{"id":165299,"date":"2026-10-19T13:23:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T21:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/19\/legal-ethics-roundup-who-gets-to-call-themselves-a-lawyer-judge-pulls-gun-in-court-law-firms-that-capitulated-prosecutorial-misconduct-aba-dq-bid-rejected-ai-a2j-more\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T13:23:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T21:23:22","slug":"legal-ethics-roundup-who-gets-to-call-themselves-a-lawyer-judge-pulls-gun-in-court-law-firms-that-capitulated-prosecutorial-misconduct-aba-dq-bid-rejected-ai-a2j-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/19\/legal-ethics-roundup-who-gets-to-call-themselves-a-lawyer-judge-pulls-gun-in-court-law-firms-that-capitulated-prosecutorial-misconduct-aba-dq-bid-rejected-ai-a2j-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Ethics Roundup: Who Gets To Call Themselves A Lawyer?, Judge Pulls Gun In Court, Law Firms That Capitulated, Prosecutorial Misconduct, ABA DQ Bid Rejected, AI + A2J & 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

Happy Monday!<\/h3>\n

Hello from Boston. Fall leaves are emerging along the Charles River. I\u2019m here this week for a conference. More about that in the \u201cOn My Calendar\u201d section below. Let\u2019s dive into the headlines.<\/p>\n

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Charles River (photo by Renee Jefferson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

#1 \u201cNew White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia\u2019s Legal Career Draws Scrutiny.\u201d<\/strong> From Reuters:<\/strong> \u201cRenee Knake Jefferson<\/strong>, a University of Houston law professor and legal ethics expert, said the debate over Zacharia\u2019s status is a \u2018fundamental matter of public trust\u2019 that goes beyond \u2018professional semantics.\u2019 \u2018Of course it goes without saying that one needn\u2019t be a lawyer to serve as the White House press secretary,\u2019 Jefferson said. \u2018The public is entitled to accurate information about whether a government official is claiming to hold a professional role that they do not, which is what has been alleged here.\u2019\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>. (She didn\u2019t even last the week<\/a><\/strong> in the job.)<\/p>\n

#2 \u201cReflections on Lawyering: Accountability for the Law Firms That Capitulated.\u201d<\/strong> From the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University Blog:<\/strong> \u201cThe deals law firms made with the Trump administration are a matter of enormous public interest: They go to the heart of public confidence in the integrity of the legal profession. The public has a right to know what these firms agreed to and what justifications they can offer for their decisions. As part of the Knight Institute\u2019s project<\/a> on the role of the legal profession in an age of authoritarianism, we recorded a six-episode podcast, Lawyering Without Law<\/a><\/strong>. \u2026 We interviewed top scholars and former government lawyers on the unique and important role that lawyers play in defending democracy, or in facilitating the slide into authoritarianism. The complete podcast series is available here<\/a><\/strong> or wherever you get your podcasts.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#3 \u201cA Bridge or Substitute for Justice.\u201d<\/strong> From The Practice \u2013 Harvard Center on the Legal Profession:<\/strong> \u201cOn Zoom, Gerald Abila<\/strong> turns his computer screen around, unblurs the background, and asks, \u2018Do you see? There\u2019s Winnie.\u2019 Abila sits in Kampala, Uganda, where he runs an NGO, BarefootLaw<\/a><\/strong>, trying to reimagine how to deliver legal access to remote populations across his country. \u2026 In this article, we think through how the use of AI in the access-to-justice space requires larger systemic thinking around governance, policy, and risk. We speak to Abila about how his initial excitement around AI has worn down; to Themba Mahleka<\/strong> and Nate Edwards<\/strong>, applied researchers in the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies<\/a><\/strong> program at the NYU Center on International Cooperation (CIC)<\/a><\/strong>, about why AI governance has to be a multistate, multilateral solution; and, finally, to Drew Simshaw<\/a><\/strong>, professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, about the need for interoperability and a proposal for a national sandbox for innovation.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#4 \u201cTrump Administration Seeks to Remove Judge Who Rebuked It Over Tree Removal.\u201d<\/strong> From The Washington Post:<\/strong> \u201cThe Trump administration asked a federal judge Friday to recuse herself from the legal battle over its planned overhaul of East Potomac Golf Links, accusing her of bias and \u2018animus\u2019 toward the administration after she sharply rebuked government attorneys over the clearing of hundreds of trees from the public golf course.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong> (gift link).<\/p>\n

