“The State of Information Governance and the Disconnect Between Policy and Reality” — “Law firms are playing a game of catch up as the sheer volume of data, both in hard copy and electronic form, they routinely handle continues to skyrocket exponentially. To further complicate matters, most of this data is sensitive and/or confidential, driving the emergence of firms adopting robust information governance (IG) policies/strategies. Chief legal officers rank key components of a comprehensive IG program, such as cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and data privacy as the most important issues ..read more

Kirkland responds to Invitae matter conflicts allegation: “Invitae Corporation, Docket No. 3:24-bk-11362 (Bankr. D.N.J. Feb 13, 2024), Court Docket” — “Kirkland does not hold or represent any interest adverse to these chapter 11 estates and is disinterested, as the term is defined by section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy Code.” “Kirkland ‘holds’ absolutely no interest adverse to these estates: it is neither a creditor of these estates nor economically motivated to do anything other than zealously represent the Debtors as fiduciaries for all stakeholders. Just as Kirkland does in every single deb ..read more

“Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Agrees $8 Million Settlement to Resolve Class Action Data Breach Lawsuit” — “The San Francisco, CA-based law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has agreed to a $8 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit filed in response to a 2023 cyberattack and data breach.” “In March 2023, the law firm that specializes in helping companies that have experienced security breaches suffered one of its own. On March 13, 2023, hackers were discovered to have gained access to its network, with the forensic investigation revealing they had access for around t ..read more

“DOJ Pulls Back from Choosing NY Law Firm for Binance Oversight, Citing FTX Connections” — “The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly reconsidering selecting a prominent New York law firm to handle a critical assignment related to Binance, due to the firm’s prior work for rival exchange FTX.” “Sullivan & Cromwell, the law firm managing FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, was initially designated as Binance’s independent monitor. This appointment was a stipulation under the $4.3b agreement where Binance acknowledged culpability for infringing upon US money-laundering regulations and trade s ..read more

“Law firm Kirkland conflicted in Invitae bankruptcy, DOJ watchdog says” — “The U.S. Department of Justice’s bankruptcy watchdog said on Monday that genetic test maker Invitae Corp should not be allowed to hire Kirkland & Ellis as bankruptcy counsel because of the law firm’s work for one of Invitae’s lenders.” “The Office of the U.S. Trustee, a part of the DOJ that oversees the administration of bankruptcies, said in a court filing, opens new tab that Kirkland has a conflict of interest because one of its current clients is private equity firm Deerfield Partners, which is Invitae’s top le ..read more

New York state’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics: “Judicial Ethics Opinion 23-96” — “Digest: A judge must insulate their law clerk from all matters in which the law clerk had any personal involvement as an attorney, but need not disqualify, provided the judge believes the judge can be fair and impartial.” “Both sides have asked the judge to recuse on the basis of an alleged conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety arising from the judge’s recent hiring of a former assistant district attorney as a law clerk.” “During their former employment with the DA’s office, the law clerk c ..read more

“Spousal Interest Disqualification” — “Judge is disqualified from serving on county election canvassing board for the specific race involving the elected county official by whom the judge’s spouse is employed as general counsel where the spouse’s continued employment in that position likely depends on the outcome of the upcoming contested election. Judge is not disqualified from serving on the canvassing board for other races during that election cycle.” “The judge’s duties as a member of the canvassing board include many tasks that would not be perceived as affecting the outcome of any cont ..read more

“Judge’s Potential Recusal Over Citi Stock Divides CFPB, Industry” — “Parties in a lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s credit card late fee rule are divided on whether a federal appeals judge hearing the case might stand to financially benefit from the court fight.” “Attorneys with the CFPB on Thursday told the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that the outcome of the litigation ‘could substantially affect’ stock owned in any of the large card issuers affected by the case. Groups challenging the rule, led by the US Chamber of Commerce, downplayed the impact ..read more

“Russian Use of Litigation Finance Needs Scrutiny, Treasury Says” — “The Treasury Department needs to look into the use of the litigation finance in the US by foreign actors, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said.” “His comments came after Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) asked whether he believed the lack of transparency in the litigation finance industry could create a gap in sanctions enforcement. Menendez referenced a Bloomberg Law investigation that found a firm established by Russian billionaires tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed lawsuits in New York and London both before an ..read more

“No We Didn’t Agree To Handle That Claim” — “One area that can lead to claims against lawyers occurs when the lawyer accepts one part of a representation but declines to represent the client in another matter. Any declination should be communicated clearly to the client and confirmed in writing. If you don’t do that, the client may later bring a malpractice claim against you.” “In Boukari v. Schwartzberg, LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 01247 (March 7, 2024), the plaintiff hired the defendant firm to complete a Workers’ Compensation matter. The lawyers declined to represent the plaintiff in any persona ..read more