Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup, here.
Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics.
Happy Monday!
PI Firms Don’t Need More Tools. They Need Fewer.
Every new tool a PI firm buys solves one problem and connects nothing. The real fix isn't another purchase — it's keeping the whole case in one place, from accident to resolution. Here's how.
Hello from Chicago, where I am writing this week’s LER after wrapping up a meeting with the ABA Accreditation Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. You can find news coverage about the meeting here.
This week I’ll be in Washington DC for the American Law Institute Annual Meeting. Please say hello if you’re there too!
Now for our headlines.
Why Bigger Legal Budgets Buy Less Relief Than Ever
Introducing Axiom’s 2027 In-House Legal Budget Report. Read on to see the details.
Highlights from Last Week – Top Ten Headlines
#1 “DOJ Lawsuit Escalates Fight Over Discipline for Trump.” From The Washington Post: “The suit is part of an effort by the Trump administration to push back on ethics investigations into federal government lawyers.” Read more here (gift link).
#2 “Exclusive: Acting AG Todd Blanche Was Told Last Year to Recuse From Justice Department Matters Involving Trump.” From CNN: “It was less than two weeks after Todd Blanche took on his role of deputy attorney general in March 2025 when the Justice Department’s top ethics lawyer delivered some straightforward yet inconvenient news: His recusal from legal cases that involved President Donald Trump in his personal capacity was necessary. The official conducting the briefing, Joseph Tirrell, handed Blanche and his then-top deputy Emil Bove, who was also in the conference room, a printed PowerPoint presentation on ethics, according to a former senior Justice ethics official who described the meeting to CNN. The meeting, which hasn’t previously been reported, is the first time Blanche was formally informed he would need to recuse himself from cases involving Trump.” Read more here.
#3 “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Asks Public to Back Judicial Independence.” From POLITICO: “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson urged Americans on Tuesday to defend the judicial system against salvos that jeopardize its independence, warning that such threats have the potential to do serious damage to American democracy.” Read more here.
#4 “Appeals Court Appears Skeptical of Trump Orders Targeting Law Firms.” From The New York Times: “A three-judge panel showed few signs of siding with the president on his efforts to compel law firms to work for the administration or face threats.” Read more here (gift link).
#5 “Judge’s ‘Disparaging’ Courtroom Remarks Publicly Reproved by Disciplinary Commission.” From the ABA Journal: “A Los Angeles Superior Court judge who made disparaging remarks and interrupted litigants in court was recently publicly admonished by the state’s judicial disciplinary body for the second time. The California Commission on Judicial Performance focused on four 2024 proceedings involving Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Griego. The commission noted that Griego’s conduct included ‘interrupting litigants when they attempted to answer his questions; making disparaging, gratuitous remarks, like repeatedly telling a self-represented litigant that a case that was not before him was worthless …; abruptly leaving the courtroom in the middle of proceedings; and instructing a courtroom employee to talk to the woman.’” Read more here.
#6 “Oklahoma Judicial Candidates Can’t Campaign as ‘Conservative’, Panel Says.” From The Oklahoman: “An Oklahoma judicial ethics panel has ruled judges cannot campaign as “conservatives.” Read more here.
#7 “NJ Prosecutors With Ethics Cases Can’t Rely on State Counsel.” From Bloomberg Law: “The New Jersey Office of Attorney General can refuse to represent or pay for legal representation of prosecutors who are brought up on ethics charges, a state appeals court ruled Monday. New Jersey’s Tort Claims Act requires the top cop to defend current or former state employees in ‘any action’ brought against that worker for steps they took in the scope of their employment. However, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division ruled an ethics case brought by the state Office of Attorney Ethics against Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Walter J. Dirkin doesn’t fit that bill.” Read more here.
#8 “Lawsuit: Ex-Detroit Judge’s Suspension Shouldn’t Keep Her Off Ballot.” From the Detroit News: “A former Detroit judge who is suspended until 2029 for misconduct is fighting to have her name placed on the August primary ballot despite having several years left in her suspension. Earlier this spring, former 36th District Court Judge Khalilia Davis filed nominating petitions with the state to run for one of six open judicial positions in the Aug. 4 primary. But the Michigan Secretary of State ruled April 30 that Davis could not be placed on the ballot because of her six-year suspension after two people filed lawsuits seeking to stop her from running. Despite the Secretary of State’s ruling, Davis is still trying to get on the ballot.” Read more here.
#9 “Watchdogs Seek Senate Probe of Alito Over Oil Case Conflicts.” From POLITICO: “Government watchdog groups are asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate whether Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has violated the court’s ethics code by refusing to step back from a case that could benefit the oil and gas industry. In a letter obtained by POLITICO, a coalition of groups that include the League of Conservation Voters and the Center for Biological Diversity say Alito — who, uniquely among the justices, directly holds stock in oil and gas companies — did not recuse himself from hearing the industry’s latest attempt to toss out a swath of climate lawsuits filed against fossil fuel producers.” Read more here.
#10 “Apollo Restructuring Judge Hit With Recusal Bid Over Skadden Tie.” From Bloomberg Law: “A Delaware judge’s links to a major law firm should compel her to step aside from litigation challenging a $570 million payout by Apollo Global Management Inc. to its founders, according to court filings.” Read more here.
Get Hired
Did you miss the 500+ job postings from previous weeks? Find them all here.
Upcoming Ethics Events & Other Announcements ️
Did you miss an announcement from previous weeks? Find them all here.
Keep in Touch
Do you have colleagues who care about legal ethics? Please share the Roundup with them. I’d love to see our community continue to grow!
News tips? Announcements? Events? A job to post? Reading recommendations? Email [email protected] – but be sure to subscribe first, otherwise the email won’t be delivered.
Renee Knake Jefferson holds the endowed Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics and is a Professor of Law at the University of Houston. Check out more of her writing at the Legal Ethics Roundup. Find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @reneeknake or Bluesky at legalethics.bsky.social.