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Legal Ethics

  • September 25, 2025

    Jackson Walker Reaches 2 New Deals Over Judge Romance

    Jackson Walker LLP has reached two new settlements to resolve claims related to a concealed romance between a former firm attorney and a onetime bankruptcy judge, marking at least five such settlements since the scandal broke.

  • September 25, 2025

    'Jailhouse Lawyer' Gets 16½ Years For Defrauding Inmates

    A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a recidivist fraudster to 16½ years in prison Thursday, saying the "jailhouse lawyer" cheated inmates out of at least $550,000 by getting them to pay for unauthorized legal filings and calling him an "incorrigible" con man.

  • September 25, 2025

    Driver Says Mazda's Sanctions Bid Is Itself Sanctionable

    The leader of a proposed class of Mazda drivers suing over an alleged oil burning defect is firing back at the automaker's call for sanctions for what it called "frivolous" postjudgment filings, saying Mazda's filing is legally baseless and filled with ad hominem attacks on his attorney, so the company is the one that should face sanctions.

  • September 25, 2025

    Bondi Faces Key 'Test' As Trump Orders Prosecutions

    Attorney General Pam Bondi has reached a crossroads less than eight months into her tenure as she faces an extraordinary directive from President Donald Trump to wield the U.S. Department of Justice against his political enemies.

  • September 25, 2025

    Coalition Urges Senate To Block Bills Threatening DC Law

    More than 270 individuals and organizations, including law firms, bar associations and advocacy groups, on Thursday urged the Senate to reject two House bills that they say would usurp the judicial selection process in Washington, D.C., and the independence of D.C.'s attorney general.

  • September 25, 2025

    NY Judge Who Left For Anderson Kill Had Faced Ethics Case

    A longtime New York judge who joined Anderson Kill last week had resigned from the bench amid ethics charges for alleged "demeaning" conduct toward his court staff and claims that he threatened retaliation against a witness and attorneys for the state's judicial ethics watchdog.

  • September 24, 2025

    Boies Schiller Partner Admits AI Errors In Scientology Case

    A Boies Schiller Flexner LLP partner representing women who allege the Church of Scientology harassed them for reporting convicted actor Daniel Masterson's sexual assaults has asked a California appeals court to strike a brief containing artificial intelligence-generated citation errors, saying he "very much regrets" the errors, but they shouldn't impact his clients' case.

  • September 24, 2025

    Minn. Judge Suspended For Attempting To Boost Staffer's Pay

    A Minnesota state judge should not have presided over proceedings to increase his longtime court reporter's salary, the state Supreme Court said, disciplining him with a public censure and a suspension for nine months without pay.

  • September 24, 2025

    Trump Lawyer Chesebro Suspended From DC Circ.

    Kenneth Chesebro, the former attorney for President Donald Trump who was indicted for plotting to enlist fake electors to swing the 2020 election result, was suspended Wednesday from practicing in the D.C. Circuit.

  • September 24, 2025

    Pa. Court Will Reconsider Opinion In Probation Violation Case

    A Pennsylvania state appeals court has thrown out its ruling that a man on probation for a bar fight couldn't be found in violation of release conditions for harassing his attorney and judge without being criminally charged and will reconsider the case.

  • September 24, 2025

    DOJ Likely Crossed Line With Mangione Remarks, Judge Says

    Top officials at the U.S. Department of Justice are in hot water for linking alleged insurance CEO killer Luigi Mangione to left-wing terrorism and potentially violating his right to a fair trial, a New York federal judge said Wednesday as she threatened sanctions for future violations.

  • September 24, 2025

    Ga. Judge Rejects DQ Bid, Questions 'Quality' Of Lawyering

    A Georgia federal judge has said he harbors no bias against the four women suing comedian Katt Williams, but he has "concern about the quality of legal representation" they are receiving in light of an explanation given for a brief that contained erroneous case citations generated by artificial intelligence.

  • September 24, 2025

    Ex-Mass. Judge Fined For Giving Dad $450/Hour Role In Case

    A now-former Massachusetts Probate and Family Court justice will pay a $4,000 civil penalty for appointing his father to a $450 an hour special master role in a divorce case, the State Ethics Commission said.

  • September 24, 2025

    Dems Probing Skadden, Kirkland, Paul Weiss' Work For Trump

    Top Democratic legislators are investigating whether pro bono work reportedly being performed by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP for the U.S. Department of Commerce is in violation of federal law, according to letters the lawmakers sent the firms Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    Firm Sues For $1.7M Fees In Texas Mass Shooting Case

    A Texas law firm is stepping up its litigation efforts to recover $1.7 million in fees it claims it is owed for work performed on behalf of victims of a 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, namely by filing its third lawsuit in state court this month.

