Attorney Misconduct
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Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Partner Issues
A Request for Advice from ATL Readers
Above the Law’s popular, somewhat tongue-in-cheek advice column, Pls Hndle Thx, has been on hiatus. Marin has been busy following the career of John Stamos, and Elie is on vacation this week. (He’ll be back on Monday.) In the meantime, we have a request for advice from a reader. Let’s take a look at it, […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Kids, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics, Nude Dancing, Weirdness
Trou-Dropping Tom Might Lose His Law License
Earlier this year, we told you the strange tale of Thomas Walkley. A lawyer in Ohio, Walkley founded and runs Cafe 41:11, a coffeeshop for at-risk youth. Back in January, Walkley was accused of exposing himself to two teenage boys who applied to work at the cafe. Walkley admitted showing his junk to the teens, […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Murder, Small Law Firms, Trials
Mistrial After Judge Is 'Astonished' By Touro Grad's Incompetence
Look, Touro Law students and alumni, please don’t get mad at me. I’m just the messenger. The Washington Post is reporting that a D.C. Superior Court judge, William Jackson, declared a mistrial in a murder case on Friday so that the defendant could fire his lawyer. The attorney, Joseph Rakofsky, a 2009 graduate of Touro […]
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7th Circuit, Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Quote of the Day, Richard Posner, Rudeness, Vicious Infighting
Quote of the Day: Judge Posner Is Not a Kindergarten Teacher
There must be no more of this childish abuse…. No more or there will be sanctions. In more than 29 years as a judge, I have never encountered such bickering, quarrelsome lawyers. You are wasting my time and your clients’ money. — Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, sitting by designation as a district […] -
7th Circuit, Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Frank Easterbrook, Legal Ethics, Quote of the Day
Quote(s) of the Day: Oh, professionalism is overrated.(Or: Mess with the Easterbrook, you get the horns.)
Greco is a menace to his clients and a scofflaw with respect to appellate procedure. The district court may wish to consider whether he should remain a member of its bar. Would-be clients should consider how Greco has treated [his clients] Lee, Washington, and Moore. — Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit, benchslapping […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Bar Exams, Law Schools, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics, Pro Se Litigants, Traffic Accidents, Trials
Would-Be-Lawyer of the Day: Don't Put ☺ in a Court Filing
Here’s some good news for lawyers who enjoy blogging or instant-messenger services like Gchat. It’s right in the headline of this here National Law Journal story: Smiley face, snark, don’t render law grad unfit to practice. Many of us get snarky in our personal writing, and many of us employ emoticons in email messages or […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Divorce Train Wrecks, Legal Ethics, New Jersey, Romance and Dating, Sex, Sex Scandals
Disbarred Partner Blames Trampoline for Female Divorce Client's 'Soreness'
The accusations against disbarred New Jersey lawyer Kenneth Denti — who allegedly falsified time sheets, slept with a client he was representing in her divorce, and got reimbursed by his firm for dinner dates with women he met on the internet — have been covered extensively throughout the legal blogosphere. We previously linked to a […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Crime, Legal Ethics, Minority Issues, Racism, Rudeness
Indy Lawyers Need a Crash Course on Basic Ethics, ASAP
The problem of Hoosier lawyers misbehaving is reaching epic proportions. We’ve already told you about Olubunmi Okanlami, the Indiana law grad who allegedly suspected her boyfriend of cheating, attacked him as well as correctional officers, and wore two bras to prison so she could hide a weapon in between. We’ve already told you about Kirmille […] - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Attorney Misconduct, Clerkships, Job Searches, Legal Ethics, pls hndle thx
Pls Hndle Thx: The Informant
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com. Dear ATL, I am an assistant clerk at a state court. I graduated in May 2010 and worked hard to find a decent job after taking the July bar. I have noticed over my past few months that a co-worker, also a […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Rudeness
Lawyers of the Day: 'Scum Sucking Loser' and 'Retard'Email insults lead to sanctions for two Florida attorneys.
