Legal Ethics

  • January 22, 2025

    Drug Co. Wants To Keep Judge On Alopecia IP Case

    The developer behind an Eli Lilly & Co. alopecia drug has called allegations the company's lawyers deliberately hired a New Jersey federal judge's former law clerk both "low and baseless" and a "transparent attempt to remove the judge who decided against it."

  • January 22, 2025

    Reed Smith Rips Claim Firm Is 'Causing Chaos' In $102M Suit

    Reed Smith fought back Tuesday against allegations by the purported new owners of Eletson Holdings that the BigLaw firm is "causing chaos" by refusing to withdraw as counsel of record in $102 million breach-of-contract litigation, arguing that ownership of the international shipping group is "hotly contested" and being litigated in multiple jurisdictions.

  • January 22, 2025

    Madigan Used ComEd As 'Personal Piggy Bank,' Jurors Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his devoted surrogate Michael McClain conspired to enhance and preserve Madigan's power and line his pockets, both by steering business to the ex-speaker's law firm and rewarding his political allies with do-nothing jobs, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury during closing arguments Wednesday.

  • January 22, 2025

    Mich. Justices Doubt Boss Can 'Trap' Workers In Meeting

    Michigan Supreme Court justices struggled with the proposition Wednesday that a supervisor has some ability to keep employees in a meeting by force, during oral arguments in a former assistant county prosecutor's whistleblower appeal.

  • January 22, 2025

    Colo. Judge 'Dumbfounded' Oil Co. Hasn't Disclosed Deal

    A Colorado state judge on Wednesday said she was "totally dumbfounded" by an oil and gas exploration company's failure to disclose a deal that it appeared to have entered into while telling the court that it had no deals, in a suit brought by an Anschutz oil subsidiary alleging theft of trade secrets.

  • January 22, 2025

    #MeToo Claims Against Ex-Defender's Boss To Stay Sealed

    A federal judge on Wednesday shot down a former assistant public defender's renewed attempt to lay bare certain #MeToo complaints against her one-time employer as part of a long-running case casting a spotlight on the judiciary's internal complaint process for workplace misconduct.

  • January 22, 2025

    Unum Unlawfully Cut Disability, Hughes Hubbard Worker Says

    Insurance company First Unum Life Insurance unlawfully halted a Hughes Hubbard and Reed LLP manager's long-term disability benefits and decided to solely follow in-house doctors' recommendations, a suit filed in New Jersey federal court claims.

  • January 22, 2025

    5th Circ. Sends Beck Redden Malpractice Suit To State Court

    The malpractice suit a disbarred Texas attorney brought against his former counsel belongs in state court, the Fifth Circuit has determined, declining to reconsider a December ruling that remanded a Texas federal judge's order throwing out claims against Beck Redden LLP, finding the Southern District of Texas lacked jurisdiction.

  • January 22, 2025

    DC Judge Declines To DQ Jenner & Block In Casino Dispute

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid from three Native American tribes to disqualify Jenner & Block LLP from a lawsuit that seeks to block the operation of a new casino in Oregon.

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    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.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    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.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Avoiding Legal Ethics Landmines In Preindictment Meetings

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    U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's recent bribery conviction included obstruction charges based on his former lawyer's preindictment presentation to prosecutors, highlighting valuable lessons on the legal ethics rules implicated in these kinds of defense presentations, say Steve Miller and Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Lawyers Must Be Careful When Using Listservs

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    The American Bar Association's formal opinion from May correctly states that attorneys must obtain clients' consent before posing related questions to listservs, but potential risks and drawbacks of using listservs go beyond those highlighted by the ABA, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

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