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Legal Ethics
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January 22, 2025
Feds Drop Case Against Atty's Accomplice In COVID Loan Fraud
A Savannah, Georgia, man who conspired with two attorneys to defraud the federal pandemic relief effort of $300,000 has had the charges against him in Georgia federal court dropped, after he completed a year of a pretrial diversion program.
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January 22, 2025
Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds Slam Baldoni Atty's 'Media Blitz'
Counsel for celebrity couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds told a New York federal judge that Justin Baldoni's attorney from Liner Freedman Taitelman & Cooley LLP has violated ethical rules with an "all-out media blitz" during their thorny litigation over the movie "It Ends With Us."
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January 22, 2025
Connell Foley Fights DQ Bid In Investment Firm's Bias Suit
A group of current and former New Jersey state officials blasted a motion to disqualify their counsel at Connell Foley LLP in a discrimination suit from a Black-owned investment firm in New Jersey federal court, calling the move a frivolous and bad faith stalling tactic.
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January 22, 2025
Committee's Trump Probe Subpoenas Are Moot, Willis Says
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has urged a Georgia state court to quash a bid to enforce subpoenas from a state Senate committee investigating her handling of the prosecution of President Donald Trump, arguing the subpoenas are moot because "the old special committee no longer exists."
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January 22, 2025
Case Removal Rules Aimed At Fairness, Ex-Atty Tells 5th Circ.
Several Fifth Circuit judges seemed keen Wednesday to clarify what activity in state court would bar litigants from removing their cases to federal court, as the full appeals court reconsidered a remand order for a Houston firm's poaching suit.
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January 22, 2025
Captive Insurance Co. Head Seeks Tax-Shelter Fine Refund
A tax attorney who heads a business that creates captive insurance companies said the IRS wrongly accused him of promoting an abusive tax shelter, telling an Ohio federal court the agency owes him a refund of penalties he handed over.
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January 22, 2025
Fla. Attys Face Ethics Charges For Settling Dead Client's Suits
Two Boca Raton, Florida-based lawyers cannot escape ethics charges after they conditionally admitted to settling cases after their client had died, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled, denying their proposed consent judgments, which would have suspended them for a period of nine months.
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January 21, 2025
SEC Sues Ex-Investment Firm Reps, GC Over 'Sham' Energy Co.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused former representatives of a wealth management firm of selling shares of a "sham" oil and gas company, and separately accused the firm's general counsel and chief compliance officer of playing an "active role" in the alleged misconduct by drawing up liability releases for the firm.
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January 21, 2025
Ch. 11 Judge Slams Firm's 'Extraordinary' Lack Of Knowledge
A New York bankruptcy judge has refused a fee bid and ordered a debtor's firm to return a nearly $30,000 retainer in a scathing opinion that warns lawyers against tiptoeing into bankruptcy practice and slams counsel for having an "extraordinary lack of basic Chapter 11 understanding."
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January 21, 2025
Miner Wins Challenge Of Ghana's Arbitrator In $277M Claim
An Australian mining company said Tuesday it has successfully challenged the Republic of Ghana's choice of arbitrator in its $277 million breach of contract claim before an ad hoc arbitral tribunal seated in the West African country's capital city of Accra.
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January 21, 2025
Firm Tells Fed. Circ. It Was Wrongly Sanctioned In Patent Row
Moarbes LLP has urged the Federal Circuit to overturn over $23,000 in sanctions against it for not complying with discovery orders in a door manufacturing patent suit, saying the ruling wrongly relied on a letter from the firm's client criticizing its work.
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January 21, 2025
Wash. Panel Suspends Judge, Recommends Removal
A judicial board has said a Washington municipal court judge should be removed from office, finding that the judge's mistreatment of attorneys and staff drove away two sets of court employees and deterred lawyers from further practicing in her jurisdiction.
