Is it time to reevaluate the standard for legal malpractice in criminal cases?

Feb 1, 2020 12:40 AM CST

Can Rudy Giuliani rely on attorney-client privilege to avoid congressional testimony?

Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, has suggested that he is protected by attorney-client privilege in the impeachment inquiry by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. But at least one expert takes issue with that assertion.

Oct 1, 2019 1:44 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Nursing home executives fined $400 daily; did black nationalism influence Justice Thomas?

New book seeks to explain conservatism of Justice Clarence Thomas A new book called The Enigma of Clarence Thomas contends that the justice’s conservatism is shaped by his immersion in black nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Author Corey Robin sees parallels between the movement and Thomas’ dedication to achievement…

Sep 24, 2019 3:11 PM CDT

Lawyer suspended for pocketing fees intended for law firm; court warns of tougher future penalties

A Cedar Rapids, Iowa, lawyer has been suspended for four months for keeping fees from clients that should have been split with his law firm.

Sep 17, 2019 10:04 AM CDT

To cooperate or not: That is a question for TV characters and real-life clients

Two examples of “snitching” on TV? That’s enough fodder to spark the flames of this week’s column from lawyer Adam Banner.

Sep 4, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Nonlawyers could invest in law firms and own legal businesses under Utah work group’s proposal

A Utah task force is proposing a “regulatory sandbox” to allow experimentation with nonlawyer ownership of legal businesses and nonlawyer investment in law firms. New legal services providers would test their services in the regulatory sandbox, overseen by a new regulatory body that gathers data and tests revisions before granting…

Aug 28, 2019 11:13 AM CDT

Firm settles suit alleging it solicited fake online reviews that tricked woman into becoming client

Kraemer Manes & Associates has settled a lawsuit claiming that a client got bad legal advice after she was tricked into hiring the Pennsylvania law firm because of fake online reviews. Plaintiff Tabatha Wolfe filed a notice of the settlement in Allegheny County court Aug. 8, Law360 reports. Reuters had…

Aug 13, 2019 11:28 AM CDT

How to train your expert witness

Expert witnesses can make or break your case. In her new book, Janet S. Kole shares how you can make the most out of your witness.

Aug 8, 2019 1:16 PM CDT

In-House Ethics: Top state court says ethics rules haven’t ‘evolved with the profession’ and lawyer-client relationships

A fired in-house lawyer may sue his former employer for breach of contract and violation of public policy, despite an ethics rule that “robustly protects” a client’s right to terminate a lawyer at any time, for any reason, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision.

Jul 25, 2019 3:31 PM CDT

Nonlawyers could offer legal advice and partly own law firms under these California proposals

The State Bar of California is asking for public comment on proposals that would allow legal technicians to offer legal advice and nonlawyers to hold a financial interest in law firms.

Jul 15, 2019 11:05 AM CDT

Law firm awarded $900K in suit contending departing lawyers took confidential files

A former Boston law firm has been awarded $900,000 in its suit claiming that departing lawyers breached their duty of loyalty when they took the firm’s electronic database of files and misused confidential information. Jurors found for the Governo Law Firm last week in its suit against six departing lawyers…

Jun 28, 2019 12:40 PM CDT

Second state adopts ABA model rule barring discrimination and harassment by lawyers

Maine has adopted an ABA model rule that bars discrimination and harassment by lawyers. Maine is the second state to adopt Rule 8.4(g) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, according to Bloomberg Law. Vermont was the first. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court adopted the new rule, which takes effect…

Jun 13, 2019 11:39 AM CDT

Lawyer previously suspended for wine theft is disbarred for breaking promise of free representation

A Cincinnati-area lawyer has been disbarred in Ohio for sending a woman an invoice for nearly $10,000 for his legal services after he had agreed to represent her for free. The Ohio Supreme Court disbarred lawyer Rodger William Moore of Alexandria, Kentucky, in a May 30 opinion. The Cincinnati Enquirer…

Jun 3, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Lawyer convicted of wife’s murder argues only he can represent her estate in wrongful death case

A former Atlanta lawyer convicted of felony murder in the fatal shooting of his wife is arguing that only he has the right to represent her estate—and that means a wrongful death suit filed against him by the estate must be tossed. The former lawyer, 77-year-old Claud “Tex” McIver, was…

May 20, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Lawyer disbarred for abandoning clients after moving across the country to ‘play jazz’

A New Jersey lawyer has been disbarred for dropping work on two bankruptcy cases, vanishing from New Jersey and keeping retainers of $1,500 and $1,410. One of the clients learned that lawyer James Peter Byrne had moved through the lawyer’s Facebook page, according to a report by the New Jersey…

May 2, 2019 1:52 PM CDT