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Legal Ethics

  • October 16, 2025

    IRS Agents Lose Defamation Suit Against Hunter Biden's Atty

    An attorney who defended Hunter Biden against criminal tax charges was only expressing his legal opinion when he accused Internal Revenue Service agents of illegally disclosing his client's private tax information, a D.C. federal judge ruled in dismissing the agents' complaint for defamation.

  • October 16, 2025

    Judge Rejects Bid To DQ Wash. Atty In Her County Bias Suit

    A Seattle federal judge won't bar an attorney from representing herself in a racial discrimination lawsuit accusing a Washington county of sidelining her from hearing certain cases during her tenure as a part-time judge, rejecting the defense's claims of a conflict of interest.  

  • October 16, 2025

    Texas Law Firm Partially Misclassified Paralegal, Judge Rules

    A former paralegal for a Texas law firm was an independent contractor for the first four years at the firm, but an employee for the remaining two, a federal judge ruled while denying her bid to snag a win on her overtime and minimum wage claims.

  • October 16, 2025

    Sheriff's Atty Says Work With Witness's Counsel Not Conflict

    The attorney for a Massachusetts sheriff charged with extorting a retail cannabis business denied that his past work with counsel for the alleged victim is a conflict of interest. 

  • October 16, 2025

    Justices Asked To Rethink Gellert Seitz Malpractice Ruling

    Lawyers for a homebuilder are asking Delaware's Supreme Court to reconsider its decision affirming the dismissal of a legal malpractice suit against Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown LLC over damages the builder said it suffered due to the firm's negligence handling loan-restructuring disputes, arguing that key issues have been left unresolved.

  • October 16, 2025

    Ex-Paralegal Says She Was Scapegoat For NC City Atty

    A former paralegal in a North Carolina city attorney's office said she was falsely accused of misusing city resources on her boss's behalf and was not given a fair shot to clear her name, which has allegedly damaged her reputation and made it difficult to find a new job.

  • October 16, 2025

    Creek Freedmen Seek Contempt Ruling Over Citizenship Delay

    Two members of the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band are seeking to hold the Creek Nation's principal chief and its citizenship board in contempt, alleging that their refusal to issue enrollment cards is a blatant violation of a tribal Supreme Court order that cannot be tolerated.

  • October 16, 2025

    5th Circ. Calls For Narrow Sanctions In Southwest Bias Fight

    The Fifth Circuit stood by its decision to scuttle a contempt order mandating religious bias training for attorneys representing Southwest Airlines in a flight attendant's discrimination suit, but tweaked a May panel ruling to instruct a trial court to impose "narrowly tailored" sanctions.

  • October 16, 2025

    Netflix Keeps Win In Documentary IP Suit From Atty's Film Co.

    A New Jersey federal judge this week declined to reconsider his order throwing out an attorney's copyright infringement suit against Netflix Inc. over his documentary about sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts of America.

  • October 16, 2025

    Saul Ewing Asks For End To Ex-Conrail CEO's Legal Mal Suit

    Following a federal court decision upholding an $11 million arbitration award against former Conrail CEO David LeVan that stemmed from a failed Gettysburg casino project, Saul Ewing has urged a Philadelphia judge to find that LeVan is time-barred from bringing his malpractice case against the firm, in which he accused it of poorly advising him during the fallout of the collapsed deal.

  • October 16, 2025

    ABA Says Attys Must Be Clear About Neutrality In Mediations

    Attorneys who agree to work as neutral, third-party mediators must make it explicitly clear that they are not advising or holding privilege with participants, the American Bar Association has warned in its latest ethics opinion.

  • October 15, 2025

    Jack Smith And Other Ex-DOJ Staffers Slam Trump Purge

    Former U.S. Department of Justice employees, including former special counsel Jack Smith, spoke out Wednesday in support of colleagues fired or forced to resign by the Trump administration, issuing a warning about the "existential crisis" born from efforts to use the agency to punish the president's political opponents.

  • October 15, 2025

    Valve Seeks To Toss 'Overlapping' $21M Arbitration Fee Suit

    Valve Corp. is asking a Seattle federal judge to throw out a proposed class action seeking nearly $21 million in arbitration fees from the software company, claiming the suit is part of a scheme by law firm Mason LLP in which attorneys are seeking identical relief through redundant court challenges.

  • October 15, 2025

    Goldstein Can't Dismiss 2016 Tax Charges As Time-Barred

    A Maryland federal judge denied SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein's motion to dismiss four of the 22 federal tax charges brought against him in January, ruling that his defense that the counts stemming from the 2016 tax year should be time-barred will have to be raised at trial.

