LER No. 98 - Ex-DOJ Ethics Lawyer Speaks Out, Associate Fired for Trump Critique, Judge Visas Stripped, AI & 'Snitch' Rule, GA May Allow Nonlawyer Rep, No Pay for Fed Defense Lawyers & More (07.21.25)
The Legal Ethics Roundup - your Monday morning tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson
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Happy Monday!
Hello from Madison, where we’ve been visiting the University of Wisconsin as part of my daughter’s college campus tours. (So far, we’ve hit the University of Texas and next month we head to the University of Chicago. It’s making me want to go back to college myself!)
It was another week packed with legal ethics headlines, so your list below includes fifteen again. But first, I want to highlight a special employment opportunity. (Usually I only include job listings monthly in the LER First Monday edition.) Last week, Lucy Ricca shared with me that she’s accepted a new position as the Executive Director of Neukom Center for the Rule of Law, which means her job as the Executive Director, Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession, Stanford Law School is open. This is a terrific opportunity — learn more and apply here.
Highlights from Last Week - Top Ten Fifteen Headlines
#1 “Funding Crisis Leaves Defense Lawyers Working Without Pay.” From US Courts.gov: “The program that pays court-appointed private attorneys to represent indigent federal criminal defendants has run out of money, starting the clock on a painful three-month delay in paying these attorneys and their related service providers for constitutionally mandated legal work. The funding crisis has prompted concern throughout the federal Judiciary that many of these private lawyers, known as panel attorneys, could decline new cases. That could leave defendants, even those on death row, without adequate representation.” Read more here.
#2 “DOJ's Ex-Ethics Lawyer Speaks Out After Being Fired by Pam Bondi.” From Newsweek: “Attorney General Pam Bondi has dismissed the Justice Department's top ethics lawyer, Joseph Tirrell, according to a post he shared on LinkedIn. Tirrell, a Navy veteran, posted a copy of his termination letter on the platform Friday, noting that it resembled notices received by other DOJ employees. The letter included a typo, misspelling his name as ‘JOSPEH.’ ‘Until Friday evening, I was the senior ethics attorney at the Department of Justice responsible for advising the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General directly on federal employee ethics,’ he wrote, in part, on LinkedIn. ‘I was also responsible for the day-to-day operations of the ethics program across the Department. I led a small, dedicated team of professionals and coordinated the work of some 30 other full-time ethics officials, attorneys, paralegals and other specialists across the Department of Justice, ensuring that the 117,000 Department employees were properly advised on and supported in how to follow the Federal employee ethics rules.’” Read more here.
#3 “Legal Group Urges State Supreme Court to Order Florida Bar to Investigate Bondi.” From the Miami Herald: “Snubbed by The Florida Bar last month, about 70 liberal-leaning scholars, attorneys and former judges have asked the state Supreme Court to order the Bar to investigate their complaint claiming U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi violated Florida’s ethics rules as the nation’s top law enforcement official. The coalition’s legal argument in a petition filed on Tuesday may be compelling, but it’s a long shot given the fact that the seven justices on Florida’s high court were all appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and former GOP Gov. Charlie Crist.” Read more here.
#4 “Rubio Moves to Strip US Visas From Eight Brazilian Judges in Bolsonaro Battle.” From The Guardian: “The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has reportedly stripped eight of Brazil’s 11 supreme court judges of their US visas as the White House escalates its campaign to help the country’s former president Jair Bolsonaro avoid justice over his alleged attempt to seize power with a military coup. Bolsonaro, a far-right populist with ties to Donald Trump’s Maga movement, is on trial for allegedly masterminding a murderous plot to cling to power after losing the 2022 election to his leftwing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro is expected to be convicted by the supreme court in the coming weeks and faces a jail sentence of up to 43 years.” Read more here.
#5 “Davis Polk Axes Associate Over Writings Criticizing Trump.” From Bloomberg Law: “Wall Street’s Davis Polk & Wardwell fired a junior attorney following warnings over his op-eds knocking the Trump administration, according to the lawyer. Ryan Powers, a former Davis Polk associate, says the firm fired him June 12. His profile was removed from the site immediately, Powers said in an interview. The Harvard Law graduate joined the firm’s tax group October 2023 and worked on deals for Cintas Corp. and Penske Truck Leasing. Powers’ op-eds included critical takes on the federal government’s surveillance of the public, which highlighted Palantir Technologies. Davis Polk lawyers advised banks involved in Palantir’s 2020 stock listing. A firm human resources representative notified Powers that his content violated the firm’s internal policy because he was not granted prior permission, he said.” Read more here. (For even more, here is a Substack post from Powers about his firing.)
