{"id":122448,"date":"2025-06-09T08:02:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/09\/legal-ethics-roundup-messy-mexico-judicial-elections-angry-clients-pro-bono-for-doj-bondi-complaint-more\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T08:02:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:02:33","slug":"legal-ethics-roundup-messy-mexico-judicial-elections-angry-clients-pro-bono-for-doj-bondi-complaint-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/09\/legal-ethics-roundup-messy-mexico-judicial-elections-angry-clients-pro-bono-for-doj-bondi-complaint-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Ethics Roundup: Messy Mexico Judicial Elections, Angry Clients, Pro Bono For DOJ, Bondi Complaint & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed. note<\/u>: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup,\u00a0<\/strong>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Happy Monday!<\/h3>\n

It was a busy week for me, both a beginning and an end. I\u2019m teaching two summer courses, so it was the start of the semester for students in my Professional Responsibility course and my Leadership, Law, and Power writing seminar. (A special welcome to students joining us here at the Roundup!) It was also the end of the school year for my daughter, celebrated with a tennis banquet and yearbook banquet. She\u2019s officially a senior in high school. Sigh. I know I\u2019ve written it\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0before, but to\u00a0quote<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Mary Louise Kelly<\/strong>: \u201cIt. Goes. So. Fast.\u201d In other personal news, I learned last week that I\u2019ve been appointed to a one-year term on the\u00a0American Bar Association Center for Innovation Governing Council<\/strong>. I was a reporter for the\u00a0ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services<\/a><\/strong>, which\u00a0recommended<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0the creation of the Center for Innovation back in 2016, and I\u2019m looking forward to serving in this new role.<\/p>\n

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And now for your headlines.<\/p>\n

Highlights from Last Week \u2013 Top Ten Headlines<\/h3>\n

#1<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThe Law Firms That Appeased Trump\u2014and Angered Their Clients.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From the\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/strong>: \u201cSupport for the law firms that didn\u2019t make deals has been growing inside the offices of corporate executives. At least 11 big companies are moving work away from law firms that settled with the administration or are giving\u2014or intend to give\u2014more business to firms that have been targeted but refused to strike deals, according to general counsels at those companies and other people familiar with those decisions. Among them are technology giant\u00a0Oracle<\/strong>, investment bank\u00a0Morgan Stanley<\/strong>, an airline and a pharmaceutical company.\u00a0Microsoft<\/strong>\u00a0expressed reservations about working with a firm that struck a deal, and another such firm stopped representing\u00a0McDonald\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0in a case a few months before a scheduled trial. In interviews, general counsels expressed concern about whether they could trust law firms that struck deals to fight for them in court and in negotiating big deals if they weren\u2019t willing to stand up for themselves against Trump.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#2<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThe Justice Crisis Nobody\u2019s Talking About, And How Innovation Can Save Legal Aid.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From the\u00a0Law Droid Manifesto<\/strong>\u00a0Substack: \u201cLast Friday, while most of us were wrapping up our workweek, the White House quietly proposed something that should have made headlines everywhere: the complete elimination of the\u00a0Legal Services Corporation\u00a0<\/strong>(LSC). For those of you who may be unfamiliar, LSC was established by Congress in 1974 and represents the federal government\u2019s primary commitment to ensuring legal representation for Americans who can\u2019t afford it. For 51 years, through Republican and Democratic administrations, it has survived; a testament to the bipartisan belief that justice shouldn\u2019t depend on wealth. So, this isn\u2019t just another budget cut. It\u2019s a decision that would strip legal protections from millions of Americans, including domestic violence survivors, veterans, and nearly a million children.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#3<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cElection Observers Voice Serious Concerns About Mexico\u2019s Contentious Judicial Elections.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From the\u00a0Washington Post<\/strong>: \u201cAbysmal voter turnout, political polarization and voting \u2018cheat sheets\u2019 were among the reasons an observation mission for Mexico\u2019s historic judicial elections on Friday issued a recommendation to other countries in the region: don\u2019t try this at home. In their report, the electoral mission from the\u00a0Organization of American States<\/strong>\u00a0said the June 1 election was \u2018extremely complex\u2019 and \u2018polarizing,\u2019 and was marked by a \u2018widespread lack of awareness\u2019 among voters about what they were voting for and who the thousands of candidates were. Given the findings, the mission concluded that \u2018it does not recommend this model of judge selection be replicated in other countries in the region.\u2019 In Sunday\u2019s vote, Mexicans elected 881 federal judges, including a new Supreme Court, and another 1,800 state judges as part of a complete overhaul of the judiciary. The process was carried out following a constitutional reform approved last year by a Congress with a ruling-party majority. The overhaul fueled protests and criticism within Mexico and by the U.S. and Canadian governments, which warned of a potential loss of judicial independence and the politicization of justice in Mexico.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#4<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWe Must Close the Loophole Helping Judges Evade Accountability.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0An op-ed from\u00a0Aliza Shatzman<\/strong>\u00a0(Legal Accountability Project) in\u00a0Bloomberg Law<\/strong>: \u201cBerating judicial law clerks as \u2018stupid\u2019 and \u2018useless\u2019 and demeaning them for perceived mistakes. Forcing them to watch pornography. Firing them for no stated reason. Concealing a neurological condition that prevents a judge from serving. In each instance of judicial misconduct over the past decade, these perpetrators retired or resigned from judicial service without facing discipline\u2014their reputations, pensions, and legal careers intact. Fortunately, a new\u00a0bill<\/a><\/strong>, the\u00a0Transparency and Responsibility in Upholding Standards in the Judiciary Act<\/strong>, would close the disturbing legal loophole that allows judges to step down to evade accountability for misconduct.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the\u00a0Legal Accountability Project\u2019s Advisory Board<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

