An attempt to rein in obnoxious lawyers

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By Sara Merken

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REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

California in 2026 will become the first U.S. state to require its attorneys to take an annual civility oath to "conduct themselves with dignity, courtesy, and integrity" – the latest attempt to rein in obnoxious lawyers.

Pugnacious and sharp-elbowed attorneys make for compelling movies and television, but off the screen academics and judges say incivility is contributing to high rates of anxiety and depression among lawyers, exacerbating the public's low opinion of them and eroding trust in the justice system.

Incivility is "sand in the gears" of the legal system, said Brian Currey, a retired California appeals court judge and the chair of the 2021 California task force that proposed the annual civility oath. "When lawyers waste their time and energy sniping at each other, it makes resolving disputes or issues more difficult," he told Reuters.

Under California's new requirement, approved by the Supreme Court of California in September and finalized by the State Bar of California last month, lawyers must reaffirm their civility pledge every time they pay their annual state bar dues. Read more from Karen Sloan.

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In New York: Paul Weiss hired finance partners Nicholas Schwartz, Julie Ann Lamm and Mark Adler from Sidley … Gibson Dunn added energy and infrastructure partner Jamal Lama from Ares Management … Tarter Krinsky & Drogin brought on litigation partner Terence McLaughlin from Canary Medical … Squire Patton Boggs picked up Katie Catanese from Foley & Lardner, where she was vice chair of the bankruptcy and restructuring practice ... Morrison Cohen added digital assets partner Joshua Garcia from Ketsal.

In D.C.: Todd Kim left the DOJ's environment and natural resources division for Pillsbury … Willkie added Christopher DiPompeo as co-chair of its bankruptcy litigation practice from Jones Day … Fried Frank tapped corporate transactions partner Saif Shah Mohammed from Kirkland … Wiley hired former DOJ antitrust lawyer Nicholas Cheolas … Adam Vaccaro, former director of the Department of Commerce's Office of Investment Security, joined DLA Piper.

In Chicago: Greenberg Traurig hired private equity partners Robert Graham from Katten and Francesco Castaldi from Kirkland … Winston & Strawn brought on transactions partner Justin Gonzales from Perkins Coie.

Across other cities: Kirkland picked up Los Angeles-based partner Meghan Cocci, who co-chaired the hospitality, gaming and leisure group at Latham … Fennemore combined with San Antonio-based litigation and labor and employment firm Schmoyer Reinhard … King & Spalding tapped former Home Depot associate general counsel Will Barnette in Atlanta … Arnold & Porter added life sciences transactions partner George Jenkins in London from Covington … Holland & Knight hired corporate partner Carmelo Gordian in Austin from A&O Shearman … Sean Thornton joined WilmerHale in Boston from BNP Paribas.

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved President Trump's nomination of Boeing's chief labor lawyer for a seat on the NLRB, teeing up a confirmation vote that could restore the paralyzed board's ability to decide cases. Read more from Daniel Wiessner.

The AI frenzy is driving a memory chip supply crisis … The Federal Reserve appears to have finally turned the corner on a three-year-long string of unprecedented loss-making … The Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin accepted some U.S. proposals aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and rejected others. Plus, the photo that became a symbol for Hong Kong's deadly fire.

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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