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Judge Slams DOJ's 'Indict First' Strategy In Comey Case
Federal prosecutors were given just over 24 hours to hand over all of the grand jury materials and anything seized under years-old warrants in the James Comey case when a Virginia federal judge said Wednesday that the government appeared to be pursuing an "indict first, investigate last" strategy.
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Ethics Case Dropped After Fla. State Judge Steps Down
A Florida judicial ethics panel has dropped ethics charges against a state judge accused of improperly holding people in contempt, handcuffing an alleged crime victim and acting unprofessionally, days after the judge resigned.
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Senate Confirms Jones Day Partner To 9th Circ. Bench
The Senate voted 52-45 on Wednesday to confirm Eric Tung, a partner at Jones Day, as a judge on the Ninth Circuit.
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Ignore Circuits, Follow Scalia, Justices Told In Deadlines Duel
How can a U.S. Supreme Court advocate persuade the justices to spurn the near-universal views of circuit courts? One option appeared Tuesday at arguments over deadlines to vacate judgments, as a Williams & Connolly lawyer invoked Justice Antonin Scalia's influential methods — and seemingly found a receptive audience.
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Pa. Dem Justices Survive GOP Retention-Denial Campaign
Three Democratic Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices will remain on the bench after surviving a Republican-led campaign to oust them via a retention vote, according to preliminary election results Tuesday.
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Bankruptcy Judge Taken Off GWG Case Amid Scandal Fallout
The federal judge overseeing GWG Holdings' bankruptcy case has been removed because of his professional relationship with embattled former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones, a decision the chief bankruptcy judge attributed not to the GWG judge's "own actions," but to Jones's "abuse" of judicial authority.
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2nd Circ. Revives Habeas Petition Over Counsel's Mistake
A divided Second Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that because a convicted sex trafficker's counsel during his first criminal appeal made an admittedly "inexcusable" mistake, the convict should be granted a second chance via a habeas petition to challenge his sentence.
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DOJ Ignores Court Discovery Order In Letitia James Case
The U.S. Department of Justice has refused to provide New York Attorney General Letitia James access to documents related to her October indictment on mortgage fraud charges, arguing Tuesday that a Virginia federal judge was too early in making the discovery order.
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Confirmation Ends Dem-Appointed Judges' Lock On 1st Circ.
The Senate voted 52-46 on Tuesday to confirm Joshua D. Dunlap, a partner at Pierce Atwood LLP, to the First Circuit.
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Conn. Firm Bookkeeper Asks To Delay Embezzlement Trial
A former law firm bookkeeper accused of embezzling $835,000 from the legal practice and from its managing partner's rental business asked a Connecticut federal judge on Monday to delay a scheduled January jury trial because of a health issue that requires surgery.
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Ga. Justices Uphold Ex-Atty's Matricide Conviction
The Supreme Court of Georgia on Tuesday upheld the murder conviction of a disbarred Peach State attorney who was found guilty of killing his mother on the day he was due to report to prison for stealing clients' money, ruling that "ample" circumstantial evidence tied him to the scene of the crime.
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2nd Circ. Hints Bankman-Fried's $11B Forfeiture Is Overkill
The Second Circuit suggested Tuesday that the government's $11 billion forfeiture order against Sam Bankman-Fried may be unconstitutionally large, noting that the staggering amount tops the raft of cases tasking the court with determining if such money judgments pass Eighth Amendment muster.
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Feds Defend Cases Against James Comey, Letitia James
The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday took a swing at bids by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James to get their indictments thrown out, telling a federal judge the appointment of interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was valid.
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The Lone Ranger Facing A BigLaw Powerhouse At High Court
It might seem curious for a solo practitioner to decline offers of professional assistance in his first U.S. Supreme Court case. It might seem risky to go it alone against a BigLaw team led by an appellate icon. But a legal lone ranger arguing Tuesday at the high court is feeling confident, and he does have a friend proofreading briefs, just to be safe.
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'Frankly, They're Irrelevant:' ABA Ratings In Trump's 2nd Term
The American Bar Association, long considered the gold standard for rating judicial nominees, no longer gets to interview them as Trump officials claim the group's "not qualified" rating for some nominees during Trump's first term shows it is a biased and "leftist" organization. Ironically though, ABA ratings for President Donald Trump's second-term picks are mostly positive so far.
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Justices Tackle Scope Of Military Contractor Liability
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared hesitant on Monday to completely shelter U.S. military contractors engaged in combatant activities from liability for state-based injury claims, as the justices questioned whether doing so could hurt troops.
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Judge Reminds Gov't To Follow Media Rules In James Case
A Virginia federal judge has reminded the parties in the government's alleged bank fraud case against New York Attorney General Letitia James not to publicly discuss grand jury proceedings after U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan texted with a reporter about the case in October.
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10th Circ. Affirms Atty Fees Award In Habeas Actions
The Tenth Circuit on Monday held that the Equal Access to Justice Act authorizes fee awards in habeas actions challenging immigration detention, affirming a Colorado federal court's ruling that a Guatemalan national can receive attorney fees after successfully petitioning for habeas relief from her immigration detention.
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Court Orders Cannon To Act On Bid To Unseal Trump Report
The Eleventh Circuit has given U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon 60 days to rule on media groups' requests to unseal the final report from special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents, ruling Monday that the organizations had established "undue delay" in resolving their motions.
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Mich. Justices To Review If Indigent Defendant Must Pay Atty
Michigan's highest court has said it will review a judge's decision to order a homeless man convicted of assault to pay his court-appointed counsel.
