Biden nominates 4 more judges, ex-prosecutor objects to license suspension, 3rd Circuit halts midnight filings, financial services team leaves firm ⬇️
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President Joe Biden nominated another four federal judges, including two women of Asian descent who would be the first such U.S. judges on their court or in their state.
The Senate, which Biden's fellow Democrats narrowly control, must approve the candidates, who were nominated to posts in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., according to a White House statement.
If confirmed, District of Columbia Court of Appeals Judge Loren AliKhan would be the first South Asian woman on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the only Asian American Pacific Islander on the court.
Susan DeClercq, currently Ford Motor Co's director and special investigations counsel, would be the first East Asian federal judge in the state if confirmed for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
So far, the Senate has confirmed 122 of Biden's nominees to lifetime posts on the federal courts, according to the White House.
Mark Bennett, a former longtime U.S. prosecutor in Ohio who admitted to making unwanted sexual comments at work to a law school intern, asked the state Supreme Court to reject the Board of Professional Conduct's recommended sanction of a six-month attorney license suspension.
The filing from Bennett argued that a six-month suspension that is "fully stayed" — allowing him to remain a member of the bar without interruption — was appropriate punishment for sexual innuendo that Bennett said he thought was mutual "joking and banter."
The former legal intern, whose name was redacted in court files, was 24 when she first worked in the same U.S. attorney's office where Bennett was employed. She told investigators she worried about the harm to her career if she reported Bennett's misconduct.
During her internship, Bennett asked her to send him nude photos, discussed his marital sex life, and suggested he could be the intern's sexual partner, according to the ethics complaint.
Bennett "now recognizes and has freely admitted that his conduct was unprofessional and inappropriate," his court filing said. His attorney contends that the Ohio Supreme Court's comparative prior precedents justify a punishment of a stayed six-month license suspension.
The Ohio Supreme Court weighs attorney discipline and is expected to hear arguments in Bennett's case. No hearing date has been set.
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The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals adopted a proposal that would require most legal briefs and other court documents to be submitted by 5 p.m. on the day they are due, putting an end to the practice of lawyers and paralegals working until midnight to complete filings.
The new rule applies only to the 3rd Circuit. It comes after the court's chief judge Michael Chagares pushed for years for the whole judiciary to rollback deadlines to improve attorneys' work-life balance.
The court adopted the new rule despite opposition from bar associations and other lawyer groups that said an earlier filing deadline could exacerbate pressure on lawyers and sow confusion among attorneys from other parts of the country who do not often practice in the court.
Under the new rule, electronically filed documents, except for filings that initiate cases in the court, must be submitted by 5 p.m. Eastern Time, otherwise they will be treated as if they were filed the next day.
The 3rd Circuit said the changes would aid litigants representing themselves before the court who often cannot file documents electronically and must submit hard copies to the clerk's office during business hours.
The new policy takes effect on July 1 but includes a grace period until the end of 2023 for electronic filings submitted after the deadline.
As financial institutions face increased scrutiny, 10 consumer financial services attorneys have left U.S. law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in several cities.
The litigation and regulatory team includes three partners: Arjun Rao in Los Angeles, Brian Frontino in Miami, and Allen Denson in Washington, D.C. Seven non-partner lawyers are based in those three locations, as well as Century City and New York, a firm spokesperson said.
The team helps financial services and fintech clients defend against banking class actions and manage state and federal regulatory matters.
Law firms have recently been pulled in to advise on high-profile financial institutions matters, such as the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
"The banking industry is at a crossroad—from disrupters and new entrants to heightened regulation, litigation, and other economic challenges," Morgan Lewis chair Jami McKeon said
A Stroock spokesperson said its financial services litigation, regulation, and enforcement group "remains a major force" and wished the departing lawyers well.
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