Legal Ethics
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Attorney Misconduct, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics, Sex, Sex Scandals
Lawyer of the Day: Liam Michael Golden
We just learned a new word today: “tomcatting.” From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Chehalis, Washington — The tomcatting of the elected prosecutor in this conservative rural town has jeopardized as many as four cases brought by his office and prompted a complaint to the state bar association. Liam Michael Golden, a Republican who ran unopposed for […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Case, Legal Ethics, Michael Nifong, Pets
Mike Nifong to N.C. State Bar: The Dog Ate My Law License
Quite literally. From TSG: In a pathetic end to the Mike Nifong saga, the disgraced North Carolina prosecutor who handled the Duke rape investigation has turned in his law license, noting that he never framed or displayed the document because it had been damaged “by a puppy in her chewing stage.” Additionally, in an August […] - Sponsored
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Federal Judges, Legal Ethics, Religion, Ridiculousness
And Scalia Should Be Recused 'Cause He Has Nine Kids
Here’s a story about a rather strange (and weak) recusal motion, from the Daily Business Review: Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attorney Loring Spolter is accusing U.S. District Judge William Zloch of bias in two employment discrimination cases, citing his deep religious beliefs, and wants the judge removed from the cases. In a 110-page motion for recusal […]
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Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics, Money, Plaintiffs Firms
Lawyer of the Day: Hank Adorno
Actually, this is a two-for-one. We can also get a Benchslap of the Day out of this item. From the Miami Herald: Prominent attorney Hank Adorno — already under Florida Bar investigation for his role in Miami’s fire-fee scandal — on Wednesday was blasted by the Third District Court of Appeal for what the judges […] -
Biglaw, Legal Ethics, Money, Scott Turow
WWJB: What Would Jesus Bill?
To follow-up on the Fried Frank post about prompt submission of one’s time, a reader sent in this suggestion: You should start a thread re: billing practices. For example: 1. Do you bill when you go to the bathroom? 2. Do you bill when a co-worker stops and talks to you for five minutes? 3. […] -
Attorney Misconduct, In-House Counsel, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics
Lawyer General Counsel (Who Doesn't Give Legal Advice) of the Day: Horace Nalle
We apologize if we seem a little fixated on Atlanta these days. They seem to have a lot going on down there (even though it’s not all good). From the Fulton County Daily Report (which we’ve been reading a lot lately, despite that obscure-sounding name): Horace “Hod” Nalle has been general counsel for Merial, a […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics, Plaintiffs Firms
Lawyer of the Day: John O'Quinn
Lately we’ve been writing a lot about the Lone Star State. So it’s fitting that John O’Quinn, the “legendary and controversial” Texas trial lawyer, is ATL’s Lawyer of the Day. Why? Here are at least 35.7 million reasons. Breaking: Wood v. John O’Quinn ruling [Overlawyered] John M. O’Quinn bio [The O’Quinn Law Firm] John O’Quinn […] -
Alison Maynard, Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics
Lawyer of the Day: Alison Maynard (again)
It’s not easy to be a two-time winner of our Lawyer of the Day award. But after reading this post, we think that you’ll find Colorado lawyer Alison Maynard more than worthy of this honor. Longtime readers of ATL will surely recall Alison “Sunny” Maynard from our prior coverage. But in case you don’t, here’s […] - Sponsored
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Attorney Misconduct, Food, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Non-Sequiturs, Paris Hilton
Non-Sequiturs: 06.27.07
* Who says Loyola 2Ls can’t land good jobs? [SCOTUSblog] * Lobster rolls. And Chipwich. Yum. [Gawker; Althouse] * It’s nice to know that you can neglect your caseload, fabricate documents, and still get reinstated to the bar. [Boston Globe] * Law firm ranking schemes are kind of like blogs. If everyone has one, who’s […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Biglaw, Legal Ethics
Benchslap of the Day: Wiley A Little Too Wily?