Sometimes lawyers are rude — really, really rude. And when they get extremely rude in emails with one another, sometimes the result is discipline from the bar. So, counselors, please be polite; treat each other with courtesy and respect. (And treat bartenders with respect too. You never know when one of them might bring your […] -
Asians, Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, Legal Ethics, Prostitution, Sex Scandals
Another Lawyer Bites The Dust - Gets Caught With a Prostitute
This has not been a great day for lawyers in Indiana. Another Hoosier lawyer, this time at Barnes & Thornburg, just received a public reprimand for patronizing a prostitute (we’re only doing our part to aid in the shaming). From the National Law Journal (via the ABA Journal): The Indiana Supreme Court has publicly reprimanded […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Gay, Legal Ethics
It's About Time: Disciplinary Action Sought Against Andrew Shirvell
We’ve been keeping an eye on Andrew Shirvell, the Michigan attorney who has been conducting a personal crusade against Chris Armstrong, the University of Michigan student body president who happens to be gay. At the beginning of this month, we learned that Shirvell was taking a leave of absence from his day job in the […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Legal Ethics, Politics
Joe Miller: Now an Admitted Liar
When we included Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller in our gallery of most disgraceful Yale Law School graduates, we admitted that his scandals were trivial in comparison to some other people on the list. But now maybe Miller will be a worthy contender. Newly released documents contain an email where Miller admits to lying about […]
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics, Lunacy, Solo Practitioners
Taj Oladiran's 'Motion of the Year' Earns Him Sanctions
Arizona attorney Tajudeen “Taj” Oladiran came onto our radar back in 2009, when he filed one of the craziest motions we’ve ever seen. Solo practitioner Oladiran, a former associate at Greenberg Traurig, filed a racketeering lawsuit against “Suntrust Bank and its pimps” for allegedly suckering him into predatory housing loans. The motion that caught our […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Legal Ethics, Sex, Texas
Texas Tries to C**kblock Lawyers from Getting Their Freak on With Clients
Today many people made time to talk about Texas legal ethics — specifically, a proposal in front of the Texas bar that would prohibit lawyers from having sex with their clients. It’s a rule most jurisdictions have in one form or another. It’s not obvious that getting this rule enacted in Texas would be a […] -
Attorney Misconduct, State Judges
Retired Brooklyn Judge Blasts NYAG Candidate Via Email
The Democratic primary for the new New York Attorney General is on Tuesday. Earlier this week, I broke down the candidates and liveblogged the debate between the five Democratics that want to follow in the footsteps of Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the frontrunner, Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice. But […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics, Sex
Lawyer Tells Client She Can Talk to Dead Spouse -- But That's Not What Got Her in Trouble
Full disclosure: I belong to the South Park school of thought, which says that claiming you can speak to dead people makes you a candidate for Biggest Douche in the Universe. Even my priest, who believes that the will of an omniscient and all-powerful being can be easily flummoxed by a thin film of latex, […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Lawsuit of the Day, Legal Ethics, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Lawsuit of the Day: Why is This Guy So Angry with Avvo?
Ed. note: This post is by “The Gobbler,” one of the two writers under consideration to join Morning Dockette as a Morning Docket writer. As always, we welcome your thoughts in the comments. Lawyers tend to define their careers by numbers (school rank, class rank, firm rank) – at least when the numbers are to […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Legal Ethics, New Jersey, State Judges
A Jersey Judge Benchslaps Paul Weiss and Lowenstein Sandler -- Hard
Back in June, we bestowed Lawyer of the Day honors upon two of the nation’s top litigators: Ted Wells and Martin Flumenbaum, the co-chair and former chair, respectively, of the renowned litigation department at Paul Weiss. Given the sterling reputations of the two lawyers and their firm, it was a surprising development. We recognized Messrs. […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Depositions, Legal Ethics, Paralegals, Weirdness
Will Footsies During a Deposition Lead to Sanctions?
A pair of motions are bouncing around email inboxes this week, thanks to the “foot-tapping lawyer.” (This has nothing to do with Larry Craig, so read on without fear.) It all started in July, when Florida law firm Rasco Klock sent a paralegal to Wilmington for a deposition. The firm is representing a plaintiff suing […]