Attorney Misconduct
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Biglaw
Former Skadden Associate Is First To Be Sentenced In Mueller Probe
He'll probably lose his license to practice law, too. -
Biglaw
Former Skadden Associate Who Pleaded Guilty In Mueller Probe Begs For No Jail Time
He's already lost his Biglaw career, isn't that punishment enough? - Sponsored
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Small Law Firms
Personal Injury Attorney Arrested For Allegedly Killing Pedestrian In Drunken Hit & Run Accident
He plans to enter a not-guilty plea to the criminal charges.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.30.18
* Attorney General Jeff Sessions won’t be appointing a second special counsel to examine political bias in the handling of investigations by the FBI and DOJ just yet, but not to worry, because the Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney for Utah are on the case. [Politico]
* Lawyer.com spokesperson Lindsay Lohan lost her invasion of privacy case against the maker of “Grand Theft Auto V” at the New York Court of Appeals in a unanimous decision penned by Judge Eugene Fahey, who said the video game character LiLo alleged was based on her was “not reasonably identifiable as plaintiff.” [Reuters]
* As it turns out, Savannah Law School won’t be immediately ceasing operations in early June. Now, the law school plans to move to another location within the city, and will close over the next five years without admitting any new students. [Savannah Morning News]
* Adnan Syed, the subject of the hit podcast “Serial,” had his murder conviction vacated by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. His case has been remanded for a new trial on all charges. [New York Times]
* “Mark, it hurts! You’re hurting me… Don’t be so rough.” In case you missed it, a juror fainted during trial after watching a video of graphic sex between a Texas attorney who traded sex for legal services and one of his clients. Yeehaw… [FOX News]
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Small Law Firms
Lawyer Accused Of Shooting Up Another Lawyer's Office Now Accused Of Running A Meth Lab... As One Does
This is shockingly unsurprising. -
Attorney Misconduct
Married Lawyers Who Stabbed And Tortured Law Firm Partner Are Doing Major Jail Time
All of this happened because someone got fired, and now their lives are really over. -
Small Law Firms, Stupid Lawyer Tricks
Lawyers Have Done Some Pretty Stupid Things Lately
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time for your idiocy, lawyers. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.14.18
* Ever since Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, who had been accused of sexual harassment by 15 women, retired, a working group within the federal judiciary has been trying to come up with reforms to be made as far as sexual harassment is concerned. Thus far, they’ve come up with about 20 reforms, and Chief Justice John Roberts is confident the group’s work will “ensure an exemplary workplace for every court employee.” [National Law Journal]
* Time’s up, UK: The Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales has warned law firms not to use nondisclosure agreements to cover up sexual harassment and assault scandals. After all, these are instances of professional misconduct, so of course a professional regulatory agency wants to know about that. [American Lawyer]
* Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be turning 85 later this week, and she says she’s “feeling fine.” Many hope that the self-described “flaming feminist litigator” continues to feel that way until we find a way to turn her into a little RBG judicial bot that will never, ever short-circuit — or until there’s a Democrat in office. [USA Today]
* Nichole Ashley Collins, the Pennsylvania lawyer who was fired for allegedly stealing money from her firm and then returned to the firm to allegedly steal more money to buy sex toys, has been disbarred. Who would’ve expected such a thing… [FOX 43]
* Prosecutors in Florida will seek the death penalty against Nikolas Cruz for his role as the accused gunman in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. Last week, Cruz was indicted by a grand jury on 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree. [CNN]
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Small Law Firms
When A Snippy Cease And Desist Letter Just Won't Do -- Lawyer Accused Of Shooting Up Adversary's Office
Attorney disputes shouldn't end in gunplay, but police say that's what happened here. -
Small Law Firms
Beleaguered Lawyer Politely Tells Attorney Ethics Director To Go Eff Himself
This probably didn't help his case... -
Crime
Former Lawyer Facing Child Sex Charges Killed By Police
There was an outstanding warrant for his arrest for aggravated sexual assault on a child under age 15. -
Attorney Misconduct
What On Earth Were These Lawyers Thinking?
