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8459 ABA Journal Ethics articles.

N.Y. Court Dismisses Kaye Scholer Malpractice Suit

A New York appellate court has ordered the dismissal of a malpractice suit filed against Kaye Scholer and one of its lawyers by former accounting employees of Computer Associates. The three plaintiffs lost their jobs in an accounting scandal that resulted in the securities fraud conviction of company CEO Sanjay…

Nov 13, 2007 12:28 PM CST

Lawyers: Gitmo Deck Stacked Against Defense

As the arraignment process got underway today in the first trial by a Guantanamo Bay military tribunal of a terrorism suspect, defense counsel complained that the deck was stacked against the suspect. For one thing, defense lawyers said, they only heard the previous evening from prosecutors of a possible witness…

Nov 10, 2007 1:41 AM CST

Ralph Nader Takes on Big Pa. Law Firm

Ordered last year to pay $81,000 in court costs after a major Pittsburgh-based law firm successfully sued on behalf of a client to remove him from the 2004 presidential ballot, consumer activist Ralph Nader is fighting back. In a recent court filing, he contends that Reed Smith failed to disclose…

Nov 9, 2007 9:43 PM CST

Not Only Paul McCartney But Legal Counsel Divorcing Heather Mills

Only a few weeks ago, it looked like Paul McCartney’s divorce was going to end with an eye-popping agreed $102 million settlement with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Heather Mills. But now it is almost certain to go to trial, as the almost-settled case erodes into acrimony, reports the London Times. The…

Nov 9, 2007 4:29 PM CST

Judge’s Daughter Flunks Bar Exam—Until High-Court Grade Change

A trial judge’s daughter is among 20 law grads who flunked and then passed the state bar exam, due to a grading change by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The court said the section of the exam on wills, trusts and estates will be dropped from test scoring, but gave…

Nov 9, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Lawyer Who Harassed Another Not a ‘Vexatious Litigant’

A California appeals court has ruled that a lawyer who harassed another for 32 years is not a vexatious litigant. An injunction against Walter Wagner is sufficient to address the problem of his behavior, California’s 6th District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. But the facts don’t support a finding that…

Nov 9, 2007 2:57 PM CST

Battling Misconduct Claims in Katrina Case

As if the ongoing insurance coverage battle involving Mississippi’s attorney general, a well-known plaintiffs lawyer and a national insurance company weren’t already contentious enough, explosive new allegations have just been made public. Attorney General Jim Hood allegedly threatened to indict the CEO of State Farm Insurance Cos., as well as…

Nov 8, 2007 11:07 PM CST

Arrested Lawyer: Judge Had Meltdown Over Motion to Dismiss

A New Jersey lawyer facing contempt proceedings says she was arrested and handcuffed simply because she appropriately defended her client in traffic court, raising a racial profiling defense. At her client’s trial on Oct. 4, says Rashidah Hasan, she made a motion to dismiss after the prosecutor concluded his case.…

Nov 8, 2007 9:42 PM CST

Beleaguered Ga. Judge Won’t Respond to Prosecutors’ Filing in Nichols Case

A respected Georgia judge under fire for requiring the state to pay defense costs it says it can’t afford in a complex capital murder trial won’t contest a state supreme court filing seeking to force him off the case. Instead, Superior Court Judge Hilton M. Fuller Jr. has sent a…

Nov 8, 2007 12:19 AM CST

Executed Man’s Wife Sues Judge Who Closed Courthouse Door

Updated: Already facing a legal ethics complaint, a Texas appellate judge who refused to accept an eleventh-hour late filing in a death penalty appeal is now being sued by the executed man’s wife. The federal suit accuses Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of violating Michael Richard’s…

Nov 7, 2007 11:49 PM CST

Ex-Legal Chief Claims Samsung Had Bribe Fund for Prosecutors

The former chief lawyer for Samsung Group has filed a legal complaint with South Korean prosecutors that alleges a bribery scheme and cover-up by chairman Lee Kun Hee. Kim Yong Chul, who worked for Samsung for seven years, claims the company kept a secret slush fund to bribe prosecutors and…

Nov 7, 2007 6:45 PM CST

ABA Ethics Opinion Approves Collaborative Law

An ABA committee has released an ethics opinion that approves collaborative law practice, a form of alternative dispute resolution in family law cases, if clients give informed consent. Collaborative law is a litigation alternative in which the parties and their lawyers sign an agreement to work cooperatively to reach a…

Nov 7, 2007 6:12 PM CST

No Client-Fraud Confidentiality Exception in Proposed NY Rules

Ethics guru Stephen Gillers says new lawyer conduct rules recommended for adoption in New York state are a “resounding” improvement. The New York State Bar Association’s House of Delegates is recommending approval of the ethics revisions, which now go to the state appellate division for consideration, the New York Law…

Nov 7, 2007 2:23 PM CST

Va. Attorney Charged with ‘Embracery’

A Virginia civil rights attorney is now defending an unusual criminal case in modern-day America. Accused of improperly attempting to influence an Albemarle County grand jury, Deborah Wyatt is charged with five misdemeanor counts of embracery, an English common-law crime that dates back to the Magna Carta and was incorporated…

Nov 7, 2007 12:41 AM CST

Law Firm Plans Real-Life Practice at Virtual ‘Second Life’ Office

Bridging the gap between a fictional 3D world on the Internet known as “Second Life” and real life, a United Kingdom law firm reportedly has opened an office there not simply to play at law practice or recruit clients but to perform real-life legal functions. “Many of our clients have…

Nov 6, 2007 11:37 PM CST

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