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Good morning. The U.S. Supreme Court debuted a formal code of conduct governing the ethical behavior of its justices. Plus, law firm Jackson Walker said it was deceived by a former partner who didn’t disclose she was living with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who was handling its cases; the State Bar of California received nearly 3,000 public comments on a proposed bar exam alternative; and Google accused alleged scammers of marketing fake “downloads” of its AI chatbot Bard to install malware on victims’ computers. Welcome to Tuesday!
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Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States/Handout via Reuters
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The U.S. Supreme Court has announced its first formal code of conduct governing the ethical behavior of its nine justices, bowing to months of outside pressure over revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors, report Andrew Chung and John Kruzel.
The nine-page code directs that justices should not allow outside relationships to influence their official conduct or judgment and places restrictions on justices participating in fundraising and reiterating limits on the accepting of gifts. It also states that justices should not “to any substantial degree” use their judicial resources or staff to engage in non-official activities.
Some critics noted the code’s apparent absence of any enforcement mechanism.
Steven Lubet, a legal ethics expert who teaches law at Northwestern University, said the court’s code “answers a public demand in a very respectful and thorough way,” but he pointed to specific shortcomings, including the court’s reiteration that the justices will decide for themselves whether to recuse from a case.
“Nobody should be the sole determiner of their own biases, but they maintain that,” Lubet said.
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- Toronto-based law firm Bennett Jones named Dominique Hussey as its CEO, the first Black woman to take the helm at a top Canadian law firm. The firm also named John Mercury as its executive chair, with both set to step into the roles on Jan. 1.
- The U.S. Senate elevated U.S. District Judge Ana de Alba to a seat on the 9th Circuit, confirming a first-generation Mexican-American and daughter of farmworkers to the largest federal appeals court.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appointed Aaron Nielson, a Kirkland & Ellis lawyer and a Brigham Young University law professor, to serve as the state’s next solicitor general.
- Former New Jersey U.S. District Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, sister of former President Donald Trump, died at 86.
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That’s the number of public comments the State Bar of California received on a proposal to allow law school graduates to become licensed without taking the bar exam. Most commenters opposed the potential change, Karen Sloan reports. The bar’s board of trustees is slated as early as Thursday to consider recommending adoption of the Portfolio Bar Exam pilot program to the California Supreme Court, which has the final say on the state’s attorney licensing process.
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In a filing on Friday, lawyers for former president Donald Trump threw their formal support to news organizations that want to broadcast Trump’s election trial in D.C. federal court. They argued that live television coverage is the only way to show the public that the case is illegitimate. Prosecutors shot back on Monday, accusing Trump of precisely the kind of grandstanding that prompted the federal judiciary to ban cameras in court for criminal trials. Alison Frankel analyzes whether Trump’s filing will help – or hurt – the case for televising the trial.
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“Let him go ahead and talk about how great the Trump Organization is.“
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—–Justice Arthur Engoron, who denied objections to the questioning of Donald Trump Jr during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization and the former president. As part of a defense bid to show that the properties’ high valuations were justified, defense lawyer Clifford Robert walked Donald Jr through a lengthy slideshow of the Trump portfolio, with Donald Jr testifying about the “sexiness” of his father’s real estate projects.
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- A D.C. Circuit panel will hear arguments as the DOJ pushes to revive its lobbying case against casino magnate Steve Wynn. The department last year sued for a court order forcing Wynn, former chief executive of Wynn Casinos, to register as an agent of China. Officials alleged Wynn had lobbied then-President Donald Trump on China’s behalf in 2017. Wynn’s attorneys denied the allegations.
- A Washington state court judge is set to hold a hearing on Oregon State University and Washington State University’s bid for a preliminary injunction in their lawsuit seeking to take over control of the Pac-12 conference and its assets after 10 of the Pac-12 member schools announced their plans to leave for other conferences. Oregon State and Washington State have already won a temporary restraining order barring the departing schools from voting on the future of the conference.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
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- The Federal Circuit said the phrase “Everybody vs. Racism,” cannot be granted a trademark because it is not used to identify the maker or seller of a specific product. The appeals court in its decision agreed with the USPTO that consumers view the phrase “as a sentiment rather than a source,” citing its use to protest racism in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
- The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Biden administration for its views on whether the justices should take up the U.S. Soccer Federation’s bid to bar a lawsuit accusing it of conspiring with FIFA to prohibit foreign teams from playing official matches in the U.S.
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo in Brooklyn agreed to investigate a website that lawyers said is presenting “false and misleading” information about the $5.6 billion settlement that retailers struck with Visa and Mastercard over credit and debit card fees. Marutollo set a deadline for the website to respond to an inquiry from him.
- Amazon earned billions of dollars through an “illegal internet gambling enterprise” by distributing casino-style apps and processing payments for virtual chips, a new lawsuit claims. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Google filed a lawsuit against anonymous individuals it accused of marketing fake “downloads” of its AI chatbot Bard in order to install malware on victims’ computers. Google said the alleged scammers are misusing its trademarks with names like “Google AI” and “AIGoogleBard” to lure users into installing the malware, which Google said allows the defendants to steal social-media login credentials. The defendants could not be reached for comment.
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- Paul Weiss hired bank regulatory partner Jarryd Anderson to be co-chair of its financial services group in Washington, D.C. and New York. Anderson joins from O’Melveny. (Reuters)
- Womble Bond Dickinson brought on trademark partners Gregory Gulia and Vanessa Hew in New York from Cozen O’Connor. (Womble)
- Vinson & Elkins hired energy and infrastructure partner Kilian de Cintré to its corporate and finance practice in London. He arrives from Milbank. (Vinson & Elkins)
- Mayer Brown added Peter Jordan as a litigation and dispute resolution partner in Houston. He most recently was associate general counsel and head of global litigation at chemical company Huntsman. (Mayer Brown)
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner brought on David Holmberg as a partner in its tax practice in New York. Holmberg previously was at Akin. (BCLP)
- Greenspoon Marder hired Fort Lauderdale-based partner Matthew Scott for its land use and zoning practice. He arrives from Dunay, Miskel, and Backman. (Greenspoon Marder)
- Weil picked up D.C.-based private funds partner Christopher Scully. He previously was at Kirkland. (Weil)
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