Legal Ethics Roundup: Legal Ethics On 60 Minutes, Fed Judges Warn Of Crisis, More AI Fines, DOJ Ethics Probes & More – Above the Law

Ed. notice: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson again to the pages of Above the Regulation. Subscribe to her Substack, Authorized Ethics Roundup, right here.

Welcome to what captivates, haunts, evokes, and surprises me each week on this planet of authorized ethics.

Glad Monday!

Authorized ethics points have been entrance and middle on CBS’s 60 Minutes final night time. You’ll be able to watch the interview of former Justice Division lawyer Erez Reuveni right here. From the episode description: “Reuveni speaks out in regards to the disregard of due course of and for the rule of legislation that he says he witnessed in his closing weeks on the Division of Justice.”

Now in your headlines.

Highlights from Final Week – High Ten Ethics Headlines

#1 “Assaults on U.S. Authorized Career Replicate World Slide in Nations It As soon as Aided.” From Simply Safety: “Crackdowns on the authorized occupation — legal professionals, judges and prosecutors — are a part of a longstanding authoritarian playbook used around the globe to silence dissent. … The ways differ, however the intention is similar: to silence legal professionals who signify politically focused shoppers, judges who difficulty rulings that contradict the repressive authorities’s political – and infrequently private — goals, and prosecutors who pursue instances in opposition to its favored allies. Whether or not via formal laws or casual strain, these measures intention to curtail authorized advocacy, judicial independence, and the rule of legislation itself. The US has lengthy prided itself on a practice of public curiosity lawyering rooted within the civil rights motion and sustained via authorized help, authorized clinics, and professional bono illustration carried ahead by legal professionals. By framing entry to justice as knowledgeable obligation, organizations such just like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or the NAACP Authorized Protection Fund (LDF) institutionalized public curiosity advocacy. But, over time, these organizations have additionally been criticized for professionalizing and depoliticizing what started as grassroots social actions.” Learn extra right here.

#2 “Regulatory Retrenchment in California: What AB 931 Means for ABS and MSO-Supported Regulation Corporations.” From JD Supra: “California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Meeting Invoice (AB) 931 on Oct. 10, 2025, largely freezing California legal professionals’ skill to experiment with and accommodate the event of burgeoning Various Enterprise Buildings (ABS) for the subsequent 4 years. Although jurisdictions similar to Arizona, Puerto Rico and Utah have adopted progressive applications to allow restricted non-lawyer possession of legislation corporations, the brand new legislation indicators that California is skeptical and poised to maneuver in the other way.” Learn extra right here.

#3 “Regulation Faculty Curiosity Hits New Excessive, Functions Surge.” From the Nationwide Jurist: “Regulation college functions within the U.S. are surging, in line with Oct. 16 knowledge from the Regulation Faculty Admission Council. The numbers present a 27.8% enhance in complete functions for the 2025 enrollment 12 months in comparison with final 12 months. The rise is much more pronounced over a two-year span, with functions up 76.2%.” Learn extra right here.

#4 “Reagan Judges Are Unrestrained Critics of Trump’s Authorized Strikes.” From Bloomberg Regulation: “Judges appointed by President Ronald Reagan are rising as vocal critics of the Trump administration’s efforts to bypass court docket orders or problem the legislation in unprecedented methods, backed by many years of expertise and loads of apply being blunt in different instances. The judges—all of their 80s and situated in Washington, Boston, Seattle, and Charlottesville, Va.—have made notable remarks from the bench or in written rulings. Some jurists are extra guarded, talking in regards to the energy of the courts and imploring the administration to respect them. Others see little cause to belief the administration at this stage.” Learn extra right here.

#5 “ABA Says Third-Social gathering Lawyer-Mediators Should Be ‘Credibly Impartial’.” From Bloomberg Regulation “Attorneys performing as third-party impartial mediators have to be cautious to make sure that unrepresented events in negotiations perceive the character and scope of their position, the American Bar Affiliation says in a brand new ethics opinion. Lawyer-mediators should clarify the distinction between their position as a impartial and a lawyer’s extra typical position representing a shopper, particularly when a celebration is unrepresented and doesn’t perceive the mediation course of, says the opinion launched Wednesday.” Learn extra right here.

