We are pleased to unveil the finalists and honorees for The National Law Journal Legal Awards highlighting the top litigation and appellate work from the past year.

       

Defenses revolving around judicial immunity, the Tenth Amendment and a lack of corrupt intent are likely to come up as Milwaukee Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan's case unfolds.

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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appears vulnerable to an ethics complaint, but will disciplinary authorities be willing to bring charges?

       

"You are going to jail for a long time," Kenzi Wang allegedly shouted at Fred Jin, threatening the chief executive officer of Cerebellum Networks Inc. with arrest unless he handed over millions of dollars, according to the complaint.

       

The letter expresses support for Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey, the four firms that have sued to block executive orders, and disappointment with firms that have worked out deals with the administration in order to have executive orders involving them walked back.

       

See demonstrations by legal communities from coast to coast.

       

Attorneys gathered in cities across California to support the National Law Day of Action. In San Francisco, the crowd chanted “hands off our courts and “lawyers united must not be divided as cowbells and drums rang out during downtown rally.

       

A New York appellate court censured Moses Bradley, a former assistant district attorney in Madison County who overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine, and then misled the press when he denied using illicit drugs. The court credited the lawyer's contrition and participation in self-help programs, and said the incident didn't have a direct effect on his practice of law. Publicity from the incident cost him in his run for county judgeship.

       

“The allegations against [International Markets Live Inc.] highlight how financial criminals are utilizing technology and social media to expand the breadth of their fraudulent schemes, said Alan Rosenberg, a partner at Markowitz Ringel Trusty + Hartog.

       

Nearly 60% of the 3,000 legal professionals who responded to a survey from BarkerGilmore expressed an interest in seeking new opportunities in the coming year.

       

The letter expresses support for Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey, the four firms that have sued to block executive orders, and disappointment with firms that have worked out deals with the administration in order to have executive orders involving them walked back.

       

Matthew O'Callaghan rejoined Freshfields as head of its Asia financial services practice in 2019 after spending 14 years in-house at Goldman Sachs.

       

Over 1,100 law school students signed on to a brief supporting Susman Godfrey's suit against the Trump administration. Thirty percent of these signers are enrolled at T-14 law schools.

       

"I don't think the law firms thought hard enough about the consequences of what they did," said former Airbnb ethics chief Rob Chesnut, author of "Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution."

       

This action was surfaced by Law.com Radar, which delivers real-time alerting on new litigation across more than 2,600 state and federal courts. Click here to get started and be first to act on opportunities in your region, practice area or client sector.        

A leading legal ethics scholar warned that the U.S. attorney general's action may "intimidate DOJ lawyers from exercising independent judgment." The acting deputy director of the DOJ's Office of Immigration Litigation was dismissed over his handling of a lawsuit challenging the deportation of a Maryland resident to El Salvador.

       

“The largest driver is likely the economy and fears over a recession, as well as concerns over the rise of AI and job security, Dave Killoran, CEO of PowerScore Test Preparation, told Law.com.

       

The company said that Ashley Buchanan, who started just three months ago, must repay two-thirds of his $3.75 million signing bonus and has forfeited $17 million in stock awards he received to woo him aboard.

       

The action before the high court lawsuit argues that holders of AMC's preferred equity shares, known as APEs, had their shares wrongly diluted by how AMC went about implementing the split and conversion outlined in the settlement.

       

"So, yes, of course it is possible to plead and collect on both a breach of contract claim and an action on account in a single case. The question here, though, is not an academic one in the abstract; the question is whether this plaintiff pleaded facts in this first amended complaint to support an action on account under Missouri law. And the answer simply is 'no,'" wrote U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp.