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☆ Rudy Giuliani should be disbarred for trying to overturn the 2020 election, bar ethics panel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rudy Giuliani should be disbarred, a DC legal ethics panel says. The Washington DC Board on Professional Responsibility slammed his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, attacked the DC Bar Association in response to the board's recommendation. "The decision-makers at the DC Bar Association are nothing more than an arm of the permanent regime in Washington," Goodman said. "His hyperbolic claims of election fraud and the core thesis of the Pennsylvania litigation were utterly false, and recklessly so," the board wrote.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani's, —, Donald Trump, Giuliani, disbar, Ted Goodman, Goodman, Trump, Rudy Giuliani — Organizations: Washington DC Board, Service, New, Washington DC, DC, Justice Department, Washington DC bar's, of Appeals, Trump, DC Bar Association Locations: New York, Washington, New York City, Pennsylvania, Soviet Union, America

☆ Lin Wood, pro-Trump lawyer who challenged 2020 election results, retires amid disbarment threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Attorney L. Lin Wood holds up a Bible while speaking during a press conference on election results in Alpharetta, Georgia, U.S., December 2, 2020. Lin Wood, a pro-Trump lawyer who worked to challenge the 2020 election results, retired from practicing law in order to avoid his potential disbarment in Georgia. A spokeswoman for the State Bar of Georgia did not immediately confirm that Wood's request had been received or granted. The Georgia State Bar launched disciplinary proceedings against Wood in February 2021. His former partners have sued him in state court in Georgia over an alleged breach of a settlement agreement.

Persons: Lin Wood, Wood, Richard Jewell, JonBenet Ramsey, Kyle Rittenhouse, Nicholas Sandmann, Joe Biden's, Wood's, Thomas Cauthorn, Cauthorn Organizations: Trump, Twitter, State Bar of, Georgia, State Bar, Georgia State Bar, Biden Locations: Alpharetta , Georgia, U.S, Georgia, State Bar of Georgia, Atlanta, Michigan

[1/5] Abdessalem Maraouni, a Tunisian university student displays a medicine box of "Celluvisc" at his home in Tunis, Tunisia May 29, 2023. Tunisia imports all medicine through the state-owned Central Pharmacy, which provides drugs to hospitals and pharmacies around the country which offer them to patients at a subsidised rate. Amira said the Central Pharmacy owed about 1 billion dinars ($325 million) to suppliers. Tunisia's Health Ministry and Central Pharmacy did not respond to requests for comment. MEDICINE EXCHANGEFrom the roof of his Tunis house, retired soldier Nabil Boukhili has opened an unofficial medicine exchange for his neighbourhood in coordination with local doctors.

Persons: Maaoui, Faourati, Kais Saied, Naoufel Amira, Amira, Nabil Boukhili, Boukhili, I've, Najia, Abdessalem Maraouni, Kamal, Tarek Amara, Jihed Abidellaoui, Angus McDowall, Ros Russell Organizations: REUTERS, Monetary Fund, Central Pharmacy, Tunisia's Syndicate, Tunisia's Health Ministry, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tunis, Tunisia, TUNIS, Europe

☆ Arabs bring Syria's Assad back into fold but want action on drugs trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Hezbollah, which deployed fighters to Syria to aid Assad's war efforts, has denied any role in the drugs trade. Aided by Iran and Russia, Assad steadily beat back his rebel enemies, some of whom had support from U.S.-allied Arab states that have now restored ties. The United States, United Kingdom and European Union have all placed new sanctions on Damascus in recent weeks over captagon. The United States has said it will not normalize ties with Assad and its sanctions remain in full effect. "I would put ending the captagon trade right at the top alongside the other issues", she said.

☆ Analysis: Arabs bring Syria's Assad back into fold but want action on drugs trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While denying any role in the trade, for which Syrian officials and Assad relatives have faced Western sanctions, Damascus has sought leverage from the issue. Hezbollah, which deployed fighters to Syria to aid Assad's war efforts, has denied any role in the drugs trade. Aided by Iran and Russia, Assad steadily beat back his rebel enemies, some of whom had support from U.S.-allied Arab states that have now restored ties. The Syrian source confirmed Riyadh had proposed a sum that would be paid as humanitarian aid, but could not say how much. "I would put ending the captagon trade right at the top alongside the other issues", she said.

