{"id":149250,"date":"2026-04-20T14:51:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/04\/20\/legal-ethics-roundup-eastman-disbarred-sotomayor-apologizes-ethics-of-cameras-in-courtrooms-more\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T14:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:51:31","slug":"legal-ethics-roundup-eastman-disbarred-sotomayor-apologizes-ethics-of-cameras-in-courtrooms-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/04\/20\/legal-ethics-roundup-eastman-disbarred-sotomayor-apologizes-ethics-of-cameras-in-courtrooms-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Ethics Roundup: Eastman Disbarred, Sotomayor Apologizes, Ethics Of Cameras In Courtrooms & 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!<\/p>\n

Greetings from Spokane, WA. Here\u2019s my view as I write this week\u2019s LER in the gorgeous\u00a0Davenport Hotel<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>lobby, built in 1914 and\u00a0incredibly restored<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in 2002 after sitting vacant for many years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Davenport Hotel (photo by Renee Jefferson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I spoke at\u00a0Gonzaga Law School\u00a0<\/strong>on Thursday with\u00a0Scott Cummings<\/strong>\u00a0(UCLA) and hosted by\u00a0Abe Ritter<\/strong>\u00a0(Gonzaga) where we discussed \u201cGood Faith and Public Trust in an Erosive Era.\u201d It was great to catch up with\u00a0Gonzaga Law Dean Jacob Rooksby<\/strong>\u00a0before he heads to Virginia to become the\u00a0new Dean of Richmond Law School<\/a><\/strong>. Richmond Law is a special place, and the school is lucky to have him as their next leader. (The two of us have the shared connection of studying for the Virginia Bar Exam a couple of decades ago in a Richmond Law classroom taught by the infamous\u00a0Wade Berryhill<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Common Grounds, Gonzaga Law School (photo by Renee Jefferson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now for your headlines.<\/p>\n

Highlights from Last Week \u2013 Top 10 Headlines \ud83d\udcf0<\/h3>\n

#1 \u201cLawyer John Eastman Disbarred for Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The New York Times:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe California Supreme Court upheld a lower court\u2019s decision that said Mr. Eastman, had violated the rules of professional ethics.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#2 \u201cThe Lawyer as Public Citizen Today.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Kevin Lee\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a0The Exile:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cHere I want to think concretely about what the \u2018public citizen\u2019 phrase [in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct] might mean, not as an abstraction but as a form of practice\u2014and specifically, as a practice of sincerity. Consider the history of the profession at its best.\u00a0Constance Baker Motley<\/strong>\u00a0did not simply file briefs; she walked into courtrooms where her presence itself was an argument about who counted as a full participant in American life. She could not hide behind procedure; her body was the argument. This required a courage that was not merely tactical but existential\u2014a willingness to be fully present, fully seen, in spaces designed to render her invisible.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#3 \u201cFrom Charlie Kirk\u2019s Killing to OJ, How Courtroom Cameras Spark Debate.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The Washington Post:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWhether cameras should be allowed has spurred perpetual disagreement between transparency advocates and defense attorneys eager to shield clients from ignominious publicity that could tilt a jury against them.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#4 \u201cSupreme Court Justice Sotomayor Issues Public Apology to Kavanaugh.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The Wall Street Journal:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cSupreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor<\/strong>\u00a0publicly apologized to\u00a0Justice Brett Kavanaugh<\/strong>\u00a0on Wednesday after suggesting last week that he didn\u2019t know any blue-collar workers because he had a privileged upbringing.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#5 \u201cJudicial Panel Trims Amicus Rule Change After Privacy Worries.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Bloomberg Law:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA federal judiciary rules committee voted to drop a proposed requirement that groups disclose some new members ahead of filing amicus briefs in appeals courts. The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules had spent years weighing a rule change to improve disclosure around funders of amicus, or \u2018friend-of-the-court,\u2019 briefs. But the proposal was pulled months before it was set to go into effect, after top members of the courts\u2019 policy-making body\u2014the Judicial Conference\u2014said they had privacy concerns about a requirement that groups disclose new members who contribute more than $100 toward the briefs.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#6 \u201cLaw Professors Defend ABA\u2019s Law School Diversity Rule Ahead of Elimination Vote.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Reuters:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cHundreds of law professors, deans, students, lawyers and bar associations are urging the American Bar Association not to eliminate its longstanding diversity and inclusion requirement for law schools, which has come under fire amid the Trump administration\u2019s widespread campaign against DEI. The arm of the ABA that oversees U.S. law schools received 47 written comments from individuals and groups asking it to retain or strengthen the law school diversity standard and two comments in support of repealing the rule during a 30-day comment period that ended on Monday.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>. [Full disclosure: I am an elected member of the Accreditation Council for the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.]<\/p>\n

