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Legal Ethics Roundup: Celebrating Two Years With Top 15 (Again!) Headlines Of The Week, Shoutouts, A New Puppy & More

Your tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics, with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson.

By Renee Knake Jefferson on August 04, 2025 4:14pm pm

Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup, here.

Happy Monday!

Today marks exactly two years of the Legal Ethics Roundup. For some of you, that means we’ve started our Mondays together since August 2023.

And what an amazing couple of years it has been:

  • 100 Weekly Roundups (featuring 1,000+ Headlines & 200+ Reading Recommendations plus Ethics History, Reform Updates, Pop Culture, Trivia, Events & More)

  • 19 Bonus Content Posts

  • 2 Summer Reading Lists

  • Newly-Launched Legal Ethics & Democracy Tracker for the latest news

  • 300+ Job Listings

  • 2,200+ Subscribers From 49 States and 55 Countries

  • 2,500+ Unique Reader Views Weekly

  • 1 new puppy – scroll to the end to meet Bertie, who arrived in our household last week

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

To celebrate the LER’s second birthday, I’m sharing some shoutouts from subscribers over the past year before we cover last week’s headlines (again 15, even though I tried hard to keep it at 10).

For the rest of August, I’ll be putting the Roundup on pause to catch up on a few writing projects and spend time with family. But don’t worry, I’ll be back after Labor Day to help navigate whatever emerges in the field of legal ethics! Now for the shoutouts.

LER Reader Shoutouts

Here are some of the great things subscribers have been saying in the LER’s second year.

  • “I support your work because I taught ethical precepts to thousands of law students over my 35 year career as a professor of law and I believe that legal ethics are essential to protection of democracy and the rule of law.”

  • “Great way to keep up with important developments in the field.

  • “Love, love, love what you’re doing!”

  • “I appreciate being able to keep up with the latest ethics news.”

  • “Great place to go to keep up with ethics developments. I also like hearing about your journey in the law.”

  • “I’m teaching Professional Responsibility from a public interest perspective and find the Roundup to be the best source of ‘ethics in the news’ which I use each week to start the class.”

  • “Keeps me up to date on national developments and trends.”

Do you know someone who would love the LER as much as these readers? If so, please share it.

Highlights from Last Week — Top Ten Fifteen Headlines

#1. “Trump Ally Jeffrey Clark Should be Disbarred Over 2020 Election Effort, DC Panel Says.” From the Associated Press: “Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official who aided President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, should be stripped of his law license, a Washington disciplinary panel ruled on Thursday. Clark, who is now overseeing a federal regulatory office, played a key role in Trump’s efforts to challenge his election loss to Joe Biden and clashed with Justice Department superiors who refused to back his false claims of fraud. The D.C. Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation will now go to the D.C. Court of Appeals for a final decision. Under the second Trump administration, Clark has been serving as acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a part of the Office of Management and Budget that is responsible for reviewing executive branch regulations.” Read more here.

#2 “Hundreds Sign Amicus Briefs in Support of Maryland’s Federal Judges.” From the Maryland Daily Record: “Hundreds of lawyers and pro-democracy groups have signed amicus briefs in support of Maryland’s federal judges, who are facing an unprecedented lawsuit by the Trump administration over a standing order that seeks to preserve due process for people facing deportation. Three amicus briefs, endorsed by groups across the political spectrum, support the judges. … Eleven retired federal judges, who were appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, state in an amicus brief that the lawsuit ‘threatens the judicial role to its core.’ … Lawyers Defending American Democracy and the Lawyers Society for the Rule of Law Institute, along with retired federal appellate Judge J. Michael Luttig — a prominent anti-Trump conservative who was appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush — also filed an amicus brief asking for the case to be tossed.” Read more here.

#3 “US Appeals Court Extends Suspension of 98-Year-Old Judge in Fitness Probe.” From Reuters: “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said on Monday that it would extend its suspension of 98-year-old judge Pauline Newman for another year after determining that she had not complied with an internal investigation into her fitness to serve on the Washington, D.C.-based court. A committee of the court’s active judges determined that reports from doctors chosen by Newman did not eliminate the need for her to undertake ‘a full neuropsychological battery of tests’ to ascertain whether she was capable of continuing to serve.” Read more here.

#4 “Legal Watchdog Files Bar Complaints Against Justice Dept. Lawyers.” From the New York Times: “A legal watchdog group accused three Justice Department lawyers of professional misconduct on Thursday, saying they had made false statements to a federal judge in a high-profile case challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The accusations by the group, the Legal Accountability Center, were formally filed with the grievance committees of bar associations in Washington and other cities where the lawyers lived or practiced. The move represented a rare attempt to seek professional sanctions against rank-and-file department lawyers who have appeared in court on behalf of the federal government. ‘The rule of law is under direct assault right now, and its greatest threat comes when those within the legal system fail to do their duties and stand up against the attack,’ said Michael Teter, the executive director of the group.” Read more here (gift link).

#5 “Weak Ethics and Deep Politics at DOJ in the Epstein Case.” From Executive Functions: “As explained by the Department of Justice, the Deputy Attorney General’s job is to ‘advise[] and assist[] the Attorney General in formulating and implementing departmental policies and programs and then providing overall supervision and direction to all organizational units of the Department.’ For this reason, it is extraordinary that the current DAG, Trump’s former lawyer Todd Blanche, is leading the administration’s response to the Epstein controversy.” Read more here.