☆ Supreme Court maintains full access to abortion pill mifepristone until at least Friday
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, April 15, 2023. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday issued an order allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to remain available by mail delivery and without tighter restrictions on how it is used until at least late Friday night. Although that ruling keeps mifepristone on the market, the restrictions are so sweeping that many women would not have access to the medication even in some states where abortion is legal. The appeals court restrictions included blocking mail delivery of the medication, re-imposing doctor visits as a requirement to obtain the drug, and shortening the length of time women can use the pill to the seventh week of pregnancy. The court also blocked the generic version of mifepristone made by a second company, GenBioPro, which supplies about two-thirds of the medication for the U.S. market.

☆ Rihanna spent $500,000 to rent an Arizona man’s house during Super Bowl week—it was enough to pay off 2 years of his mortgage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The home sits on about an acre of land in Paradise Valley, which is located between Phoenix and Scottsdale. A property management firm Malaspinas already worked with approached him with an offer of $500,000 to rent out his home for a week during Super Bowl LVII in February. "The last thing I am is a real estate baron," Malaspinas told The Wall Street Journal. The Grammy-award-winning singer used the Super Bowl to announce she is currently pregnant with her second child with her partner A$AP Rocky. The 2023 Super Bowl was the third most-watched television show in history, with an estimated 113 million people, according to CNBC.

☆ African migrants stuck in Tunisia say racism persists after crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Sudanese refugee, Awadhya Hasan Amine, reacts during a protest asking for evacuation, outside the headquarters of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in Tunis, Tunisia March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Jihed AbidellaouiTUNIS, March 24 (Reuters) - Weeks after a violent crackdown on migrants in Tunisia that triggered a perilous rush to leave by smuggler boats for Italy, many African nationals are still homeless and jobless and some say they still face racist attacks. Outside the United Nations refugee agency in Tunis, dozens of African migrants stood protesting this week by the temporary camp where they have lived, including with children, since authorities urged landlords to force them from their homes. While the official crackdown appeared to end weeks ago, migrants say they still face abuse. "Tunisia is an African country.

☆ Joe Tacopina risks being disqualified as Trump's defense lawyer because Stormy Daniels considered hiring him 5 years ago, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Depending on what Daniels told Tacopina, he could be disqualified in the case, experts say. Tacopina didn't end up taking on Daniels as a client. And the communications from Daniels didn't create a conflict of representation, according to Tacopina. Even if Tacopina didn't take on Daniels as a client, lawyers still have obligations to prospective clients, legal experts say. That appears to be the position of Daniels' attorney.

☆ 'Robot lawyer' DoNotPay is being sued by a law firm because it 'does not have a law degree'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

DoNotPay, which uses AI to provide legal services, is facing a proposed class action lawsuit. The complaint argues: "Unfortunately for its customers, DoNotPay is not actually a robot, a lawyer, nor a law firm. DoNotPay does not have a law degree, is not barred in any jurisdiction, and is not supervised by any lawyer." DoNotPay claims to use artificial intelligence to help customers handle an array of legal services without needing to hire a lawyer. It was founded in 2015 as an app to help customers fight parking tickets, but has since expanded its services.

DoNotPay "is not actually a robot, a lawyer, nor a law firm," Chicago-based law firm Edelson said in a proposed class action in San Francisco state court dated March 3 and posted to the court's public website Thursday. Browder said Edelson founder Jay Edelson "inspired me to start DoNotPay," claiming Edelson and lawyers like him enrich themselves through class actions with little benefit to consumers. Browder founded DoNotPay in 2015 with a focus on tasks such as fighting parking tickets, and it has expanded to include some legal services, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit said DoNotPay violated California's unfair competition law by engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. The case is Faridian v. DoNotPay Inc, Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Francisco, No.

