Ethics

Judge used N-word when questioning whether prosecutors were too aggressive, transcript shows

Updated: A Black judge in Louisiana used the N-word and complained about a “piss-poor" resolution of a case while chastising prosecutors during an April hearing, a transcript indicates.

May 15, 2024 11:19 AM CDT

Judge ordered removed for ‘troubling inability to conform his behavior’ to judicial standards

A California judge who hoped to find the “mole” cooperating with ethics investigators sought a review of employee emails and the hiring of outside counsel to complete the investigation, according to a May 2 decision ordering his removal from office.

May 8, 2024 10:10 AM CDT

Looking for practice advice on email discussion lists? Don’t forget client confidentiality responsibilities

Lawyers must be careful in revealing information about clients on an email discussion list group, even when seeking help in the representation, according to a new ABA ethics opinion.

May 8, 2024 10:02 AM CDT

Former top prosecutor in St. Louis ‘remains elusive,’ says state auditor who can’t find her

The former top prosecutor for St. Louis “remains elusive,” and “her whereabouts are currently unknown,” according to a May 6 press release by the Missouri state auditor.

May 7, 2024 2:23 PM CDT

BigLaw partner alleges federal judge once assaulted and taunted him, requiring his recusal

A partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith is alleging that a federal judge pushed him and challenged him to a fight when they were working at the same law firm in 2008.

May 7, 2024 12:30 PM CDT

Federal judge reprimanded for handcuffing teen spectator in scared-straight approach

A federal judge who ordered a defendant’s daughter handcuffed to warn her about the consequences of drug use has been reprimanded by the judicial council of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco.

May 2, 2024 10:58 AM CDT

Judge should be censured for street brawl, conflict of interest, New York judicial conduct commission says

A New York judge should be censured for engaging in a street brawl with his neighbors and for participating in matters involving an attorney who was buying the judge’s law practice, according to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

May 2, 2024 9:11 AM CDT

District attorney ‘humbled by my own stupidity’ after failing to stop for police, calling officer name

A district attorney for a county that includes Rochester, New York, issued a video apology Sunday night after she failed to pull over for a traffic stop and called an officer a name after she drove into her garage about a half-mile away.

May 1, 2024 2:01 PM CDT

Lawyer suspended after he’s accused of plying teens with alcohol and touching one of them sexually

The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended a lawyer who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after being accused of touching his stepdaughter’s 18-year-old friend in a sexual manner during a sleepover in which she became sick from drinking the alcohol that he supplied.

Apr 25, 2024 3:21 PM CDT

‘Oh, shoot, I’m still streaming,’ judge says, after telling staffer ‘we all know’ murder defendant is guilty

A Texas judge recused herself in two cases involving a murder defendant Wednesday, after she was caught on a hot mic outside the presence of jurors saying he had killed the victim to show a woman that “he’s a man.”

Apr 25, 2024 11:07 AM CDT

Lawyer disbarred for destroying his computer, altering metadata before ethics hearing

A New Hampshire lawyer has been disbarred based on allegations that he destroyed his computer before an ethics hearing and altered metadata to make it appear that he had provided conflict letters to a client when borrowing $275,000 from her.

Apr 25, 2024 10:01 AM CDT

Supreme Court won’t hear lawyer’s challenge to anti-bias ethics rule

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari in a challenge to a Pennsylvania ethics rule that bars lawyers from knowingly engaging in conduct that constitutes discrimination and harassment in the practice of law.

Apr 24, 2024 10:16 AM CDT

Both sides denied sanctions in Boies Schiller sex-trafficking suit

Neither Boies Schiller Flexner nor the lawyers representing its legal opponents are entitled to sanctions in a sex-trafficking case, a federal judge in New York City has ruled.

Apr 24, 2024 9:38 AM CDT

Motion for sanctions against David Boies ‘is itself deserving of sanctions,’ law firm says

Updated: A motion for sanctions filed against two Boies Schiller Flexner leaders was “filed with the improper purpose of threatening, harassing and intimidating” the lawyers and the sex-trafficking plaintiffs they represent, according to an April 19 motion filed by the lawyers.

Apr 23, 2024 3:11 PM CDT

Lawyer reprimanded after mistakenly emailing opposing counsel with plan to avoid judge’s call

Updated: A Massachusetts lawyer who mistakenly copied the opposing counsel on an email has been reprimanded for its message to a bankruptcy attorney.

Apr 18, 2024 11:51 AM CDT