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Legal Ethics
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February 05, 2025
Ex-CBD Co. Franchisee Says Magistrate Can't Rule On DQ Bid
A former franchisee for CBD company American Shaman Franchise System LLC on Wednesday objected to an order from a magistrate judge rejecting his bid to disqualify her, saying that a magistrate judge has no authority to decide on a posttrial motion.
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February 05, 2025
As Adams Case Teeters, A DOJ 'Ideal' Hangs In The Balance
The public courtship between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald Trump is worrying some white collar legal experts, who say that Trump influencing the U.S. Department of Justice to drop Adams' corruption case would depart from over 40 years of policies aimed at keeping politics out of prosecutorial decisions.
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February 04, 2025
OpenSky Defends Patent Challenge After Verdict Against Intel
A company found using the patent review process to try to extort money from VLSI Technology LLC and Intel Corp. after a $2.18 billion jury verdict against the chipmaking giant is arguing it shouldn't have to pay legal fees, saying its efforts to revive a meritorious patent challenge is simply part of a "potentially profitable business model."
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February 04, 2025
Dems Call For Another Hearing For Patel Over FBI Upheaval
Kash Patel had his nomination hearing to be FBI director less than a week ago, but Democrats and outside groups want him to appear before lawmakers again due to the agency officials fired and sidelined in recent days, and questions raised about Patel's past consulting work, according to letters written to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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February 04, 2025
Ex-NY Real Estate Atty Gets 4½ Years For $3.3M Client Con
A former New York City attorney on Tuesday was sentenced to over four years in prison, following his admission to stealing $3.3 million in client funds for purported real estate deals.
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February 04, 2025
Colorado Atty Says She's Blameless For Divorce Money Hack
A Colorado divorce attorney wants out of a tangle of lawsuits that have sprung up since conservative radio personality and lawyer Randy Corporon mistakenly wired a client's $375,000 divorce settlement to Hong Kong, arguing that the claims are premature and statutorily barred, and that her malpractice insurer already covered damages.
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February 04, 2025
DLA Piper Partner To Testify At Cognizant Evidence Hearing
Prosecutors told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that the managing partner of DLA Piper's Houston office will testify at a Feb. 18 evidentiary hearing in a criminal bribery case against two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., which tapped the law firm for an internal investigation into the alleged corrupt scheme in India.
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February 04, 2025
SEC Receiver, Atty Agree To Settle Fraud Transfer Claims
A court-appointed receiver for a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case has reached a settlement with parties who allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of transfers from a fraudulent foreign exchange trading scheme, including the attorney and family of a convicted executive.
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February 04, 2025
Exploration Co. Wants Sanctions Over Atty DQ Attempt
An exploration company being sued by ocean salvage operation Maritime Research and Recovery LLC over a sunken Spanish galleon asked a Florida federal court on Tuesday to end the suit as a sanction for Maritime's "egregious misconduct," including trying to disqualify its counsel and filing frivolous motions.
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February 04, 2025
Guo Trustee Gets OK To Keep Law Firm Deal Sealed For Now
The Chapter 11 trustee overseeing convicted Chinese fraudster Miles Guo's bankruptcy estate can keep secret for 180 days an adversary proceeding settlement with a New York law firm because similar clawback cases should proceed without being impacted by the terms of the deal, a Connecticut bankruptcy judge has ruled.
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February 04, 2025
Philly Firm Seeks $1.5M Fee, Denies 'Explosive' Malpractice
Philadelphia firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC told a Philadelphia County jury on Tuesday that it was owed $1.5 million by metal fabricator M. Cohen & Sons Inc. for legal work, urging the jurors to reject allegations that the firm had a conflict of interest resulting in what the fabricator's lawyer called "explosive" consequences.
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February 04, 2025
Conn. Atty Sues Client, Lawyer Over State Farm Settlement
A small Connecticut personal injury firm has sued a Bloomfield personal injury attorney and a former client in state court for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, accusing them of failing to hand over a one-third fee from a $35,000 State Farm insurance settlement.
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February 04, 2025
'Is This A Joke?' Judge Denies Atty Fees For Grocery Patrons
A California federal judge had so little tolerance for shoppers claiming victory and seeking attorney fees from the abandoned Kroger-Albertsons merger that in tossing their motion and underlying lawsuit he noted with incredulity, "Plaintiffs are actually making these arguments."
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February 04, 2025
NJ Atty Avoids Disbarment After Bank Fraud Conviction
A New Jersey attorney who was disbarred in New York and Colorado after copping to participating in a bank fraud conspiracy in 2017 has been handed a three-year license suspension in the Garden State, retroactive to the date of her guilty plea.
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February 04, 2025
Javice's Texts About Elizabeth Holmes Not Fair Game For Trial
Frank founder Charlie Javice's sympathetic texts about healthcare-sector fraudster Elizabeth Holmes won't be seen by the jury hearing charges that the education startup executive faked data to dupe JPMorgan into a $175 million acquisition, a Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday.
