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Legal Ethics
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January 16, 2025
Ex-Law Student Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Suit Against Judge
A former law student asked the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to revive his lawsuit accusing U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno and three government attorneys of conspiring to ruin his job prospects and reputation, arguing that they are not immune from suit because they acted outside the scope of their employment.
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January 16, 2025
SCOTUSblog Publisher Tom Goldstein Indicted In Tax Case
Tom Goldstein, a publisher of SCOTUSblog and one of the most experienced U.S. Supreme Court lawyers in the country, was indicted Thursday in Maryland federal court on charges he schemed to evade paying taxes for years and used funds from his boutique law firm to cover gambling debts.
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January 16, 2025
'Complete Lack Of Respect' For Privilege DQs NH Prosecutor
A New Hampshire judge has disqualified the lead prosecutor and a financial expert in the state attorney general's criminal case against a casino owner, finding that they had negligently viewed material protected under attorney-client privilege.
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January 16, 2025
Defense Fights Privilege Waiver In $250M COVID Fraud Case
A Minnesota nonprofit director accused of orchestrating a $250 million fraud scheme using funds from a COVID-19 federal food program has told a federal judge that prosecutors are wrong to argue that her lawyer's testimony at her impending trial will waive her attorney-client privilege, since the lawyer would be discussing facts, not advice.
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January 16, 2025
Paxton Seeks To Nix Ethics Case After Deputy Beats Suit
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the Texas Supreme Court to toss an ethics case against him over a lawsuit challenging 2020 election results, saying the matter fails on the same separation of powers grounds that the court recently cited in nixing a similar case against his first assistant.
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January 16, 2025
1st Circ. Vacates Most Of Atty's Marijuana Bribe Conviction
The First Circuit vacated a pair of fraud convictions for a Massachusetts attorney charged in a marijuana bribery scheme, finding that sending an iMessage through an Apple cellphone is not enough to satisfy the wire fraud element requiring interstate communication.
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January 16, 2025
Giuliani Settles NY Asset Turnover Case After Trial No-Show
Rudy Giuliani on Thursday settled claims that he must turn over assets to fund a $148 million judgment for defaming two Georgia poll workers, after his failure to show up in court delayed the start of a scheduled bench trial.
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January 15, 2025
Colo. Panel Mulls If Atty Violations Can Nix Gov't Immunity
A Colorado appellate panel on Wednesday pressed a utility regulator staffer who accused state lawyers of smearing her at work, questioning whether nixing the lawyers' governmental immunity based on alleged professional misconduct would go too far.
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January 15, 2025
Davis Wright Atty Says Firm Is Trying To Push Him Out
An attorney employed by Davis Wright has launched a pro se employment discrimination lawsuit in Washington state court, accusing the firm of trying to "strong-arm" him into leaving after he reported what he described as misconduct by a partner and banishing him from its Seattle office when he threatened legal action.
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January 15, 2025
Boeing Vexes Judge In 737 Max Records Flap With Airline
The Boeing Co. can't use a now-defunct South African airline's loss of records to dodge a suit over fallout from a 737 Max airplane deal, a Washington federal judge has said, chiding the aerospace giant for offering thin circumstantial evidence of intent without any "smoking gun."
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January 15, 2025
9th Circ. Won't Review Nixed Deductions For Disbarred Atty
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday rejected a disbarred California attorney's requests to review its December decision to uphold a U.S. Tax Court ruling denying his bid to take business deductions for the cost of challenging his disbarment and a court's declaration that he is a "vexatious litigant."
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January 15, 2025
Judge OKs More Fees In Calif. Debt Relief Firm's Bankruptcy
A California bankruptcy judge has tentatively approved an additional $2.1 million in professional fees in the bankruptcy case of a troubled debt relief firm, despite the amount of professional fees already exceeding the amount paid out to creditors so far.
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January 15, 2025
NJ Prosecutors Can Shield Certain Docs In Atty Bribe Cases
New Jersey prosecutors won't have to turn over certain documents related to investigations involving potential crimes committed by a tax attorney who was a cooperating witness in a bribery case against three former public officials, a state appeals panel has ruled.
