & Jarbo

Harrison Goddard Foote

Hogan Lovells

Homburger AG

Howes Percival

Isom Law Firm

Jack Shrum PA

Jones Fussell

Keoghs LLP

Kessler Topaz

Kilpatrick Townsend

Kirkland & Ellis

Knobbe Martens

LK Law Pty Ltd

Lando & Anastasi

Latham & Watkins

Law office of Stephen N. Preziosi

Lenz & Staehelin

Levin Sedran

Levy Ratner

Lieff Cabraser

Liskow & Lewis

Mayer Brown

McCarter & English

MoloLamken

Morgan Lewis

Morris James

Motley Rice

Munger Tolles

Nabarro LLP

Napoli Shkolnik

Osborne Clarke

Penningtons Manches

Perkins Coie

Pierson Ferdinand LLP

Quinn Emanuel

Reynolds Porter

Riess LeMieux

Robbins Geller

SML Avvocati

Scott&Scott

Seeger Weiss

Sharp Law LLP

Sherin & Lodgen

Silver Golub

Skadden Arps

Sterne Kessler

Sullivan & Cromwell

Taylor Rose

Thompsons Solicitors

Todd & Weld

Trethowans LLP

Trowers & Hamlins

Tycko & Zavareei

Vincents Solicitors

Wagstaff & Cartmell

Walker Morris LLP

Ward Hadaway

White & Case

Whiteman Osterman

Wiggin & Dana

WilmerHale

Yetter Coleman

gunnercooke LLP

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Bar Association

American Constitution Society

American International Group Inc.

Amicus

Apple Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

Audemars Piguet Holding SA

Aux

Barclays PLC

Binance Holdings Ltd.

British Broadcasting Corp.

ByteDance Ltd.

Federalist Society

Google LLC

H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB

HTC Corporation

Instagram Inc.

International Business Machines Corp.

Investments Ltd.

J Sainsbury PLC

Johnson & Johnson

Kyndryl Holdings Inc.

Laing O'Rourke

Leidos Holdings Inc.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

LinkedIn Corp.

Lloyd's America Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Monsanto Co.

NVIDIA Corp.

Nasdaq Inc.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

National Rifle Association of America

Navy Federal Credit Union

Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice

PPG Industries Inc.

Sling TV LLC

Snap Inc.

Starbucks Corp.

State Bar of California

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Hershey Co.

The Home Depot Inc.

TikTok Inc.

Transocean Ltd.

Uber Technologies Inc.

Valaris

Verizon Communications Inc.

Vodafone Group PLC

W.R. Berkley Corp.

W.R. Grace & Co.

Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts

Walmart Inc.

YouTube Inc.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Connecticut Insurance Department

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Trade Commission

Financial Conduct Authority

Indiana Attorney General's Office

Internal Revenue Service

Judicial Conference of the United States

National Labor Relations Board

New York Attorney General's Office

New York City Human Resources Administration

Texas Attorney General's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. General Services Administration

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Navy

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

United States District Court for the District of Nevada

United States District Court for the District of Utah

Ute Indian Tribe