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DC Public Defender Funding To Halt Because Of Shutdown
Funding for public defender services in Washington, D.C., is about to run out as the government shutdown drags on, according to a recent letter from members of the D.C. Courts Joint Committee on Judicial Administration.
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Black Man Granted New Trial In Mass. Over Lawyer's Bias
A Black man who pled guilty to firearms offenses in 2018 after consulting with his lawyer — who was found to have made racist social media posts — is entitled to a new trial, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court said Monday, unanimously reversing a lower court's decision.
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New Loan Forgiveness Rule Targets Trump Critics, States Say
Two lawsuits filed Monday, one by a coalition of states and the other by a group of cities, unions and advocacy organizations, are challenging a new Trump administration rule imposing "intentionally vague" and allegedly illegal restrictions on student loan forgiveness for public employees intended to stifle dissent.
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Holtzman Vogel Grows In Miami With Former Fed. Prosecutor
Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC announced Monday that it has tapped a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida to serve as a partner in its Miami office.
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Ex-Paxton Attys Defend Conspiracy Suit Tied To Impeachment
Three of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's top deputies are not immune from allegations that they conspired to retaliate against former colleagues who raised allegations of witness tampering and other ethical misdeeds during Paxton's impeachment, those former colleagues have told a Texas federal court.
Expert Analysis
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How Firm Leaders Can Build And Sustain Culture
In uncertain and challenging times, law firm leaders can build and sustain culture by focusing attention on mission, values and leadership development, and applying a growth mindset across their firms, says Scott Westfahl at Harvard Law.
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The Case That Showed Me The Value Of E-Discovery Plans
Robert Keeling at Sidley reflects on leading discovery in the litigation that followed the historic $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger and how the case highlighted the importance of having a strategic e-discovery plan in place.
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Opinion
CLE Accreditation Should Be Tied To Learning Outcomes
Given the substantial time and money lawyers put toward mandatory continuing legal education, CLE regulators and providers should be held to accreditation standards that assess learning outcomes, similar to those imposed on law schools and continuing medical education providers, says Rima Sirota at Georgetown Law.
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Why You Should Leverage AI For Privilege Review
While many lawyers still believe that a manual, document-by-document review is the best approach to privilege logging, certain artificial intelligence tools can bolster the traditional review process and make this aspect of electronic document review more efficient, more accurate and less costly, say Laura Riff and Michelle Six at Kirkland.
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Persuading The Court With Visual Aids In Written Argument
Robert Dubose at Alexander Dubose describes several categories of visuals attorneys can use to make written arguments easier to understand or more persuasive, and provides tips for lawyers unused to working with anything but text.
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BigLaw Vs. Mid-Law Summer Programs: The Pros And Cons
There are major differences between BigLaw and Mid-Law summer associate programs, and each approach can learn something from the other in terms of structure and scheduling, the on-the-job learning opportunities provided, and the social experiences offered, says Anna Tison at Brooks Pierce.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Take Time Off?
David Kouba at Arnold & Porter discusses how attorneys can prioritize mental health leave and vacation despite work-related barriers to taking time off.
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Law Firms Must Prioritize Mental Health In Internal Comms
The traditional structure of law firms, with their compartmentalization into silos, is an inherent challenge to mental wellness, so partners and senior lawyers should take steps to construct and disseminate internal action plans and encourage open dialogue, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.
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Our Current Approach To Trial Advocacy Training Is Lacking
The key to trial advocacy is persuasion, but current training programs focus almost entirely on technique, making it imperative that lawyers are taught to be effective storytellers and to connect with their audiences, says Chris Arledge at Ellis George.
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How Women In Law Can Advance Toward Leadership Roles
Female attorneys in leadership roles inspire other women to pursue similar opportunities in a male-dominated field, and for those who aspire to lead, prioritizing collaboration, inclusivity and integrity is key, says Kim Yelkin at Foley & Lardner.
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The Case That Took Me From Prosecutor To Defense Attorney
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza, now at Wilkinson Stekloff, recalls the challenges of her first case as a civil defense attorney — a multibillion-dollar multidistrict class action against Allergan — and the lessons she learned about building rapport in the courtroom and with co-counsel.
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The Importance Of Legal Macroeconomics Education For Attys
Most legal professionals lack understanding of the macroeconomic trends unique to the legal industry, like the rising cost of law school and legal services, which contributes to an unfair and inaccessible justice system, so law school courses and continuing legal education requirements in this area are essential, says Bob Glaves at the Chicago Bar Foundation.
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Opinion
It's Time To Hold DC Judges Accountable For Misconduct
On the heels of Thursday's congressional hearing on workplace protections for judiciary employees, former law clerk Aliza Shatzman recounts her experience of harassment by a D.C. Superior Court judge — and argues that the proposed Judiciary Accountability Act, which would extend vital anti-discrimination protections to federal court employees, should also include D.C. courts.
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What ABA Student Well-Being Standards Mean For Law Firms
While the American Bar Association's recent amendments to its law school accreditation standards around student well-being could have gone further, legal industry employers have much to learn from the ABA's move and the well-being movement that continues to gain traction in law schools, says David Jaffe at the American University Washington College of Law.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Build Rapport In New In-House Role?
Tim Parilla at LinkSquares explains how new in-house lawyers can start developing relationships with colleagues both within and outside their legal departments in order to expand their networks, build their brands and carve their paths to leadership positions.