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January 15, 2025
Attys Must Show They Obeyed Candor Rule In Shell Discovery
A Delaware federal court has ordered attorneys from Heyman Enerio Gattuso & Hirzel LLP, Wachtel Lipton Rosen & Katz, and White & Case LLP to show why they should not be found in violation of professional conduct rules over their handling of discovery requests while defending corporate clients amid a Shell Chemical LP antitrust proceeding in the Netherlands.
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January 15, 2025
McElroy Deutsch Can Go After Ex-Exec's $1M Home
A former business development director for McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP, whose husband pled guilty to stealing millions of dollars from the law firm, where they were both employed, cannot duck her onetime employer's legal claim on her $1 million house, a New Jersey state court judge has ruled.
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January 15, 2025
Trump's AG Pick Tries To Assure Congress On Independence
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general attempted to assuage uneasiness from Democrats on Wednesday, saying the U.S. Department of Justice will be free of politics and will not go after perceived enemies.
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January 15, 2025
Elusive Cognizant Witness Ready To Testify, Gov't Says
A witness from India whose 2023 absence on the brink of the foreign bribery trial of two former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. executives set off a lengthy delay is now willing to testify, federal prosecutors said, despite stating they were under no obligation to respond to defense counsel's concerns.
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January 15, 2025
Mass. Atty Charged In $2.5M Embezzlement Schemes
A Massachusetts attorney blamed an addiction to prostitutes and a failed spa investment for his embezzling a total of $2.5 million from a couple and their multiple businesses, according to federal prosecutors.
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January 15, 2025
Boston Lawyers Accused Of Bungling Exec's Bias Claim
A former executive at roofing manufacturer GAF Materials is accusing her former lawyers of mishandling a potential age and gender discrimination case by failing to meet a key procedural deadline, according to a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts state court.
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January 14, 2025
London Judge Affirms Wind Energy's Non-Liability Award
A London judge on Tuesday refused to set aside an arbitral award finding that Thai renewable energy company Wind Energy Holding was not responsible for paying defense costs incurred by former board members in litigation that ended with a $1 billion judgment against them.
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January 14, 2025
Mich. Judge Won't Step Aside After Atty Turnover Quip
A Michigan federal judge refused to step aside from overseeing a lawsuit from a pastor who alleges a township's zoning ordinance discriminates against religious entities, ruling Monday that comments he made about the number of attorneys the pastor has had or praise he gave prior counsel do not show any bias against the plaintiffs.
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January 14, 2025
DA Says Trump's Appeals To Intervene In NY Case Now 'Moot'
Counsel for the Manhattan district attorney urged both a federal and a state appeals court to toss out Donald Trump's lingering invitations to intervene in his hush money case now that he's been sentenced, arguing there's no need for a "bizarre mechanism" when Trump can appeal normally.
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January 14, 2025
RNC Preempts Dem Attacks Ahead Of AG Nominee's Hearing
Ahead of the confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general nominee on Wednesday, the chair of the Republican National Committee and other Trump allies brushed off concerns about Pam Bondi's possible conflicts of interest and close ties to the president-elect.
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January 14, 2025
Meta Atty Quits IP Case Over Zuckerberg's 'Toxic Masculinity'
An attorney helping defend Meta Platforms in copyright litigation brought by artists who claim their content was used to train the large language model Llama has dropped the tech company as his client, citing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's "descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness" in a LinkedIn post.
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January 14, 2025
Justices Suggest 7th Circ. Revisit False Statement Decision
Several U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed ready Tuesday to ask the Seventh Circuit to review a former Chicago alderman's conviction for lying about money he borrowed from a now-shuttered bank under a narrower standard, but the justices appeared skeptical that he would beat the case even with a fresh look.
Expert Analysis
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High Court Injunction Case Could Shake Up Fee-Shifting Rules
In agreeing to review a Virginia case rendered statutorily moot before final judgment, the U.S. Supreme Court could finally settle the question of if — and when — a preliminary injunction can win attorney fees for a prevailing party, but all possible answers could disrupt fee-shifting schemes written into major laws, says Laurens Wilkes at Winston & Strawn.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea
Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
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As Arbitrator Bias Claims Rise, Disclosure Standards Evolve
The growth in post-award challenges based on arbitrators' alleged conflicts of interest has led to the release of new guidance and new case law on the topic — both supporting the view that professional familiarity alone does not translate to a lack of impartiality, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.