Ethics

Contract requiring exiting lawyer to pay fee for every client he takes can’t be enforced, top state court says

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a law firm can’t enforce a contract provision that required departing lawyers to pay $1,052 for each client they take with them when leaving.

Jan 17, 2024 9:48 AM CST

Former lawyer gets prison time for trading representation for sexual acts and materials

A Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer who once worked as a prosecutor has been sentenced to four to 23 months in prison for providing legal services in exchange for sexual acts and materials.

Jan 17, 2024 8:22 AM CST

Lawyer who argued cocaine can be beneficial now says he should have retained counsel in ethics case

Updated: A now-former assistant public defender who was accused of using cocaine before his client’s hearing is in drug rehab and seeking disciplinary probation, rather than a suspension of his law license.

Jan 11, 2024 3:45 PM CST

Northwestern law prof’s $5K charitable donation isn’t substitute for attorney fees sanction, federal judge says

A law professor’s $5,000 charitable donation can’t take the place of attorney fees that he was ordered to pay for wrongly seeking to remove a probate motion to federal court, a federal judge in Colorado ruled Monday.

Jan 11, 2024 2:29 PM CST

Will ‘bombshell’ allegations of romance between Georgia DA, special prosecutor lead to tossed charges?

A co-defendant in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump is seeking to have the case tossed because of an alleged relationship between the special prosecutor and the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney who appointed him.

Jan 11, 2024 12:34 PM CST

Judge sticks with $268K sanction for fake news article lawyer filed with appeals court

A federal judge in California is requiring a Seattle lawyer to pay $251,000 in attorney fees and nearly $17,000 in interest for filing a fake news story with a federal appeals court in San Francisco.

Jan 10, 2024 8:18 AM CST

Former BigLaw partner gets suspension over side law practice

A former Crowell & Moring partner has been suspended in New York for running a side law practice in violation of his partnership agreement and for underreporting the side income to tax authorities.

Jan 9, 2024 8:59 AM CST

Disbarred lawyer married to ‘Real Housewives’ star found competent to stand trial for alleged $15M embezzlement

Disbarred plaintiffs lawyer Tom Girardi has been found competent to stand trial in Los Angeles for allegedly stealing $15 million from clients.

Jan 4, 2024 2:24 PM CST

Judge’s suspension will end his career as elected judge; he coerced pleas, demeaned litigants, court says

An Ohio judge has been suspended from law practice and removed from the bench for a range of misconduct, including coercing two no-contest pleas and imposing a 30-day contempt sentence on a defendant who said the judge was making himself "look stupid."

Jan 3, 2024 3:38 PM CST

Ex-bankruptcy judge claims immunity in suit alleging he retaliated against litigant who revealed romance

Former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones of Houston has said he is immune from an Oct. 4 lawsuit contending that he retaliated against a litigant who revealed the judge’s relationship with a lawyer whose law firm had cases before the court.

Jan 3, 2024 12:22 PM CST

Fake citations in legal brief were generated by Google Bard AI program, says ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen

Former lawyer Michael Cohen has informed a federal judge that the nonexistent cases cited in a legal brief were generated by Google Bard, an artificial intelligence program.

Jan 2, 2024 10:08 AM CST

Judge acquits lawyer on insider trading charges after co-defendant found not guilty

A lawyer who was formerly on the faculty at Loyola University Chicago has persuaded a federal judge that he deserves a judgment of acquittal in an insider trading case because of inconsistent verdicts by the jury that had convicted him in January.

Dec 22, 2023 10:30 AM CST

Visiting BigLaw attorney gets prison sentence for insider trading

A Brazilian lawyer has been sentenced to two months in prison for trading on inside information that he obtained while working as a visiting attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C.

Dec 21, 2023 3:03 PM CST

Prosecutor accused of sexual relationship with defendant, staging naked photos while she slept

Updated: A former Illinois prosecutor is facing an ethics complaint that accuses him of secretly taking nude photos of a sleeping woman with whom he was having a sexual relationship, staging the photos to include his penis near her body and on her head.

Dec 20, 2023 3:51 PM CST

Proposal for licensed paraprofessionals in Texas gains steam with commission support

The Texas Access to Justice Commission is supporting a proposal to license paraprofessionals to provide legal services to low-income residents.

Dec 20, 2023 12:30 PM CST