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February 03, 2025
Gilstrap Tells Patent Atty To 'Relearn The Fundamentals'
U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap has decided that a "public admonition" is a more appropriate punishment than legal fines for a lawyer whose client was called a "patent troll" by opponents, ordering the attorney to "relearn the fundamentals of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure."
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February 03, 2025
Yacht Building Co. Faces Sanctions For Hiding Hoist Failure
A Washington federal judge has said yacht builder Delta Marine Industries owed sanctions over its failure to provide access to parts related to a boat hoist that failed during the launch of a yacht in a $3.4 million dispute between Lloyd's syndicates, underwriters and a Seattle boat builder.
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February 03, 2025
DC Circ. Rejects Newman's Bid To Unseal Suspension Docs
The D.C. Circuit on Monday denied U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request to unseal documents about her suspension for refusing to participate in an investigation into her fitness, saying such documents are confidential unless both the judge under investigation and the chief judge agree to release them.
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February 03, 2025
Utah Court Urged To Preserve $8.3M In Messner Reeves Funds
Several companies from Florida, New York and Utah have urged a Utah federal court to order Messner Reeves LLP to preserve $8.3 million purportedly locked away in an escrow fund, saying the law firm appears to be breaking a business loan agreement by dissipating the funds to unknown entities.
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February 03, 2025
Jackson Walker Ethics Case Shelved Over Lack Of Authority
A Houston federal judge on Monday recommended closing an ethics case against Jackson Walker LLP over its supposed knowledge of a firm attorney's relationship with a judge, finding the court lacked the authority to pursue sanctions against a law firm.
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February 03, 2025
Tesla Says Judge DQ Bid In Crash Suit Arrived On Time
Tesla Inc. has doubled down on its bid to disqualify a California federal judge from an accident case over his prior law firm's work, rejecting the plaintiff's argument that the automaker filed the motion too late.
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February 03, 2025
ABA House Of Delegates Votes For Stricter High Court Ethics
The American Bar Association's policymaking body recommended Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court adopt a binding ethics code as strict as the code of conduct that other U.S. federal judges must follow.
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February 03, 2025
Panel Backs Sanctions For Frivolous Bid In Malpractice Case
A New Jersey appeals court said Monday that a New York attorney's motion to vacate an almost $450,000 judgment after a jury found him negligent in a divorce action could only be seen as frivolous, affirming the trial court's award of nearly $8,000 in attorney fees as a sanction.
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February 03, 2025
2nd Circ. Affirms Lawyer's Asylum Fraud Conviction
The Second Circuit on Monday affirmed the convictions of an immigration attorney and the former CEO of an immigration services firm for coaching asylum-seekers to lie about facing persecution in their home countries, rejecting the pair's arguments that there was insufficient evidence and that the jury was given improper instructions.
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February 03, 2025
Law Firm Involved In Talc Fee Fight Seeks To Arbitrate Claim
The Smith Law Firm PLLC is urging an Alabama federal judge to compel arbitration of a cross-claim that Porter Malouf brought against it amid a lawsuit over an agreement the two firms and the Beasley Allen Law Firm entered to represent plaintiffs in litigation over Johnson & Johnson's tainted talcum powder.
Expert Analysis
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Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team
In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.
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The Implications Of 2024's AI Rules And Regs For Patent Attys
Christina Huang, John Smith and Devin Stein at Faegre Drinker review this year's new rules and regulations on the development and use of artificial intelligence — from the Biden administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the American Bar Association and various states — as they apply to patent attorneys.
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When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US
As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.
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What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025
The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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Series
Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.
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How White Collar Defense Attys Can Use Summary Witnesses
Few criminal defense attorneys have successfully utilized summary witnesses in the past, but several recent success stories show that it can be a worthwhile trial tactic to help juries understand the complex decision-making at issue, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Opinion
6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School
Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.
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Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware
Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Top 10 Legal Malpractice Defenses As Claims Tick Up
As legal malpractice claims and payouts increase, law firms should remember certain time-tested defenses, such as asserting no duty to nonclients, omissions beyond the scope of engagement or lack of proximate cause, say attorneys at Goulston & Storrs.
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Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out
In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Immigration Atty Tips For Avoiding Prosecution Under Trump
Under the incoming Trump administration, immigration attorneys may need to protect themselves from prosecution when advising clients who may not qualify for relief sought by choosing their words carefully and keeping other key factors in mind, says Michele Carney at Carney & Marchi.
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The Malpractice Perils Of Elder Abuse Liability
Recent cases show that the circumstances under which an attorney may be sued for financial elder abuse remain unsettled, but practitioners can avoid these malpractice claims altogether by taking proactive steps, like documenting the process of evaluating a client's directives under appropriate standards, says Edward Donohue at Hinshaw & Culbertson.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity
Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Plugging Gov't Leaks Is Challenging, But Not A Pipe Dream
As shown by ongoing legal battles involving New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Sean “Diddy” Combs, it’s challenging for defendants to obtain relief when they believe the government leaked sensitive information to the media, but defense counsel can take certain steps to mitigate the harm, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Series
Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.