# 6. “Apparent AI Mistakes Force Two Judges to Retract Separate Rulings.” From Fox News: “Two U.S. judges in separate federal courts scrapped their rulings last week after lawyers alerted them to filings that contained inaccurate case details or seemingly ‘hallucinated’ quotes that misquoted cited cases — the latest in a string of errors that suggest the growing use of artificial intelligence in legal research and submissions. In New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Julien Neals withdrew his denial of a motion to dismiss a securities fraud case after lawyers revealed the decision relied on filings with ‘pervasive and material inaccuracies.’ … In Mississippi, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate replaced his original July 20 temporary restraining order that paused enforcement of a state law blocking diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools after lawyers notified the judge of serious errors submitted by the attorney.” Read more here.

#7 “Barrister Loses Appeal Against Disbarment for Sexual Harassment.” From Legal Futures: “A barrister disbarred for sexual harassment has lost his appeal against the sanction. Robert Michael Kearney, who was called in 1996, admitted to sexually harassing a woman during a mini pupillage and, separately, two pupils at social events. A Bar disciplinary tribunal said misconduct such as this ‘needs to be deterred.’ It was actually the second time he had been disbarred for these actions, after the High Court overturned the original decision on the basis of apparent bias on the part of the tribunal panel and ordered a fresh sanction hearing.” Read more here.

#8 “Woman Suffers a Cardiac Arrest While Taking the Bar Exam — and Proctors Allegedly Didn’t Stop to Provide Help.” From People Magazine: “A test taker suffered a cardiac arrest while taking the bar exam — and proctors administering the evaluation allegedly did not stop in order to provide an assist. The incident occurred on July 30, as the New York State Board of Law Examiners was administering the New York State Bar Examination at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., a spokesperson for the college told People.” Read more here.

#9 “University of Michigan Law Professor Loses Race, Sex Bias Appeal.” From Bloomberg Law: “The University of Michigan and a former dean of its law school defeated a Black female law professor’s bid to revive her race and sex discrimination lawsuit.” Read more here.

#10 “Focusing on ‘People Law,’ State Chief Justices Encourage ‘Innovative Pathways’ to Law License, New Report Says.” From the ABA Journal: “Changing the requirements for a law license and supporting financial help for public-interest lawyering are among the ways that state supreme courts can help address ‘staggering’ unmet legal needs, according to a report by a group of state chief justices and court administrators released Wednesday. The report also cites a need to address ‘a concerning gap in practice skills’ affecting ‘critical competencies,’ such as client communication, legal writing specific to practice tasks, negotiations and oral advocacy. ‘The report details the urgent challenges we are facing in meeting the legal needs of the public and provides a roadmap for how state courts can lead in addressing those needs and advancing the profession,’ says New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald, who commented in an emailed response to the ABA Journal’s questions.” Read more here.

#11 “5th Circ. Allows Challenge To Nonprofit Political Pro Bono Ban.” From Law360: “The Fifth Circuit said Monday a free speech nonprofit has the right to sue members of the Texas Ethics Commission in an attempt to conduct pro bono work for a political organization, saying the commissioners do not have sovereign immunity in their official roles and must face the suit.” Read more here.

#12 “Georgia Lawyer Wins Revival of Race Bias Case Against State Bar.” From Bloomberg Law: “A Georgia lawyer can proceed with claims of racial discrimination in the State Bar’s handling of professional discipline, after the Eleventh Circuit revived her case on jurisdictional grounds. The Georgia Supreme Court’s authority to adjudicate lawyer disciplinary matters doesn’t preclude federal courts from hearing related federal-law claims, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said. They sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings. Marsha W. Mignott, a Black attorney based in Atlanta, sued the State Bar of Georgia’s Office of General Counsel and related defendants … .” Read more here.

#13 “Conflict U.: Two Dozen Federal Judges Did Not Recuse in Cases Involving the Universities Where They Teach.” From Fix the Court: “As an appeals court judge, Amy Coney Barrett included both the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School on her recusal list. That meant if the Seventh Circuit’s case-assigning software was about to assign her a case in which either was a party, the software would instead skip her. Conflict avoided. It sounds simple, but it appears that Barrett is an outlier. According to a new report— ‘Conflict U.’ — released today by Fix the Court, two dozen federal judges who teach at law schools have recently participated in cases involving those schools’ parent universities.” Read more here.

#14 “Partner Struck Off After Sticking ‘Head in the Sand’ Over Bill.” From Legal Futures: “A partner whose ‘head in the sand’ approach meant a case spiraled out of control after he failed to serve points of dispute on a bill of costs in time has been struck off. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) said Daniel James Skinner, who at the time was a partner at South London firm Capsticks, had been dishonest in what he told his client once they learned directly from the opposing solicitors that a default costs certificate (DCC) had been issued.” Read more here.

#15 “Citing Inappropriate Social Media Posts, Mayer Brown Fires Partner Less Than 2 Months After Hiring Announcement.” From the ABA Journal: “Mayer Brown fired a lateral funds formation partner in early July after a report surfaced of inappropriate social media posts with sexually explicit language on X, formerly known as Twitter, according to a report by Law.com.” Read more here.

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Meet Bertie

Say hello to the newest addition at the Knake Jefferson household – Bertie! She’s a nine-week-old maltipoo havanese. While she is not named after a poet (like our microlabradoodle Rilke), we picked her name based on our happy memories from living in Albert Park, an oceanside village in Melbourne, Australia, and on Albert Avenue in East Lansing.

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.