  • September 24, 2025

    Conn. Judges Add 'No-Tolerance' AI Warnings To New Dockets

    Federal judges in Connecticut have begun entering warnings on new case dockets notifying litigants and their counsel of a "no-tolerance policy" when it comes to briefs that include hallucinated arguments and citations, regardless of whether artificial intelligence was used.

  • September 23, 2025

    Attys Must Pay $24K For AI Citations In FIFA Antitrust Case

    Counsel representing the now-shuttered Puerto Rico Soccer League in its antitrust suit against FIFA must pay more than $24,000 in attorney fees and litigation costs to the soccer federation and other defendants for filing briefs that appeared to contain errors hallucinated by artificial intelligence, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

  • September 23, 2025

    Watchdog Calls For DC, Md. Bar Investigations Into Carr

    A government accountability watchdog brought a complaint against Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr to the D.C. Bar Association on Tuesday, claiming Carr violated conduct rules when he threatened to bring FCC action against ABC if it declined to discipline Jimmy Kimmel over his remarks following Charlie Kirk's murder.

  • September 23, 2025

    No Early Out For NY Firm In Insurer's Malpractice Coverage Suit

    A New York-based law firm cannot throw out an insurance company's lawsuit seeking to be let off the hook from covering the firm against a malpractice claim, a Philadelphia federal judge has found, determining that factual questions in the case meant early dismissal was not an option.

  • September 23, 2025

    Atty-Trustee Conflicts Doom Scaife Estate's $26M Tax Refund

    A Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky attorney was also acting as Mellon heir Richard Scaife's lawyer, trustee and media executive when he signed releases that kept Scaife's spending of his inheritance secret from his children, so a resulting $200 million settlement between the children and Scaife's estate was not a bona fide tax-exempt expense, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Tuesday.

  • September 23, 2025

    Conn. Atty Denies Blame For Title Co.'s $920K Refinancing Loss

    A Connecticut lawyer sought to fend off arguments in state court by Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. that his alleged mistakes on a $2.5 million refinancing led to a $920,000 loss for the insurer, claiming he and the company owed distinct duties to a policy-holder.

  • September 23, 2025

    Law Firms Sued Over La. Hurricane Claim Fee Scheme

    Two law firms and certain attorneys engaged in a scheme to "grossly and blatantly" inflate damages estimates for hurricane-related property insurance claims in order to "collect an exorbitant fee which they would all share," a group of seven Louisiana residents told a Louisiana federal court.

  • September 23, 2025

    Former NJ Workers' Comp Judge's Firing Suit Trimmed

    New Jersey has been granted partial summary judgment in its defense of a suit from a former workers' compensation judge who alleges that she was unconstitutionally removed from her job, with a state judge tossing her due process claims but letting certain discrimination claims proceed. 

  • September 23, 2025

    Ga. Atty Can't Block State Bar's Revived Bid To Toss Bias Suit

    A Georgia federal court has rejected an attorney's bid to stop the state bar's request to expand its motion to dismiss her racial discrimination lawsuit to include information about her disciplinary proceedings being resolved with no discipline.

  • September 23, 2025

    NJ Justices Won't Hear Challenge To State Bar Diversity Plan

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has allowed to stand an appellate decision approving a New Jersey State Bar Association system for fostering diversity in its leadership, which a state attorney accused of being a discriminatory quota system.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Prosecutors' Duty To Justice Sometimes Demands Mea Culpa

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    Two recent cases — U.S. v. Lucas and U.S. v. Echavarria — demonstrate that prosecutors’ special ethical duty to seek justice can sometimes be in tension with other obligations and incentives, but it nonetheless requires them to concede their mistakes in the interests of justice, say Eastern District of Texas law clerk Ian Stephens and Texas A&M University law professor Jemila Lea.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

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    Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • How Patent Attys Can Carefully Integrate LLMs Into Workflows

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    With artificial intelligence-powered tools now being developed specifically for the intellectual property domain, patent practitioners should monitor evolving considerations to ensure that their capabilities are enhanced — rather than diminished — by these resources, say attorneys at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Must Probe Misconduct Claims, Even If It's The AG

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    The Florida Bar’s recent refusal to look into misconduct allegations against Attorney General Pam Bondi is dangerous for the rule of law, and other lawyer disciplinary bodies must be prepared to investigate credible claims of ethical lapses against any lawyer, no matter their position, say attorneys James Kobak and Albert Feuer.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

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