“Lawyers recruited on Craigslist were unwitting ‘front men’ in phony law firms, Florida AG says”

Seems legit [ABA Journal]:

The lawyers recruited via Craigslist are told the law firm drafts all pleadings using form templates, does all the electronic filing, and has all the client contact, according to Bondi’s complaint. The lawyers’ names and bar numbers are used without their authorization on retainer agreements, letterhead, pleadings, corporate filings and boilerplate pleadings, the complaint says.

“When the contract attorney realizes something is amiss,” the complaint says, “the enterprise quickly moves on to the next unsuspecting and often brand-new lawyer.”

Filed under: don't

Greenwich, Ct.: lawyer allegedly robs bank

If the allegations prove true, it wouldn’t be the first time a lawyer had robbed a bank (more on that Louisiana case). But anyway, if so, she really should have known better. This is not how lawyers do it. [Greenwich Time]

Filed under: banks, don't

“Again, Courts Frown on Feigning Sleep During Opponent’s Case”

Lawyers and their trial tactics. “The sad truth is that this just doesn’t work, and it really irritates judges.” [Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar]

Filed under: don't

The fall of Stuart Schlesinger

A New York City personal injury attorney cultivated a high profile as a columnist and law professor, but prosecutors say he stole millions from clients [New York Times]

Filed under: don't, NYC

We’ve narrowed down the suspects to the persons in this very room

After a Florida lawyer’s TV ads cultivate his “reputation for aggressively going after drunken drivers,” guess what happens next [New York Daily News]

Filed under: do as we say, don't, DUI, Florida

“Suspended California lawyer has more than 1,100 pending bar complaints”

You almost have to admire the industriousness of suspended Orange County, Calif. loan modification lawyer James Mazi Parsa in building up such a big practice of deeply unhappy clients. A hearing judge has recommended disbarment. [Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal]

Filed under: debtor-creditor law, don't

June 3 roundup

Ohio appeals court: code enforcement officers in town of Riverside can be personally liable for towing cars off man’s property without due process [The Newspaper; Vlcek v. Chodkowski, Second Appellate District, Montgomery County]
“FDA’s proposed cigar crackdown could effectively ban up to 80% of stogies currently sold in US” [James Bovard, Washington Times; earlier here, here]
Don’t decriminalize subway farebeating, says Nicole Gelinas, it’s a deliberate theft and a damaging one (though “enforcing the fare helps enforce New York gun laws” may not work as an argument unless you admire those gun laws) [New York Post]
Lawyers take Fifth and (via their attorney) blame paralegal over DUI setup of a trial opponent [ABA Journal; Adams and Diaco, Florida]
“The Questionable History of Regulatory Reform Since the APA” [Stuart Shapiro and Deanna Moran, Mercatus]
Did American rebels of 1776 fight for English liberties, or universal Rights of Man? [David Boaz, Cato, taking issue with Daniel Hannan]
“Appeals court scolds Apple monitor, but does not remove him” [Jeff John Roberts, Fortune; Eriq Gardner, THR; Colin Lecher, The Verge; earlier]

Filed under: Apple, don't, FDA, regulation and its reform, tobacco, traffic laws, transit

Don’t

Don’t yield to the temptation to enhance your “Los Angeles Business Litigation Attorney” website by posting pictures of your image Photoshopped in with celebrities [Svitlana E. Sangary, facing California bar discipline over charges of deceptive advertising and other misconduct; Lowering the Bar]

Filed under: chasing clients, don't

“Law firm mistakenly identifies dead smokers as alive in 588 suits”

Details, always those pesky details: “A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of 750 tobacco suits, citing this major problem: The Florida law firm that brought the cases had mistakenly identified 588 dead smokers as still being alive.” [ABA Journal]

Filed under: don't, Florida, tobacco

Ethics roundup

“Did law firm use paralegal as honeypot to ensnare opposing counsel in DUI?” [Tampa Bay Times, Fox 13 Tampa Bay, via @tedfrank; ABA Journal (DUI case against lawyer dropped)]
Bridgeport attorney charged with insurance claims fraud scheme [Connecticut Law Tribune, Courant/INN] Does law firm’s obligation to supervise staff extend to case of legal secretary with gambling habit who made off with $1 million? [Connecticut Law Tribune; Waterbury, Ct.]
More on the Lorna Brown case [Ted Frank, earlier]
“Officials: New Mexico DWI attorney came to court drunk” [KOAT, KRWG]
“Litigation funder feared Chevron case would taint fledgling industry” [Alison Frankel/Reuters, Tom Folkman/Letters Blogatory] Roger Parloff on plaintiffs’ latest try to oust Judge Kaplan from case [Fortune]
Complaint by ousted attorney alleges lapses at California asbestos law firm Brayton Purcell [Legal NewsLine, NLJ]
“Case sparked by plaintiffs lawyer? Nothing wrong with that: 7th Circuit” [Alison Frankel]
“Ten Ways Lawyers Rip Off Clients” [Business Insider]
Canada: Should an applicant with at least 38 fraud convictions be admitted to practice law? [Windsor Star]

Filed under: asbestos, Canada, chasing clients, Chevron, Connecticut, don't, ethics, feeing frenzy, New Mexico