The term “legacy” has lately stirred up mixed feelings. A legacy can be a gift, something passed down from a predecessor, or it often connotes a special status given to a person because of his/her familial relationship. However, recently the term has garnered some unsavory associations. The U.S Department of Education, for example, is presently examining Harvard’s legacy admissions history, in light of a recent Supreme Court decision that ruled out considerations of race in its admission policy.
Closer to home, the legacy of the disgraced and disbarred lawyer, Tom Girardi, continues to be a topic of discussion. At a recent development, about 1,600 lawyers have been suspended by the state bar following a violation of client-trust account reporting rules. This order was issued in the fallout from the Girardi debacle, where he got embroiled in serious allegations of misappropriating millions in settlement funds that were actually due to clients. As a measure to prevent any future misuse of client-trust accounts, the state bar has introduced the Client Trust Account Protection Program.
In other connected news, the hearing to determine whether Girardi is competent to stand trial on various criminal charges is scheduled for later this month. The hearing may well descend into a contest between experts in regard to Girardi’s actual mental capacity at the time.
Meanwhile, the recent wave of strikes by writers and actors has seen associates at a law firm choosing to unionize. This trend raises several interesting potential issues, from the ethical to the practical, a development explored in this included link.
One contentious point in both the writers’ and actors’ strikes is the deployment of AI. Whether or not AI will replace several job roles is an argument gaining validity. A law school, for instance, has recently okayed the use AI in the admissions process. A move criticized by those who recall a recent case where lawyers faced sanctions for relying excessively on AI for their legal research.
Lastly, a New Jersey Superior Court judge faces disciplinary charges pertaining to several inappropriate videos shared on his TikTok, which appear to show him lip-syncing to rap songs from various locations, including from inside the courthouse. This instance serves as yet another warning of the perils of social media.