As a part of a plea deal with prosecutors, the 33-year-old agreed to forfeit $1.3 million and serve six years in prison, 16 months of which may overlap with a five-year sentence she received in October in a separate Florida bank fraud case. Prosecutors said Miller used the identities of more than 10 people to fraudulently set up bank accounts and obtain more than $1 million in pandemic-related loans intended for small businesses. Originally from New York, Miller is the daughter of a former New York State Bar Association president and a graduate of the prestigious Horace Mann School. She was already facing charges in the separate Florida state court fraud case when she was arrested in May 2021 at a luxury apartment in Miami, where she had moved during the pandemic. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Will Dunham and Alexia GaramfalviOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sidney Powell avoids disbarment in Texas over election lies after judge throws out the state bar's case because the exhibits were misnumbered
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Trump lawyer Sidney Powell dodged being disbarred after a Texas judge tossed the case against her. Republican Judge Andrea Bouressa said the evidence exhibits in the case were incorrectly numbered. Powel was one of several attorneys who peddled false claims about the 2020 presidential election. She added that in "light of the numerous defects in the Commissions exhibits," she did not consider much of the submitted exhibits. Representatives for Powell and for the commission did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Saturday.

Bill Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft, is thought to have a net worth of about $106 billion. Gates' own father was a high-powered attorney who became a name partner at the law firm K&L Gates. He's cultivated his brand of philanthropy with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, his endeavor with Melinda French Gates, now his ex-wife. (Brock Adams, who went on to become the transportation secretary in the Carter administration, is said to have introduced Gates' parents.) Bill Gates' mother, Mary Gates, came from a line of successful bankers and sat on the boards of important financial and social institutions including the nonprofit United Way.

Chicago prosecutors alleged that Girardi misappropriated more than $3 million in client funds owed to families of the victims of the 2018 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia. Christopher Kamon, the former chief financial officer of Girardi's now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese, was also charged in the Chicago and Los Angeles cases. Girardi's son-in-law, David Lira, who worked at the firm, was charged with wire fraud and criminal contempt of court by the Chicago prosecutors. The California Supreme Court disbarred Girardi in June in connection with his alleged conduct in the Lion Air case. Kamon was separately charged with wire fraud in November for allegedly embezzling $10 million from the defunct Girardi Keese firm.

[1/2] Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks ahead of a rally held by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Robstown, Texas, U.S., October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Go NakamuraJan 30 (Reuters) - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton must face an ethics lawsuit by state attorney regulators over a case he brought challenging results of the 2020 election, according to a court ruling posted on Monday. The ruling is a setback for Paxton, who had argued that his work as the top Texas state lawyer was beyond the reach of Texas attorney ethics regulators. The Texas State Bar, an agency that oversees licensed attorneys in the state, filed the lawsuit against Paxton in state court in Dallas last May. The state bar countered that Texas attorney conduct rules "apply to any attorney engaged in the practice of law regardless of their position."

☆ California Bar Seeks to Revoke Trump Adviser John Eastman’s Law License
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

John Eastman, seen testifying on Capitol Hill in a 2017 subcommittee hearing, was the architect of strategies to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results. WASHINGTON—The State Bar of California is seeking to revoke the law license of John Eastman , saying the one-time lawyer for former President Donald Trump is unfit to practice law in light of his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In a press release issued on Thursday, the state licensing body said it had launched a disciplinary proceeding against Mr. Eastman after determining that he violated an ethics rule prohibiting acts of “moral turpitude” and dishonesty.

☆ The GOP tackles one of the worst midterm election performance in decades by voting to change nothing at the RNC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AnalysisRonna McDaniel won a fourth term as chair of the Republican National Committee. McDaniel won with 111 votes. On average, the party that doesn't control the White House has picked up between 30 to 25 House seats, as shown by The Washington Post. Going by historical average performance, Democrats should have lost four US Senate seats. The GOP kicked out the sitting chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm, and Republicans also flipped four House seats in the Empire State.

The California State Bar on Thursday charged John Eastman, an attorney closely allied with former President Donald Trump, with 11 disciplinary counts related to his alleged scheme to overturn President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. The Office of Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona intends to seek Eastman's disbarment, according to a press release from the State Bar of California. Eastman is charged with making false statements about purported election fraud, including during a "stop the steal" rally outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. Eastman was the legal architect of one of several efforts to overturn Trump's loss to Biden. Pence, who presided over Congress' efforts to confirm Biden's victory on Jan. 6, 2021, refused to go along with that plan, despite pressure from Trump.

