Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup, here.
Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics.
Happy Monday!
I hope this finds you warm amidst the national polar vortex. At the University of Houston, classes are cancelled at least for today. Stay safe out there, my friends.
Now for your headlines.
Highlights from Last Week – Top Ten Headlines 📰
#1 “How the American Legal Profession Can Regain Its Dignity.” From Judges Shira A. Scheindlin and John Jones III in The New York Times:
… As federal judges who have retired after more than five combined decades on the bench, we have no such professional concerns. But we have seen firsthand how fragile the rule of law is, and how powerful the pressure from the federal government can be. We have joined together with dozens of retired federal district and appellate judges who were appointed by presidents of both parties to defend the legal profession. Today, we offer a set of principles of legal independence, a reaffirmation of values and obligations designed to guide and to strengthen law firms, bar associations, law schools, businesses and nonprofits. …
The principles, which we have posted in full online, call on lawyers and their organizations to reinforce the most basic professional commitments. That starts with something that federal courts have already affirmed: Representing clients, donating to causes they support, and expressing beliefs regarding the value of equal opportunity are activities protected by the First Amendment. We have a right to pursue them free from government coercion or retaliation. Beyond that, the principles declare that lawyers and their organizations have a duty to challenge government actions when clients’ interests require it. We have a duty to help individuals or groups that can’t afford counsel — and donating our services to wealthy and powerful clients does not count. We must work to promote public confidence in the integrity of the legal process through all our actions, including being both truthful and candid. And we must refuse demands that would require us to violate any of these obligations.
Read more here (gift link).
#2 “Georgia High Court Wants Tougher Discipline for Lawyer Who Took Part in Jan. 6.” From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Georgia Supreme Court rejected recommendations that a Middle Georgia attorney be publicly reprimanded for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot and suggested that he be disbarred instead. In a unanimous opinion released Wednesday, the justices wrote that William McCall Calhoun knew he was breaking the law when he joined the first wave of supporters of President Donald Trump who forced their way into the Capitol. His actions on that day, many of which Calhoun posted in messages and videos to social media, were ‘very serious’ and ‘reflect adversely on his fitness as a lawyer.’ The State Bar of Georgia suggested to the court that a public reprimand would be enough punishment for Calhoun, but the justices thought otherwise. They concluded ‘it is hard for us to see how anything less than disbarment can be accepted here.’” Read more here.
#3 “ABA Formal Opinion 520 Re: Disclosure of Information in a Motion to Withdraw from a Representation.” From American Bar Association: “The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion that provides guidance on when a lawyer is required to respond to requests for information from former clients or successor counsel in certain limited circumstances when doing so is necessary to protect client interests and reasonably practicable under Model Rule 1.16(d). Formal Opinion 520 says that, while lawyers often completely fulfill their obligations under Model Rule 1.16(d) to protect client interests upon termination of the representation by surrendering the file upon request and refunding unearned advanced fees and unexpended costs, there are limited situations where a lawyer must comply with requests for information from successor counsel or a former client.” Read more here.
#4 “Florida’s Rule Is Subtly Pushing Back on Non-Lawyer Ownership.” From Bloomberg Law: “The Florida Supreme Court quietly amended Rule 4-8.6 of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, expanding authorized business entities, including certain not-for-profit structures. The changes also clarify governance limits and reinforce that only licensed lawyers may direct legal judgment in Florida. But beneath the procedural language sits a question the legal profession can no longer avoid. Is Florida drawing a line in the sand against alternative business structures, or is it merely borrowing time in a transition that is already underway nationwide?” Read more here.
#5 “Elvis Has Left the Courthouse: Presley-Loving Judge Ousted by State Supreme Court.” From the ABA Journal: “A Missouri judge known for dressing up as Elvis Presley in the courtroom has been removed from office by the Missouri Supreme Court, ending a nearly two-decade judicial career amid concerns that his behavior undermined the integrity of the judiciary.” Read more here.
#6 “Trump Picks Appeals Judges’ Children for Courts in Their Circuit.” From Bloomberg Law: “President Donald Trump has nominated two children of judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit who would sit on courts within their jurisdiction, a rarity for the federal judiciary. Judge Duane Benton presides in Missouri, and Judge Bobby Shepherd serves in Arkansas. Benton’s daughter, Megan, is Trump’s pick for the Western District of Missouri. Shepherd’s son, John, has been tapped for the Western District of Arkansas. A federal statute, amended in 1998, prevents family members from serving on the same court. Though ‘it does not preclude family members from serving on different courts, even those within the same circuit,’ said John P. Collins, a George Washington law professor who researches judicial nominations.” Read more here.
#7 “Halligan Leaves as U.S. Attorney After Mounting Pressure From Judges.” From The New York Times: “Lindsey Halligan, tapped by President Trump to prosecute his enemies, has left the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia, Attorney General Pam Bondi said late Tuesday, after a judge called Ms. Halligan’s bid to remain in office a ‘charade.’” Read more here (gift link).
#8 “Complaint Accuses Trump’s Criminal Attorney of ‘Blatant’ Crypto Conflict in His Role at DOJ.” From Salon : “An ethics watchdog group filed a complaint Thursday seeking an investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s criminal defense attorney — now the No. 2 at the Justice Department — broke federal conflict-of-interest law when he issued a new prosecution policy that benefits the cryptocurrency industry. The complaint comes after a ProPublica investigation revealed last month that Todd Blanche owned at least $159,000 worth of crypto-related assets when he ordered an end to investigations into crypto companies, dealers and exchanges launched during President Joe Biden’s term. Blanche, the deputy attorney general, issued the order in an April memo in which he also eliminated an enforcement team dedicated to looking for crypto-related fraud and money-laundering schemes.” Read more here.
#9 “Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability.” From JDSupra: “More and more, judges are referring attorneys to the bar for discipline for lapses in professional conduct when using generative artificial intelligence to perform legal research without verifying the caselaw cited to the court. Recently, the Second District Court of Appeal in Florida referred appellate counsel to the Florida Bar for citing imaginary legal authorities as if they were law.” Read more here.
#10 “France Formally Adopts Legal Privilege for Consultations by In-House Lawyers.” From Cleary Gottleib: “On January 14, 2026, the French Senate approved a bill extending the scope of legal privilege to consultations of in-house lawyers for the first time. This landmark reform will make France one of a handful of EU Member States to extend legal privilege to in-house lawyers, and marks the end of a long-standing debate in France regarding the scope of legal privilege.” Read more here.
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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.
The post Legal Ethics Roundup: GA Justices Want Jan 6 Lawyer Disbarred, Legal Independence Principles From Fed Judges, Crypto Complaint Against DOJ Atty & More appeared first on Above the Law.