So what’s Wiley Rein LLP going to do with its record-setting profits per partner from last year? One possibility (for a small portion of the haul): Pay off the $1.25 million fine that Judge Alvin Hellerstein (S.D.N.Y.) just slapped them with, for allegedly withholding information about an insurance policy in the World Trade Center insurance […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Case, Legal Ethics, Michael Nifong, Politics
When the Headline Says It All
It’s official: Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong was disbarred over the weekend. From the AP: The five-day ethics trial ended Nifong’s three-decade legal career, which he spent entirely as a prosecutor in Durham County. He was generally viewed as an honest lawyer before taking over the case of a woman who told police she was […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Case, Legal Ethics, Michael Nifong, Monica Goodling
Breaking: Mike Nifong To Resign as Durham District Attorney
It’s a Friday afternoon in June. Of course it couldn’t pass without a high-profile resignation. From WRAL: Mike Nifong made the announcement at the end of his testimony Friday at his State Bar ethics trial to the surprise of the families and defense attorneys of the cleared lacrosse players. “Throughout the years I have served […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Case, Legal Ethics, Michael Nifong, Rape
Mike Nifong: The Doodoo Deepens
Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, who rose to international infamy due to his handling of the Duke lacrosse team “rape” case, must now face the music. His trial on ethics charges brought by the North Carolina State Bar started today. According to WRAL.com, Nifong’s lawyer, David Freedman, offered this argument in his opening statement: “It […]
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Attorney Misconduct, Divorce Train Wrecks, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Paris Hilton, Raoul Felder, Sentencing Law, Trials
Morning Docket: 06.05.07
* Yawn… [MSNBC] * Job opportunities for the disbarred. [ABANet] * Libby sentencing today. [CNN] * Advice for Paris. [WSJ Law Blog] * Polsky divorce settlement hits $184 million. [CNN]
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Biglaw, Carter Phillips, John Roberts, Kids, Legal Ethics, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
The Women of One First Street: Some SCOTUS Scuttlebutt
We’re a little late on this (and blame our tardiness on associate pay fixation). But here are two interesting tidbits of Supreme Court gossip, from Tony Mauro of the Legal Times: 1. Carter Phillips’ Kin Is Alito Clerk [Legal Times] One of Justice Samuel Alito’s incoming clerks, Jessica Phillips — who has been described as […] -
Bad Ideas, Education / Schools, Judge of the Day, Legal Ethics, Sports, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto
On the heels of our recent post about Judge Noel Hillman (D.N.J.), here’s another shout-out to our home state and its judges. It concerns Justice Roberto A. Rivera-Soto, of the New Jersey Supreme Court, who is ATL’s Judge of the Day. From the New York Times: [Justice] Rivera-Soto is a New Jersey Supreme Court justice, […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Email Scandals, Legal Ethics, Lunacy, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Weirdness
What the Stroock Is Going On?
Apparently something weird is going on over in the New York office of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. Something really weird. A source at another firm advised us: Something has happened at Stroock. Rumors floating around that an associate flipped his s**t and emailed all personnel with something odd. I can’t find out more than […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Forgery, Lawyer of the Day, Legal Ethics
Lawyer of the Day: Mark W. Fischer
The typical ATL “Lawyer of the Day” is a solo practitioner or small-firm lawyer. But today’s lawyer of the day hails from a large law firm, one that you’ve probably heard of — and one that gets the definite-article treatment in the New York Times wedding pages. Meet Mark Fischer, from the Denver office of […] -
Bad Ideas, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Legal Ethics, Media and Journalism, Ted Olson
Ted Olson's Odd Sense of Client Conflicts
Former Solicitor General Ted Olson, now back at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, is one of the nation’s top appellate advocates. He’s an amazing lawyer and a distinguished public servant. And he — together with his wife, the beautiful and brilliant Lady Booth — knows how to throw a killer wedding. But Olson does seem to […] -
Attorney Misconduct, In-House Counsel, Legal Ethics, Screw-Ups
Here's A New List of Shame
A list of Fortune 250 general counsels who are practicing law without a license appears here. An article explaining it appears here. This shouldn’t come as a big surprise. If a successful nominee to the exalted D.C. Circuit couldn’t keep track of the licensing requirements of his jurisdiction, why should we expect any better from […]