#5 \u201cCourt Denies Bid to End Susman ABA Representation in Trump Suit.\u201d<\/strong> From Bloomberg Law:<\/strong> \u201cA federal judge on Friday rejected a Justice Department bid to disqualify Susman Godfrey from representing the American Bar Association in a lawsuit that accuses the Trump administration of carrying out a law firm intimidation policy. Justice Department attorneys had argued that the law firm was a \u2018central player\u2019 and a \u2018fact witness\u2019 in the litigation, though US District Judge Amir Ali wrote that lawyers for the ABA in the case are \u2018not likely to be necessary witnesses.\u2019\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#6 \u201cNew Mexico Judge Tosses Charges Against Actor Timothy Busfield, Citing Prosecutor Misconduct.\u201d<\/strong> From the Associated Press:<\/strong> \u201cA New Mexico judge has dismissed an indictment against West Wing and Field of Dreams actor Timothy Busfield that accused him of criminal sexual contact with a child, citing prosecutorial misconduct and errors that undermined the grand jury process. State District Judge Joseph Montano<\/strong> granted a defense motion to toss the charges in a decision released Friday. Busfield has repeatedly denied the allegations, describing them as lies motivated by revenge. In an email Friday, Busfield\u2019s attorney Amber Fayerberg<\/strong> said he was \u2018relieved and grateful\u2019 after reading the judge\u2019s decision.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#7 \u201cGun-Toting NYC Judge Censured by Ethics Board for Bizarre \u2018Little Experiment\u2019 in Court.\u201d<\/strong> From the New York Post:<\/strong> \u201cA gun-toting New York City judge who pulled out a pistol in court to \u2018deceive\u2019 a testifying police officer was admonished by a state judicial ethics commission for his \u2018little experiment,\u2019 according to an announcement Tuesday. Criminal court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny<\/strong> whipped out his personal gun to challenge whether a testifying police officer back in 2025 could have actually identified if a suspect was carrying the weapon in a shopping bag. But as he went to pull out his personal 9mm pistol \u2014 to the discomfort of court officers in the room \u2014 he actually hid the gun on the ground and placed a stapler in a shopping bag in a bid to trick the cop. It was a bizarre move that the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct said deserves official censure.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#8 \u201cUS Judge Facing Misconduct Claims Said to Have \u2018Abandoned\u2019 Job.\u201d<\/strong> From Bloomberg Law:<\/strong> \u201cA committee of judicial investigators said that a federal judge in Dallas abandoned her role and recommended she be temporarily stripped of her docket, according to internal court documents shared with Bloomberg Law.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#9 \u201cRethinking the Legal Profession\u2019s Role in Business and Human Rights.\u201d<\/strong> From the Center for Strategic and International Studies:<\/strong> \u201cShort of structural changes, there are also several concrete demands that civil society has made and legislation could address: access to remedy, a due diligence requirement for U.S. supply chains, and the use of litigation to silence critics. Lawyers matter in each of these areas in two respects. As advisers, they shape the scope of corporate due diligence, determine what is documented, and influence whether troubling findings prompt action and, if so, what action. As advocates, they decide how to respond to those who raise concerns. The American Bar Association\u2019s Resolution 604<\/a><\/strong>, adopted in August 2024, addresses both roles: It urges lawyers to counsel clients on human rights and environmental due diligence beyond minimum legal requirements and to abstain from abuse of process.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

#10 \u201cAtty Sanctioned For Vulgar Emails To Opposing Counsel<\/strong>.\u201d<\/strong> From Law360:<\/strong> \u201cA Texas federal magistrate judge has sanctioned an attorney who serves as principal for an oil and gas exploration company locked in a trade secret misappropriation case with a rival after opposing counsel complained of his expletive-ridden emails containing ad hominem attacks.\u201d Read more here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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On My Calendar<\/strong> \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f<\/h3>\n

For the first half of the week, I\u2019m participating in the Women Execs on Boards Global Symposium<\/a><\/strong> at the David Rubenstein Treehouse at Harvard University. But then it\u2019s back to Texas, and a special weekend to celebrate my birthday by attending the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austin<\/a><\/strong> with my husband and kids. The kids started following the races nearly a decade ago when we lived within earshot of the Australian Grand Prix<\/a><\/strong> during my stint as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation<\/a><\/strong> at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. I probably won\u2019t be getting behind the wheel of a race car this time, but you never know!<\/p>\n

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Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne, Australia (2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Looking for other upcoming ethics events?<\/strong> You\u2019ll find a list here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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