  • October 15, 2025

    'Lapse In Judgment' Didn't Merit Atty DQ, Ga. Panel Rules

    The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's disqualification of an attorney from a property dispute over discussions the lawyer had that initiated property damage central to the case, ruling that while the talks showed a "lapse in judgment," they did not warrant his removal.

  • October 15, 2025

    Boy Scouts Claimants Look To Remove Slater, Citing Probe

    Alleging trial lawyer case aggregators at Slater Slater Schulman have "run amok" in the Boy Scouts sexual abuse case, a claimants group has moved for a bankruptcy court order terminating contingency fee legal service agreements with victims and a reduction in fees paid to the firm.

  • October 15, 2025

    States Want To Keep Eye On $14B HPE-Juniper Deal Review

    The Justice Department is in the middle of trying to settle its challenge to Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, but a dozen states are now trying to get involved and have asked a California federal judge to allow them to intervene in the litigation.

  • October 15, 2025

    Atty Fights Walgreens Sanction Bid In Georgia Bias Suit

    A former pharmacist suing Walgreens for discrimination asked a Georgia federal judge to reject the chain's sanctions bid against her attorney, saying the chain did not give the lawyer enough time to respond to a series of communications that led to the motion for sanctions.

  • October 15, 2025

    NY Court Tosses Most Of Ex-Lil Wayne Atty's Contract Claims

    A New York state judge has dismissed most counterclaims a former attorney for Lil Wayne pursued in a fee dispute with his ex-client, but the lawyer may still attempt to collect some funds he claims to be owed by the rap star.

  • October 15, 2025

    Seward & Kissel Faces Bid To Expand NJ Malpractice Suit

    The wife of a co-founder of hedge fund Two Sigma Investments LP asked a New Jersey state court this week to expand her malpractice suit against Seward & Kissel LLP with counts of fraud and conspiracy to defraud, based on documents turned up in discovery.

  • October 15, 2025

    Ex-WH Ethics Attys Slam 'Vindictive' Comey, James Charges

    Three former White House ethics attorneys have filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice over what they call the "vindictive and meritless" criminal prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

  • October 15, 2025

    Brown Paindiris & Scott Eyes Deal In Data Breach Suit

    After the defense pointed to ongoing discussions that could lead to a "resolution," a Connecticut federal judge has agreed to stretch a deadline for Brown Paindiris & Scott LLP to respond to a proposed class action complaint that accuses the law firm of waiting more than a year to notify clients of a 2023 data breach.

  • October 15, 2025

    Ethics Probe Of 2 Mich. Judges Recommended For Dismissal

    A retired Michigan judge overseeing an ethics probe of two state judges stemming from a dispute over a bike rental on Mackinac Island have recommended dismissing the complaints, determining that the judges did not commit misconduct and questioning why the matter led to a formal complaint.

  • October 15, 2025

    3rd Circ. Preview: US Atty, Columbia Activist, Ex-Union Prez

    The Third Circuit's late October arguments will include two nationally watched cases scrutinizing President Donald Trump's power to name "interim" government officials and his promise to deport foreign nationals who allegedly supported Hamas or took part in protests against Israel's war in Gaza.

  • October 14, 2025

    NJ, Del. Judges Stress Value Of Local Counsel For IP Attys

    Six judges with significant experience overseeing pharmaceutical patent litigation in the districts of New Jersey and Delaware urged litigators on Tuesday to rely on the expertise of local counsel if they're hoping to impress the court.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

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    While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

  • Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

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    Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • Opinion

    Third-Party Funding Transparency Is Key In Patent Suits

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    Third-party litigation funding is a growing industry that could benefit from enhanced disclosure standards to ensure transparency, as challenges in obtaining discovery of such funding can complicate patent litigation against nonpracticing entities, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

  • Atty Insurance Implications Of Rising Nonclient Cyber Claims

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    As law firms are increasingly targeted in cyberattacks, claims by clients as well as nonclients against lawyers are also on the rise, increasing the scope of exposure that attorneys face in their practice, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Why Attys Should Get Familiar With Quantum Computing

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    Quantum computing is projected to pose significant updates to current practices in cryptography, making the issue relevant to policymakers and the legal profession generally, particularly when it comes to data storage, privacy regulations and pharmaceutical industry market changes, say professors at the University of San Francisco.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law

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    Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

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    If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.

  • Series

    Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.

  • 10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

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    The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing

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    Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.

  • 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

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    As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

  • An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

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    Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

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