#7 \u201cEthical Ramifications of Using AI in Attorney-Client Conversations.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0JDSupra:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cOn December 22, 2025, the New York City Bar issued a formal opinion on the ethics for AI use in the recording, transcription, and summarization of conversations between attorneys and clients. The opinion of the Professional Ethics Committee addressed the issues that may arise if the attorney or the client is the one employing AI programs, with an emphasis on notice.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#8 \u201cTakeaways From the Supreme Court\u2019s Shadow Papers.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The New York Times:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cConfidential memos written by the justices shed light on how they came to issue emergency orders in cases about the scope of presidential power.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#9 \u201cOhio Supreme Court Tosses Longstanding Ban on Judges Endorsing Political Candidates.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Cleveland.com:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe Ohio Supreme Court has opened the door to Ohio judges making political endorsements, overturning a decades-long ban on free-speech grounds. The Supreme Court\u2019s\u00a05-1 ruling<\/a><\/strong>, issued last week, quickly drew praise from officials like\u00a0Attorney General Dave Yost<\/strong>, who called the decision \u2018overdue.\u2019\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#10 \u201cUS Justice Department Should Stay out of States\u2019 Own Ethics Investigations.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>An op-ed from former\u00a0Missouri Law Dean R. Lawrence Dessem<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0Kansas City Star:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cFor decades, independent state lawyer disciplinary bodies have thoughtfully resolved attorney misconduct complaints. There is no need for, and there are major disadvantages to, centralizing the consideration of attorney complaints before the DOJ, which has a direct interest in how such complaints are resolved. The Department of Justice\u2019s March 4 proposed rule should not be adopted.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Get Hired \ud83d\udcbc<\/h3>\n

Did you miss the 500+ job postings from previous weeks? Find them all\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

Upcoming Ethics Events & Other Announcements \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f<\/h3>\n

Did you miss an announcement from previous weeks? Find them all\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

Keep in Touch \ud83d\udcdd<\/h3>\n

Do you have colleagues who care about legal ethics?<\/strong>\u00a0Please share the Roundup with them. I\u2019d love to see our community continue to grow!<\/p>\n

News tips? Announcements? Events?<\/strong>\u00a0A job to post?<\/strong>\u00a0Reading recommendations?<\/strong>\u00a0Email legalethics@substack.com \u2013 but be sure to subscribe first, otherwise the email won\u2019t be delivered.<\/p>\n

\n

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\u00a0Legal Ethics Roundup<\/a>. Find her on X (formerly Twitter) at\u00a0@reneeknake<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky at\u00a0legalethics.bsky.social<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Legal Ethics Roundup: Eastman Disbarred, Sotomayor Apologizes, Ethics Of Cameras In Courtrooms & More<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

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

Greetings from Spokane, WA. Here\u2019s my view as I write this week\u2019s LER in the gorgeous\u00a0Davenport Hotel<\/a><\/strong>lobby, built in 1914 and\u00a0incredibly restored<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in 2002 after sitting vacant for many years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Davenport Hotel (photo by Renee Jefferson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I spoke at\u00a0Gonzaga Law School\u00a0<\/strong>on Thursday with\u00a0Scott Cummings<\/strong>\u00a0(UCLA) and hosted by\u00a0Abe Ritter<\/strong>\u00a0(Gonzaga) where we discussed \u201cGood Faith and Public Trust in an Erosive Era.\u201d It was great to catch up with\u00a0Gonzaga Law Dean Jacob Rooksby<\/strong>\u00a0before he heads to Virginia to become the\u00a0new Dean of Richmond Law School<\/a><\/strong>. Richmond Law is a special place, and the school is lucky to have him as their next leader. (The two of us have the shared connection of studying for the Virginia Bar Exam a couple of decades ago in a Richmond Law classroom taught by the infamous\u00a0Wade Berryhill<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Common Grounds, Gonzaga Law School (photo by Renee Jefferson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now for your headlines.<\/p>\n

