Author: TSA Press

*
Sotomayor
expresses
support
for
court
reform
in
overlooked
audio.
[Fix
the
Court]

*
DOJ
opening
investigations
into
Obama
officials
over
claims
that
Russia
interfered
in
the
2016
election,
which
means
those
Epstein
files
must
be
REALLY
bad
for
Donald
Trump.
[Reuters]

*
Arnold
&
Porter
continues
raid
on
K&L
Gates.
[National
Law
Journal]

*
ABA
considers
shrinking
its
board.
[Law360]

*
“Fighting
for
‘Truth’
Is
Lucrative
Business
for
Small
Law
Firms”
is
one
way
of
saying
“Small
firms
become
Donald
Trump’s
go-to
for
frivolous
defamation
claims
that
his
more
established
firms
won’t
touch.”
[Bloomberg
Law
News]

*
Sheppard
Mullin
providing
elder
care
benefits.
[ABA
Journal]

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

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.

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.

#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.

Did
you
miss
the
300+
job
postings
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all


here.

Did
you
miss
an
announcement
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all here.

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. 

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

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.

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.

#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.

Did
you
miss
the
300+
job
postings
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all


here.

Did
you
miss
an
announcement
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all here.

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. 

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

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.

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.

#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.

Did
you
miss
the
300+
job
postings
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all


here.

Did
you
miss
an
announcement
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all here.

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. 

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

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.

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.

#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.

Did
you
miss
the
300+
job
postings
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all


here.

Did
you
miss
an
announcement
from
previous
weeks?
Find
them
all here.

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.