#6 “Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Disaster,’ Fault Supreme Court docket’s Emergency Orders.” From The New York Instances: “Greater than three dozen federal judges have instructed The New York Instances that the Supreme Court docket’s flurry of transient, opaque emergency orders in instances associated to the Trump administration have left them confused about how one can proceed in these issues and are hurting the judiciary’s picture with the general public.” Learn extra right here (reward hyperlink).

#7 “DOJ On Protection: Federal Attorneys Face Ethics Probes For ‘Zealous’ Advocacy.” From the Tampa Free Press: “A political battle is raging within the halls of justice, not within the courtroom, however throughout the state bar associations. A coalition of left-wing teams and legislation professors is aggressively submitting ethics complaints in opposition to high-ranking authorities legal professionals, together with US Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi, alleging skilled misconduct for ‘zealously’ advocating for the pursuits of the USA and the president. The controversy highlights a rising development of ‘lawfare’ the place ethics complaints are getting used as a political weapon, primarily concentrating on conservative attorneys serving in or defending the administration.” Learn extra right here.

#8 “Faux AI Citations Produce Fines for California, Alabama Attorneys.” From Bloomberg Regulation: “Federal courts in California and Alabama have imposed hundreds of {dollars} in fines in opposition to two attorneys sanctioned individually for together with nonexistent authorized citations generated by synthetic intelligence of their filings.The sanctions tackle a wave of AI hallucinations in litigation that’s rising regardless of coaching provided by bar associations, authorized journal articles, and in depth media protection of legal professionals punished by courts for relying an excessive amount of on the know-how. In latest months, pretend citations in federal court docket filings have resulted in $3,000 in fines for a New Jersey lawyer, $1,500 in fines for a California lawyer, and a warning for a New York lawyer. ‘One way or the other the message nonetheless has not been hammered residence because the epidemic of citing pretend instances continues unabated,’ Decide Terry F. Moorer of the US District Court docket for the Southern District of Alabama stated in an order issued Oct. 10.” Learn extra right here.

#9 “State Supreme Court docket Rejects Try to Pressure Florida Bar to Examine Bondi.” From Florida Phoenix: “The Florida Supreme Court docket refused Monday to power the Florida Bar to research U.S. Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi for alleged state ethics violations, denying a request made by dozens of attorneys and former judges. The court docket’s five-sentence rejection sided with the Florida Bar — the overseer of the state’s authorized occupation — and state Legal professional Basic James Uthmeier find that the 70-odd authorized specialists lacked standing to ask a state-level group to research federal officers, even when they’re licensed to apply legislation in Florida. ‘As a result of petitioner has failed to indicate a transparent authorized proper to the reduction requested, he isn’t entitled to mandamus reduction,’ the transient denial reads, co-signed by 5 of the seven Florida Supreme Court docket Justices.” Learn extra right here.

#10 “Q&A: South Texas School of Regulation Dean Rey Valencia on SCOTX’s Tentative Transfer Away from ABA Oversight and Different Modifications Going through Regulation Faculty Leaders.” From Texas Regulation E-book: “This interview on Sept. 30 occurred 4 days after the Texas Supreme Court docket issued an order stating its ‘tentative opinion’ that the American Bar Affiliation ought to not resolve which Texas colleges can ship graduates to take a seat for the state bar examination. … Even earlier than taking the helm at STCL, [Rey] Valencia — who was named STCL’s incoming president in January — joined seven different legislation college deans who, in a June letter to the justices, urged the state’s excessive court docket to proceed the ABA’s position. Within the following Q&A, Valencia discusses his response to SCOTX’s order, in addition to the challenges and alternatives dealing with legislation colleges as they adapt to new applied sciences, assembly college students’ wants and the evolving apply of legislation.” Learn extra right here.

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Renee Knake Jefferson holds the endowed Doherty Chair in Authorized Ethics and is a Professor of Regulation on the College of Houston. Take a look at extra of her writing on the Authorized Ethics Roundup. Discover her on X (previously Twitter) at @reneeknake or Bluesky at legalethics.bsky.social.