Administrative Law

Rehearing Nixes Sanctions in Unusual Ethics Case Over Claim of Intemperate Remarks By Federal Judge

Three lawyers and a client will not be sanctioned for claiming that a federal judge hearing a trade secrets case made intemperate remarks. Initially sanctioned by U.S. District Judge John McBryde, who sits in Ft. Worth, the four were given another trial by a different judge after the 5th U.S.…

Sep 1, 2011 11:00 PM CDT

Emergency Suspension for Fla. Lawyer Who Allegedly Used Client’s $100K for Own Business

The Florida Supreme Court has issued an emergency license suspension order for a 35-year-old Tampa real estate lawyer who allegedly told a client physician to wire $100,000 into his trust account and then spent the money on his own business operations. Scott V. Boruta, who was admitted to practice in…

Sep 1, 2011 12:47 AM CDT

Govt’s Discussion of Plea with Represented Murder Defendant Results in Case Dismissal, Reprimands

Errors by the prosecution in pursuing a possible plea deal directly with a represented murder defendant resulted in the dismissal of the Apache County, Ariz., case, reports the National Organization of Bar Counsel in its “Case of the Month” column. Plus, the county’s two top prosecutors were reprimanded, both for…

Aug 31, 2011 8:50 PM CDT

Lawyer Acting as Guardian Disbarred for Helping Ward Will $5M Estate to His Wife

Despite a hitherto unblemished disciplinary record over a 30-year legal career, a New York attorney appointed as a guardian to an incapacitated person has been disbarred for helping her prepare a will in favor of his wife. John M. Aversa was appointed in July 2009, and the next month his…

Aug 30, 2011 5:51 PM CDT

Most Useful Law School Elective Was Evidence, GW Alumni Survey Finds

Evidence is the most useful elective law school course, according to an email survey of George Washington University law school alumni. The school asked about 13,500 alumni to list their most useful elective courses and the courses they wish they had taken, report the Volokh Conspiracy and the Wall Street…

Aug 26, 2011 1:03 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets 1-Year Suspension for Taking Client’s Cars, Money and Browns Tickets, Plus Bogus Billing

Rejecting an agreed one-year law license suspension, with six months stayed, the Ohio Supreme Court has put a attorney on the sidelines for two years, with 12 months of that penalty stayed, for a litany of misconduct that displayed “a selfish indifference to his professional obligations” to a client in…

Aug 25, 2011 9:00 PM CDT

Panel Seeks Disbarment of Harvard Law Grad and Ex-BigLaw Partner Who Lied on Child’s School Aid App

Things went from bad to worse for a Harvard Law School graduate who lost his job at a BigLaw firm in 1991 and subsequently lied about family income on a Chicago private school application so that his daughter would get financial aid there. Somehow, Illinois attorney discipline authorities got wind…

Aug 24, 2011 12:11 AM CDT

Criminal Defense Lawyer Awaits Penalty for Telling Judge His Client Confessed to a Shooting

A veteran Michigan criminal defense lawyer is awaiting a decision on how he will be penalized following a legal ethics ruling that found he had violated a fundamental principle of legal ethics by revealing in open court that his client had confessed to a shooting as the two argued during…

Aug 19, 2011 11:18 AM CDT

No Ethics Rap for Judge Who Handed Out Condom-Filled Acorns

Updated: A Pennsylvania magisterial judge who handed out condom-stuffed acorns to two women he encountered near the site of a continuing education class he was attending will not be disciplined for doing so. Although the Court of Judicial Discipline said it strongly disapproved of the conduct by District Judge Isaac…

Aug 19, 2011 10:20 AM CDT

‘Addiction’ to Video Games Results in 3-Year Suspension for Pa. Lawyer

Otherwise a competent and respected lawyer, Matthew Eshelman had one major Achilles heel, according to a disciplinary panel report: He loved to play video games. When his work or family life became stressful, he spent time at his computer playing games instead of focusing on his law practice. Admitted in…

Aug 18, 2011 4:51 PM CDT

Four Tobacco Companies File Suit Claiming New Warnings Violate Free Speech Rights

Four of the nation’s five largest tobacco companies claim violations of their free speech rights in a lawsuit challenging new tobacco warning labels. The new labels include pictures of diseased lungs and the sewn-up corpse of a smoker, the Associated Press reports. Rather than just conveying the facts, the warnings…

Aug 17, 2011 2:47 PM CDT

‘Flippant, Cagey and Cavalier’ Take on Accounts, ‘Spiteful’ Attitude Doom Lawyer’s Reinstatement

It wasn’t any one thing. But a series of attorney discipline and ethics issues, over a period of decades, as well as a Michigan lawyer’s bad attitude persuaded the state Attorney Discipline Board last week to revoke his recent reinstatement to practice. Robert L. Wiggins, Jr. had also articulated a…

Aug 16, 2011 11:08 PM CDT

ABA Raps Villanova re Inaccurate Admission Data, Says Law School Must Post Censure Online

Updated: The ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has sanctioned Villanova University for inaccurately reporting law school admission data. In a letter (PDF) on Friday to the university’s president and the dean of the Villanova University School of Law, the section’s council says the law school’s…

Aug 15, 2011 8:23 PM CDT

Lawyer’s License on Ice; Found to Have Helped Client Bookie Run Illegal Gambling Business

A Massachusetts attorney has had his law license indefinitely suspended after he allegedly helped a client bookmaker run an illegal gambling business from the basement of his home, reports the Legal Profession Blog. The suspension for Mark James O’Connor, who is also accused of earning a 10 percent commission by…

Aug 15, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

Lobster Salad Gets a New Name After Industry Group Questions Labeling

A well-known New York grocery has changed the name of its lobster salad after a Times-Picayune reporter recognized that lobster wasn’t listed as an ingredient. Reporter Doug MacCash bought the lobster salad at Zabar’s while on vacation last month, but inspected the label more closely when he realized he wasn’t…

Aug 12, 2011 3:19 PM CDT