Ethics

Judge tosses ethics case against Sidney Powell, citing ‘numerous defects’ in regulator’s exhibits

A judge in Texas has tossed an ethics case against lawyer Sidney Powell for alleged frivolous election lawsuits, citing regulators’ refusal to fix a faulty evidence list as a key reason it was unable to meet its evidentiary burden.

Feb 24, 2023 10:00 AM CST

Judge scolds Reed Smith partner for ‘theatrics and profanity’ but says criminal contempt doesn’t apply

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Reed Smith partner can’t be punished by criminal contempt for violations of local court rules, even though his “theatrics and profanity" are "contrary to the traditions of civility and collegiality" of the court.

Feb 22, 2023 2:21 PM CST

Magistrate judge recommends ethics probe of Northwestern law prof, who sees ‘crock of nonsense’

A professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is firing back after a federal magistrate judge said he should be referred to disciplinary authorities for his “shameful” conduct in a probate dispute with his mentally ill sister.

Feb 16, 2023 3:15 PM CST

Lawyer moved into Wynn Las Vegas, spent over $10M in ‘massive fraud,’ suit alleges

A lender based in the British Virgin Islands has accused a California lawyer of spending and gambling away more than $10 million that was supposed to be used by her lending company to make third-party loans.

Feb 15, 2023 8:42 AM CST

Texas AG’s office agrees to pay $3.3M to resolve aides’ whistleblower allegations

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached an agreement to pay $3.3 million to resolve allegations by four former aides who claimed that they were fired after reporting abuse of office.

Feb 13, 2023 12:29 PM CST

Judge sanctions Facebook and BigLaw firm $925K for ‘delay, misdirection and frivolous arguments’

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered Facebook and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to pay a sanction of $925,000 for an “unusually egregious and persistent” effort to use “delay, misdirection and frivolous arguments to make litigation unfairly difficult and expensive for their opponents.”

Feb 13, 2023 9:12 AM CST

Judge accused of using role as charity trustee to donate money to courts, juvenile justice center

An ethics complaint has accused an Indiana judge of using his role as a sole trustee for a charitable foundation to pay for tile work and car purchases provided to local courts by his father’s companies.

Feb 8, 2023 3:10 PM CST

Ex-judge is suspended after secret recording by possible rival candidate revealed threat

A former judge in Missouri has been suspended for at least two years after he was recorded threatening to reveal the affairs of a rival’s husband if she ran against him in the judicial election.

Feb 7, 2023 10:21 AM CST

Supreme Court justices should follow binding code of ethics, ABA House says

The U.S. Supreme Court should adopt a binding code of ethics for its justices that is akin to the code of conduct the Judicial Conference of the United States adopted for other federal judges, the House of Delegates said after a spirited debate at the 2023 ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans on Monday.

Feb 6, 2023 7:38 PM CST

Change is good ‘and will carry us into the future,’ says ABA president-elect nominee Bill Bay

While urging the ABA House of Delegates to recognize that change in the profession is necessary and a challenge, William R. Bay, the president-elect nominee, shared a story about his family.

Feb 6, 2023 3:57 PM CST

Florida judges can no longer get CLE credit for general ‘fairness and diversity’ courses, state supreme court says

Florida judges can no longer take “fairness and diversity” courses to satisfy continuing education requirements, unless the classes relate to judicial professionalism, ethics opinions or the judicial conduct code, the Florida Supreme Court has decided.

Feb 6, 2023 8:37 AM CST

Prosecutors in murder trial of ex-lawyer Murdaugh can introduce evidence of alleged financial crimes, judge rules

Prosecutors in the double murder trial of once-prominent South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh may introduce evidence of his alleged financial crimes to rebut defense evidence of good character, a judge ruled Thursday.

Feb 3, 2023 10:28 AM CST

Disbarred lawyer and estranged husband of ‘Real Housewives’ star is charged with stealing $18M; is he competent for trial?

Disbarred plaintiffs’ lawyer Tom Girardi has been federally indicted in Chicago and Los Angeles for allegedly embezzling more than $18 million from clients. Girardi is the estranged husband of Erika Girardi of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Feb 3, 2023 9:09 AM CST

Does legal recruiting career of chief justice’s wife create ethics issues? Critic sends details of her pay to Congress

A former legal recruiter who sued over his firing is alleging that the paychecks earned by his former colleague and lawsuit defendant, Jane Sullivan Roberts, raise ethics issues for her husband, Chief Justice John Roberts.

Feb 1, 2023 3:40 PM CST

Sanctions sought against Trump, lawyers for ‘boilerplate’ responses, ‘demonstrably false’ denials

Updated: The New York attorney general’s office is seeking sanctions against former President Trump and his lawyers for “deficient” verified answers to allegations in a lawsuit accusing the Trump Organization of fraud.

Feb 1, 2023 12:10 PM CST