#1 \u201cLawyer John Eastman Disbarred for Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The New York Times:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe California Supreme Court upheld a lower court\u2019s decision that said Mr. Eastman, had violated the rules of professional ethics.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#2 \u201cThe Lawyer as Public Citizen Today.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Kevin Lee\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a0The Exile:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cHere I want to think concretely about what the \u2018public citizen\u2019 phrase [in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct] might mean, not as an abstraction but as a form of practice\u2014and specifically, as a practice of sincerity. Consider the history of the profession at its best.\u00a0Constance Baker Motley<\/strong>\u00a0did not simply file briefs; she walked into courtrooms where her presence itself was an argument about who counted as a full participant in American life. She could not hide behind procedure; her body was the argument. This required a courage that was not merely tactical but existential\u2014a willingness to be fully present, fully seen, in spaces designed to render her invisible.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#3 \u201cFrom Charlie Kirk\u2019s Killing to OJ, How Courtroom Cameras Spark Debate.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The Washington Post:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWhether cameras should be allowed has spurred perpetual disagreement between transparency advocates and defense attorneys eager to shield clients from ignominious publicity that could tilt a jury against them.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#4 \u201cSupreme Court Justice Sotomayor Issues Public Apology to Kavanaugh.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The Wall Street Journal:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cSupreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor<\/strong>\u00a0publicly apologized to\u00a0Justice Brett Kavanaugh<\/strong>\u00a0on Wednesday after suggesting last week that he didn\u2019t know any blue-collar workers because he had a privileged upbringing.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#5 \u201cJudicial Panel Trims Amicus Rule Change After Privacy Worries.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Bloomberg Law:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA federal judiciary rules committee voted to drop a proposed requirement that groups disclose some new members ahead of filing amicus briefs in appeals courts. The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules had spent years weighing a rule change to improve disclosure around funders of amicus, or \u2018friend-of-the-court,\u2019 briefs. But the proposal was pulled months before it was set to go into effect, after top members of the courts\u2019 policy-making body\u2014the Judicial Conference\u2014said they had privacy concerns about a requirement that groups disclose new members who contribute more than $100 toward the briefs.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#6 \u201cLaw Professors Defend ABA\u2019s Law School Diversity Rule Ahead of Elimination Vote.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Reuters:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cHundreds of law professors, deans, students, lawyers and bar associations are urging the American Bar Association not to eliminate its longstanding diversity and inclusion requirement for law schools, which has come under fire amid the Trump administration\u2019s widespread campaign against DEI. The arm of the ABA that oversees U.S. law schools received 47 written comments from individuals and groups asking it to retain or strengthen the law school diversity standard and two comments in support of repealing the rule during a 30-day comment period that ended on Monday.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>. [Full disclosure: I am an elected member of the Accreditation Council for the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.]<\/p>\n

#7 \u201cEthical Ramifications of Using AI in Attorney-Client Conversations.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0JDSupra:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cOn December 22, 2025, the New York City Bar issued a formal opinion on the ethics for AI use in the recording, transcription, and summarization of conversations between attorneys and clients. The opinion of the Professional Ethics Committee addressed the issues that may arise if the attorney or the client is the one employing AI programs, with an emphasis on notice.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#8 \u201cTakeaways From the Supreme Court\u2019s Shadow Papers.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0The New York Times:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cConfidential memos written by the justices shed light on how they came to issue emergency orders in cases about the scope of presidential power.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(gift link).<\/p>\n

#9 \u201cOhio Supreme Court Tosses Longstanding Ban on Judges Endorsing Political Candidates.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>From\u00a0Cleveland.com:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe Ohio Supreme Court has opened the door to Ohio judges making political endorsements, overturning a decades-long ban on free-speech grounds. The Supreme Court\u2019s\u00a05-1 ruling<\/a><\/strong>, issued last week, quickly drew praise from officials like\u00a0Attorney General Dave Yost<\/strong>, who called the decision \u2018overdue.\u2019\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#10 \u201cUS Justice Department Should Stay out of States\u2019 Own Ethics Investigations.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>An op-ed from former\u00a0Missouri Law Dean R. Lawrence Dessem<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0Kansas City Star:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cFor decades, independent state lawyer disciplinary bodies have thoughtfully resolved attorney misconduct complaints. There is no need for, and there are major disadvantages to, centralizing the consideration of attorney complaints before the DOJ, which has a direct interest in how such complaints are resolved. The Department of Justice\u2019s March 4 proposed rule should not be adopted.\u201d Read more\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Did you miss the 500+ job postings from previous weeks? Find them all\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

Did you miss an announcement from previous weeks? Find them all\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

Do you have colleagues who care about legal ethics?<\/strong>\u00a0Please share the Roundup with them. I\u2019d love to see our community continue to grow!<\/p>\n

News tips? Announcements? Events?<\/strong>\u00a0A job to post?<\/strong>\u00a0Reading recommendations?<\/strong>\u00a0Email [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> \u2013 but be sure to subscribe first, otherwise the email won\u2019t be delivered.<\/p>\n

\n

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\u00a0Legal Ethics Roundup<\/a>. Find her on X (formerly Twitter) at\u00a0@reneeknake<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky at\u00a0legalethics.bsky.social<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup,\u00a0here. Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics. Happy Monday! Greetings from Spokane, WA. Here\u2019s my view as I write this week\u2019s LER in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":149251,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/https3A2F2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com2Fpublic2Fimages2F34216dd4-3b75-47b7-aae7-b72b0cfc42c5_3846x2685-Yf27Hj.jpg?fit=1456%2C1016&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}