#5<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cDOJ Alumni Aid Group Launches Pro Bono Legal Network.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From\u00a0Law360<\/strong>: \u201cJustice Connection<\/strong>, a group founded by former U.S. Department of Justice attorneys in response to the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing purge of the department, has launched a pro bono legal network to represent DOJ attorneys being \u2018unfairly targeted\u2019 by the Trump administration.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#6<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cErin Brockovich Lawyer and \u2018Real Housewives\u2019 Husband Gets 7 Years in Prison for Embezzlement.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From the\u00a0New York Times<\/strong>: \u201cTom Girardi<\/strong>, a former high-profile trial lawyer known for winning a record settlement for the environmental activist\u00a0Erin Brockovich<\/strong>, was sentenced on Tuesday to more than seven years in prison for embezzling tens of millions of dollars of his clients\u2019 settlement money. In addition to receiving an 87-month prison term, Mr. Girardi, 86, of Seal Beach, Calif., who was convicted in August of four counts of wire fraud, was ordered by\u00a0Judge Josephine L. Staton of U.S. District Court for the Central District of California<\/strong>\u00a0to pay more than $2.3 million in fines and restitution.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#7<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cIs the American Bar Association\u2019s Accreditation Monopoly About to End?\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0An op-ed from\u00a0Jonathan Adler<\/strong>\u00a0(Case Western) in the\u00a0Civitas Outlook<\/strong>: \u201cThe\u00a0American Bar Association<\/strong>\u00a0(ABA) is the nation\u2019s largest lawyers\u2019 organization. While representing only a small fraction of lawyers, it is also the sole accrediting body for law schools. Whereas universities generally are accredited by regional accrediting organizations, the ABA\u2019s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is the only game in town. Federal student loans are only available to accredited institutions, and the vast majority of states require a degree from an ABA-accredited school to take the bar exam. Could this soon change? As the cost of legal education continues to rise and technological changes threaten to transform the delivery of legal services, the ABA\u2019s de facto monopoly on legal accreditation is under siege.\u00a0<\/a>Texas<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/a>Florida<\/a><\/strong>, the states with the third and fourth-most lawyers in the country, are both considering whether to stop requiring bar applicants to have attended an ABA-accredited school.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#8<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cPam Bondi Accused of \u2018Serious Misconduct\u2019 in Florida Bar Complaint.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From\u00a0Newsweek<\/strong>: \u201cUS Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/strong>\u00a0has been accused of \u2018serious professional misconduct\u2019 in an ethics complaint filed with the Florida Bar, signed by 70 people. The signatories include liberal and moderate-leaning law professors, attorneys, and retired chief justices of the Florida Supreme Court. They accused Bondi of misconduct that \u2018threatens the rule of law and the administration of justice.\u2019\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#9<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cFoley & Lardner Says Palestine Support Didn\u2019t Doom Job Offer.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From\u00a0Law360<\/strong>: \u201cFoley & Lardner LLP<\/strong>\u00a0asked an Illinois federal judge Wednesday for an early win in a bias suit from a former summer associate who claims that the firm pulled a job offer because of her public support for the Palestinian people, arguing that the rescission did not occur because she was an Arab Muslim but rather because her statements about Hamas\u2019 October 2023 attack on Israel \u2018not only violated the firm\u2019s core values, but also constituted a display of incredibly poor judgment.\u2019\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#10<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cAttorney Discipline Moves Into Public Eye.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0From\u00a0Bloomberg Law<\/strong>: \u201cMost attorney disciplinary complaints come from people with personal knowledge of the lawyer\u2019s conduct, but a recent rise in filings based on public information has stirred up questions about standing, the public interest, confidentiality, and regulators\u2019 handling of duplicate filings. Speaking May 30 at the American Bar Association\u2019s 50th National Conference on Professional Responsibility,\u00a0Renee Knake Jefferson<\/strong>, Professor of Law at the University of Houston, observed that nonprofit advocacy groups such as Fix the Court and The 65 Project have played a role in the increased number of public complaints. She said that approximately 30 US jurisdictions allow these kinds of complaints.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Get Hired<\/h3>\n

Did you miss the 100+ job postings from previous Roundups? Find them all\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Upcoming Ethics Events & Other Announcements<\/h3>\n

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