#6 “Fla. Judge Suspended Over 'Unacceptable' Political Donations.” From Law360: “A Florida state court judge [was] found to have violated judicial canons by donating funds to the election campaigns of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and improperly discussing her own reelection campaign.” Read more here.
#7 “Unearthed Chat Sheds Light on Cozy Ties Between Judges, Climate Activists, Raising Ethical Concerns.” From Fox News: “An environmental advocacy group accused of trying to manipulate judges organized a years-long, nationwide online forum with jurists to promote favorable info and litigation updates regarding climate issues – until the email-styled group chat was abruptly made private, Fox News Digital found.” Read more here.
#8 “Sen. Coons Asking About Workplace Conduct in Nominees' Questions for the Record.” From Fix the Court: “Judicial nomination hearings are often rapid-fire events where members of the Senate Judiciary Committee barely have enough time to get out a complete thought, let alone ask a comprehensive line of questioning. Luckily, there are two additional parts to the nomination process: first, a Senate Judiciary Questionnaire that all nominees must fill out prior to their hearing; and second, any senator on the Committee can send Questions for the Record to the nominee after their hearing, with the expectation that they’ll be answered (albeit not always in a satisfactory manner). There’s been a positive development on the latter front: Sen. Chris Coons is asking questions about workplace conduct in the QFRs. This comes as a series of news reports, court filings, national surveys and misconduct orders this year show that the endemic problems of harassment, retaliation and discrimination in the third branch aren’t going away.” Read more here.
#9 “AI Misuse and the ‘Snitch Rule’ in Legal Ethics.” From the Daily Journal - Cal Lawyer: “Attorneys increasingly use AI tools in their practice, but misses of AI — such as submitting fabricated case citations — can trigger a reporting obligation under California Rule of Professional Conduct 8.3” [And perhaps also under ABA Model Rule 8.4?] Read more here.
#10 “Michigan Law Adds AI Essay Prompt.” From Inside Higher Ed: “In 2023, the University of Michigan Law School made headlines for its policy banning applicants from using generative AI to write their admissions essays. Now, two admissions cycles later, the law school is not only allowing AI responses but actually mandating the use of AI—at least for one optional essay. For those applying this fall, the law school added a supplemental essay prompt that asks students about their AI usage and how they see that changing in law school—and requires them to use AI to develop their response.” Read more here.
#11 “California Court System Adopts Rule on AI Use.” From Reuters: “California on Friday became the largest U.S. state court system to embrace policies governing the use of generative artificial intelligence by judges and court employees. California courts that do not ban generative AI outright must develop AI-related regulations by September 1 under a rule adopted by the California Judicial Council, the policy-making body for the state’s court system. The rule, was developed by an artificial intelligence task force established by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero in 2024.” Read more here.
#12 “Trump Admin's Supreme Court Lawyers Quit.” From Newsweek: “Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. Justice Department's unit responsible for defending key Trump administration policies in court, have left their positions since President Donald Trump's November election or announced plans to leave, according to a new list. Of the approximately 110 lawyers in the Federal Programs Branch, 69 have departed or signaled their intention to depart, according to the list. Reuters, which first reported the list, said it had verified the departure of all but four. The resignations could pose significant challenges for the unit that is tasked with handling an unprecedented wave of lawsuits targeting the administration's actions, including restrictions on birthright citizenship and funding cuts to Harvard University.” Read more here.
#13 “Georgia Lawyers Consider Limited Role for Legal Assistance by Non-Attorneys.” From Grice Connect: “A committee appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court is recommending a pilot program that would allow individuals with specialized legal training to provide limited legal assistance, aiming to improve access to justice for low-income and rural Georgians.” Read more here.
#14 “Federal Judges Set to Meet Monday, Maybe to Pick U.S. Attorney.” From the New Jersey Globe: “A meeting of the U.S. District Court Judges from New Jersey has been set for Monday to possibly vote to appoint a U.S. Attorney, the New Jersey Globe has learned. The meeting takes place amid uncertainties surrounding the tenure of U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, whose 120-day term is set to expire on Tuesday. Under an incredibly murky statute, federal judges, by a majority vote, may appoint a U.S. Attorney if no one has been nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. … Several sources with direct knowledge of the selection process, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have told the New Jersey Globe that Habba does not have enough support among the federal judges to win a vote.” Read more here.
#15 “Joint Statement from CLEA and AALS Clinical Section on Congressional Attack on Academic Freedom.” From CleaWeb.org: “As experiential faculty members teaching and practicing law, we have duties beyond those as faculty members with academic freedom — we are representatives for our clients, officers of the court, and public citizens. Seeking to punish a lawyer for their ethical and zealous representation and advocacy compromises these core responsibilities. This, in turn, threatens the viability of our legal system — a system critical to the preservation of our democracy.” Read more here.
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