☆ DoNotPay's CEO says threat of 'jail for 6 months' means plan to debut AI 'robot lawyer' in courtroom is on ice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

DoNotPay's CEO says he will hold off on deploying an AI 'robot lawyer' in traffic case hearings. Joshua Browder said that he received 'threats' over the plan and feared facing 'jail for 6 months.' The ploy always carried a risk, as states closely regulate who can practice law. But regulators may still be a while away from contemplating a full-fledged AI lawyer in court. "We're seeing some reform in regulations around the unauthorized practice of law, and we're becoming less rigid," said Murphy.

☆ California authorities want to disbar John Eastman for trying to help Trump overturn the 2020 election results
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

California legal authorities want to disbar John Eastman for trying to keep Donald Trump in power. Following Trump's loss in the 2020 election, Eastman, a former professor at the Chapman University School of Law, drafted legal memos that purported to offer avenues to keep him in office. The former law professor is one of many lawyers allied with Trump who has faced professional consequences for pursuing false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Giuliani has also been sued by election technology companies he implicated in false conspiracy theories about the election results, and has lost his ability to practice law in New York. Jeffrey Clark, a former Trump Administration Justice Department official who tried to overturn the election results, is also facing charges from the DC bar.

With more than 250,000 followers and 2.7 million likes, Chef Way grew to stardom on TikTok for his cooking videos. But now, the social media influencer who is an assistant district attorney in Texas is facing backlash for his previous comments belittling Black women — particularly those with dark skin. In a series of deleted tweets that date back to 2015 from @WaymoTheGod, Chef Way, whose real name is Waymond Wesley, posted demeaning photos and made misogynistic comments about Black women. “To those I’ve hurt with my past tweets that have resurfaced, I am deeply sorry,” he wrote. “Women of color have been too forgiving in the past, which put some of us in undesirable positions and unhealthy situations,” one user tweeted.

☆ It might be possible to fight a traffic ticket with an AI 'robot lawyer' secretly feeding you lines to your AirPods, but it could go off the rails
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

DoNotPay wants to put AI to the courtroom test, and plans to use it to advise defendants in traffic cases. Judges could alert bar associations to a rogue "robot lawyer" on the loose, legal experts said. But DoNotPay's founder Joshua Browder plans to put his app's AI "robot lawyer" to just such a test in an upcoming traffic court case in February, according to a report in the New Scientist that heralds the first AI-powered defense in court. "The traffic court judge might have questions about who's really doing the talking here." As Browder courted headlines with the bold move to take DoNotPay's "robot lawyer" to court, he also tweeted an incredible offer on Sunday.

☆ Top Hollywood lawyer Bryan Freedman paid a $40,000 settlement after being accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old while in college
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Kate Taylor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But clients may not know that Freedman, 58, was accused of sexual assault in the 1980s and paid a $40,000 settlement to the accuser. She said that instead of taking her there, the men brought her to the nearby Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. The plaintiff said she and her friend then returned to Zeta Beta Tau to retrieve her shoe and car key. The 17-year-old and her parents sued Freedman and the two other fraternity brothers, as well as Zeta Beta Tau and Tau Kappa Epsilon. (Zeta Beta Tau and the other college students accused of sexual assault also agreed to pay settlements, none of which admitted liability.)

Summary Other large jurisdictions saw pass rate declinesNew York bucked the trend(Reuters) - California this week joined Texas and Florida in posting a pass rate decline on the July 2022 bar exam. For first-time test takers, the pass rate fell to 62% this year from 71% in 2021. Its overall July pass rate fell 10 percentage points to 51%, while its first-time pass rate declined 8 percentage points to 64% this year. Law schools with low pass rates risk losing their American Bar Association accreditation, and low pass rates can constrain the entry-level hiring pool for legal employers. Read more:Bar exam pass rate rises in New York, falls in FloridaLatest bar exam software glitch puts some test takers in a bindOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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