Lawyer Discipline

Law prof Eastman’s false statements about election helped provoke Capitol rioters, ethics charges say

Former Chapman University law professor John Eastman should be disbarred in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his false statements that helped provoke Capitol rioters, according to California ethics regulators.

Jan 27, 2023 1:35 PM CST

Using N-word at home is not lawyer ethics violation, hearing committee says

A now-former judge who used the N-word in a video taken at her home did not violate lawyer ethics rules, according to a hearing committee of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.

Jan 26, 2023 11:16 AM CST

Former judge is disbarred for sexually harassing police officer, court reporter and prosecutor

A former judge in Chicago has been disbarred after he was accused of trying to kiss a police officer, asking a court reporter about the cost of sex, and making demeaning remarks about a prosecutor.

Jan 20, 2023 9:19 AM CST

Former BigLaw associate gets suspension for inflating time spent on document review project

A former Dentons associate in Chicago has received a short suspension for his claim that he had reviewed 425 documents for a client, when in reality he had reviewed only 20 of those documents.

Jan 19, 2023 1:14 PM CST

Lawyer faces ethics charges after his IT person accesses exiting employee’s personal emails

A Connecticut lawyer is accused in an ethics presentment of violating laws on unauthorized access to a computer system, after his network administrator downloaded emails from an exiting associate’s personal email account.

Jan 18, 2023 10:19 AM CST

Defendant goes free after prosecutor allegedly lies about content of ‘venue?’ note

Updated: A St. Paul, Minnesota, man accused of raping a 14-year-old girl is free after an assistant prosecutor trying the case allegedly lied about the content of a note passed to her during trial.

Jan 10, 2023 3:21 PM CST

Lawyer is ‘shaken’ and ‘humiliated’ after her slur and obscenity are heard by others in Zoom hearing

A Chicago lawyer accused of using a racial slur and an obscenity while unmuted on Zoom told a judge Friday that she is “shaken" and "humiliated” by the incident.

Jan 9, 2023 3:26 PM CST

Mistaken disclosure of confidential documents leads to suspension for lawyer representing Infowars host

Updated: A Connecticut judge has ordered a six-month suspension for a lawyer representing Infowars host and founder Alex Jones because the attorney “carelessly” handled confidential documents mistakenly released to the opposing counsel in a defamation trial against Jones.

Jan 9, 2023 2:04 PM CST

Lawyer who cited ‘professional curiosity’ in child-porn case won’t acknowledge wrongdoing, referee says

A suburban Tampa, Florida, lawyer has been disbarred after a referee found that he refused to acknowledge wrongdoing, despite pleading guilty in a child-pornography case.

Jan 5, 2023 11:34 AM CST

Lawyer ‘turned in the poorest performance’ he has seen in 12 years on bench, former federal judge says

Updated: A former federal judge in Illinois has referred a Chicago lawyer for potential discipline after declaring that she had “turned in the poorest performance by an attorney that the undersigned has seen during his 12-plus years on the bench.”

Jan 5, 2023 10:17 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Giuliani committed ethics violation, committee says; Justice Kavanaugh criticized for attending party

Rudy Giuliani committed ethics violation in election suit, committee says A hearing committee in Washington, D.C., made a preliminary finding Thursday that lawyer Rudy Giuliani committed at least one ethics violation in connection with his voter fraud claims in a Pennsylvania lawsuit. The committee did not elaborate on its finding.…

Dec 16, 2022 3:00 PM CST

Suspension recommended for judge who called defendant ‘Quick Draw’ and police officer ‘Mr. Know It All’

A longtime Ohio judge should be suspended for misconduct that included coercing two defendants to plead no contest and jailing a man for 30 days for commenting that the judge was making himself look stupid, according to an ethics board.

Dec 14, 2022 11:32 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Same-sex marriage bill sent to Biden; lawyer pleads guilty after swinging belt caught on video

Bill protecting gay marriage is sent to Biden The U.S. House of Representatives approved a marriage equality bill Thursday that requires states and the federal government to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages that were legal in the states where they were performed. The Respect for Marriage Act, as the bill…

Dec 9, 2022 2:42 PM CST

Rudy Giuliani defends election suit, claims persecution in ethics hearing that became ‘a tad argumentative’

Lawyer Rudy Giuliani clashed with a lead ethics prosecutor in a hearing Monday to determine whether he should be sanctioned for unsupported claims in a Pennsylvania lawsuit claiming widespread fraud during the 2020 presidential election.

Dec 6, 2022 10:24 AM CST

Las Vegas lawyer is disbarred for forming law firm with nonlaywer who did most of the legal work

A Las Vegas lawyer has been disbarred for forming a law firm with a nonlawyer who held himself out as an attorney, met with clients and provided legal advice.

Dec 5, 2022 11:59 AM CST