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January 21, 2025
4th Circ. Backs NASCAR Team Owner's $31M Ch. 11 Sanction
The Fourth Circuit has backed a $31 million default judgment entered against a former NASCAR team manager as a sanction after what the published opinion called "egregious behavior" during discovery and "willful disregard of the bankruptcy code and the orders of the bankruptcy court."
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January 21, 2025
Artists Can't Broaden Meta IP Discovery As Deadline Looms
A California federal magistrate judge on Tuesday refused a request by a proposed class of artists to broaden discovery in high-stakes litigation alleging Meta Platforms Inc. has fostered rampant infringement of copyright-protected ads on its social media platforms, telling counsel during a hearing that their request is too close to the discovery deadline.
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January 21, 2025
Fee Sanctions Upheld For 'Frivolous' Defamation Suit
A Michigan appellate panel says a trial court did not err by sanctioning a Detroit-based cooking influencer for filing a "frivolous" defamation complaint over social media comments, with the panel agreeing the influencer's claims were "devoid of arguable legal merit."
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January 21, 2025
High Court Asked To Review Malpractice Insurance Claim Row
A California woman has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a First Circuit ruling that upheld a federal court's judgment despite it being "explicitly contrary" to Massachusetts law, telling the court that denying her bid for a certification by the state's high court punishes federal plaintiffs and encourages forum shopping.
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January 21, 2025
No Recusal Needed After Clerk Barred From Cases, Panel Rules
The Pennsylvania Superior Court backed the rejection of the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office's request that the county president judge be excluded from hearing all criminal cases because of his law clerk's alleged aggressiveness toward attorneys, reasoning there was nothing in the record to show that the judge was biased.
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January 21, 2025
Bondi Pledges To Consult DOJ Ethics Team On Trump Matters
Following last week's hearing for President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, Democrats further questioned Pam Bondi on how she would maintain independence from Trump due to her past relationships with him.
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January 21, 2025
As Fire Victims Seek Legal Help, Experts Warn Of Red Flags
As lawyers from across the nation descend upon Southern California to sign up those affected by the devastating wildfires, fire victims should not rush to hire an attorney, lest they also become victims of fraud or other predatory practices, the state bar and ethics-savvy attorneys warn.
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January 21, 2025
Firm Slams Beasley Allen's Bid To Nix Suit Over Talc Team-Up
Smith Law Firm PLLC is urging a Mississippi federal court to reject Beasley Allen Law Firm's bid to dismiss or transfer a defamation and breach of contract lawsuit over their joint venture agreement for talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson, saying the case shouldn't be thrown out in favor of Beasley Allen's Alabama suit.
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January 21, 2025
Ex-Chemical Biz Atty Drops Claims Against Bain Capital
A former in-house attorney for chemicals company Arxada has agreed to remove Bain Capital as a defendant in her New Jersey state court suit alleging that she was unlawfully dismissed after she discussed taking leave to recover from a miscarriage.
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January 21, 2025
Womble Bond Atty Appeals Contempt Ruling To 4th Circ.
A Womble Bond Dickinson partner is appealing a North Carolina federal judge's December ruling holding him in contempt of court for failing to correct misrepresentations he allegedly made to a Dutch tribunal in parallel litigation involving a software developer and its former Dutch partner.
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January 21, 2025
Sex-Shaming Murder Conviction To Be Reviewed
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday revived claims from a woman on death row in Oklahoma that prosecutors unfairly sex-shamed her and relied on gender-based stereotypes to convince a jury that she had killed her estranged husband for insurance money.
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January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year
Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.
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January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Firms Of The Year
Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.
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Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing
Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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5 Defense Lessons From Prosecutors' Recent Evidence Flubs
The recent dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charges, and the filing of an ethics complaint against a former D.C. prosecutor, both provide takeaways for white collar defense counsel who suspect that prosecutors may be withholding or misrepresenting evidence, say Anden Chow at MoloLamken and Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Unpacking Executive Privilege, Contempt In Recent Cases
The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is the latest example in a growing trend of executive privilege disputes, and serves as a warning to private citizens and corporate leaders who are in communication with the president, says Kristina Moore at Womble Bond.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.