Were these lawyers thinking at all? The answer is 'obviously not.' -
Government
Be Prepared, Because The SEC Is Coming For CryptoLawyers
You better hope you did things by the book, or you could be looking at disbarment or worse.
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
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Crime
Disbarred Former Prosecutor Gets Jail Time For Forging Judges' Signatures On Phony Wiretap Orders
Talk about bad judgment. The blatant abuse of power cost her hard. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.02.18
* In case you missed it, Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times has noticed a trend when it comes to Chief Justice Roberts and who he’s been aligning himself with at the Supreme Court. He may not yet be a moderate, but he seems to be shying away from “the reliably right-wing triumvirate” of Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch. [New York Times]
* “The document speaks for itself.” All three of former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates’s lawyers are withdrawing as counsel, and will only explain why in documents filed under seal. Only his Biglaw attorney who is known for his plea deals remains. Gates is under indictment in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. [POLITICO]
* According to the latest year-end report from the Wells Fargo Private Bank’s Legal Specialty Group, law firm revenue and profits were up in 2017, and demand had increased for legal services. As usual, the most profitable firms at the top of the market outperformed their smaller counterparts. [American Lawyer]
* Trump administration policies having to do with immigration, specifically the H-1B visa program for foreign workers, may force many Biglaw firms to move to their practices to the cloud sooner than they would have liked. In times of “political uncertainty” like these, Biglaw can’t rely on “offshore labor arbitrage” for IT outsourcing. [TechTarget]
* The GC of the American Red Cross has resigned following the publication of a report that he praised a former colleague who was the subject of an internal investigation and pushed out of the organization for alleged instances sexual misconduct. [Corporate Counsel]
* Disgusting: A Georgia lawyer who asked a witness to recant an eyewitness account of her son’s molestation has politely gave up his license to practice law after pleading guilty to felony witness tampering and attempting to suborn perjury. [Big Law Business]
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Small Law Firms
Associate Fired For Allegedly Stealing Money Returns To Firm To Allegedly Steal More Money To Buy Sex Toys
This case isn't as sexy as it sounds... -
Government
Ex-Prosecutor Disbarred For Forging Wiretap Orders To Spy On Love Interest
This is what happens when you give love -- and legal ethics -- a bad name. -
Biglaw
Former Paul Weiss Attorney Gets 5 Years On Child Pornography Charges
He'll see five years in prison and 10 years of supervised release. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.29.17
* Recently confirmed Judge Timothy J. Kelly (D.D.C.) has refused to block Mick Mulvaney from serving as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, denying a request from would-be director Leandra English’s for a temporary restraining order. Donuts for everyone! [CNN]
* The Senate has confirmed Greg Katsas, one of President Trump’s former legal advisers, to the D.C. Circuit. The Thomas law clerk will replace Judge Janice Rogers Brown on one of the nation’s most influential courts. [ABC News]
* AT&T has responded to the Justice Department’s lawsuit over its planned merger with Time Warner, and things just got ugly. AT&T claims that the government has no antitrust argument because it’s not buying a competitor. [Washington Post]
* For the second time this year, the Supreme Court has suspended the wrong attorney. This time around, the Supreme Court bar accidentally suspended a former Supreme Court employee. Oopsie! [Associated Press]
* With the goal of having women make up at least 50 percent of the leadership roles on its litigation teams, JPMorgan is trying to make a major statement with its latest initiative for women in the legal profession. [American Lawyer]
* “I don’t give a f–k, I will burn the place to the ground….” Ross Cellino and Stephen Barnes of Cellino & Barnes continue to have a very friendly relationship as the firm is dissolved. [New York Daily News]
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Health / Wellness
The Angry Drunk
When we are in the middle of problem drinking, self-awareness can be elusive.