LER No. 120 - SCOTUS's New Recusal Software, Is $9,350 Handbag Gift a Legal Ethics Violation?, IL May Limit Firm Investment, "Slaughtering" Mansfield Rule, Law School Accreditation & More (02.23.26)

The Legal Ethics Roundup - your Monday morning tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson

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Happy Monday!

Here are your headlines.

Highlights from Last Week - Top Ten Headlines 📰

#1 ABA Issues New Opinion on Judicial Ethics. *Two headlines for #1. *First, “ABA Formal Opinion 521 Re: Judicial Canons of Ethics Applying to Administrative, Supervisory Role,” *from the *American Bar Association: *“The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion that provides guidance on the ethical obligations of judges under the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct when exercising administrative, employment and supervisory authority. * Formal Opinion 521 says that the canons and rules governing impartiality, integrity and independence — particularly Canons 1 and 2 and associated rules — require judges to administer chambers and court staff with the same fairness and neutrality that guide adjudication. This opinion explains that ethical duties extend beyond the courtroom to include merit-based appointments, the prevention of bias and harassment and the avoidance of favoritism or the appearance of impropriety in all administrative decisions. Judges fulfill these obligations by ensuring that their use of administrative authority promotes public confidence in the judiciary’s independence and integrity.” Read more

.

hereSecond,

“Judges Only Hiring Clerks From Their Alma Maters is Bad Look, New ABA Ethics Opinion Says,”from the

ABA Journal: “Judges should use merit-based selection for court hires and not use their positions to influence outside officials, according to an ethics opinion released Wednesday by the ABA. Additionally,

, from the ABA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, states that jurists have ethical obligations extending far beyond the bench. Promoting and preserving public trust in the judicial system ‘requires attention to both substance and perception,’ according to the opinion. Numerous rules from the ABA’s

Formal Opinion 521Model Code of Judicial Conductare referenced in the ethics opinion, which includes various scenarios that may cause concern.” Read more

.

here#2 “Supreme Court Adopts Automated Recusal Software to Avoid Ethics Conflicts.” *From *CNN: **“The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will start using software to assist in justices’ decisions to recuse themselves from cases that present a potential conflict of interest. A brief press release issued by the court described an electronic matching process already used by some lower courts to compare a case’s parties to lists judges assemble of individuals and organizations they have ties to. A 2023 code of conduct statement from the justices said they were considering adopting such a tool themselves.” Read more ** here.

#3 “Illinois Lawmakers Seek to Limit Private Equity in Law Firms.” *From *JD Journal: **“Illinois lawmakers are advancing new legislation that would significantly restrict the role of private equity firms and outside investors** in the state’s legal industry, signaling growing concern over how financial backing could reshape the practice of law. The proposed measures, introduced in the Illinois General Assembly, seek to reinforce longstanding ethical rules that prohibit non-lawyer ownership of law firms. As private equity firms increasingly explore partnerships with legal organizations through management services organizations (MSOs) and similar structures, lawmakers say clearer statutory guardrails are needed to protect attorney independence and client interests.” Read more

.

here#4 “Top Lawyers’ Fees Have Surged—Here’s Why $3,400.” *From *The Wall Street Journal: *“That’s the hourly rate charged by some * senior partners at the largest U.S. law firms, according to data from Persuit. Legal fees have escalated to once-unthinkable levels for several reasons, including a more competitive market for talent and the high stakes of litigation and corporate dealmaking. And perhaps most of all, ego. … Some lawyers with specialized skills are even more aggressively pushing the upper limit.

Eric Troutman, a partner at a Southern California firm, has already told his clients that he is upping his rates to $6,000 for consulting on compliance issues in his niche specialty of telecom regulation. Last year he charged $4,200 an hour.” Read more

(gift link).

here#5 “Legal Leaders Take Historic Step To Protect Americans Under Guardianship, Conservatorship.” *From *Forbes: *“In July 2021, in the midst of her prolonged public battle to end her father’s appointment as her conservator, popstar * Britney Spears testified that she had just learned that she could ask for the conservatorship to be ended: ‘I’m sorry for my ignorance,’ she told the judge in her case, ‘but I honestly didn’t know that.’ Spears’ apology suggested that the attorney who had been hired to represent her had not actually informed her of a key option. This month, the American Bar Association (ABA) took an historic step to prevent such problems. It revised its ethics rules for attorneys to make it clear that they must advocate for their clients’ wishes even when their clients are—as Ms. Spears was—under guardianship or conservatorship.” Read more

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here#6 “The Slaughtering of the Mansfield Rule - And Why It Hurts.” *From *Vivia Chen’s Ex-Careerist Substack: *“Just a few weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission sent * ’warning letters’ to 42 law firms that participated in a program aimed at improving female and minority representation at the top echelons of the legal profession. The FTC warned that their DEI efforts threatened competition, ‘with the effect of reducing pay and other benefits below competitive levels.’ That’s right, DEI is a form of price fixing that violates antitrust laws. Who knew that the real agenda of DEI was market manipulation? … [The] Diversity Lab, which ran the program (known as the Mansfield Rule), is essentially gutted. Diversity Lab founder

Caren Ulrich Stacyinformed participating firms in a February 12 email that the program is no longer viable because of continuous assaults by the Trump administration” Read more

.

here#7 “Update: Judge Rakoff Issues Written Opinion That AI-Generated Documents Are Not Protected by Privilege.” *From *Debevoise & Plimpton: *“Last week, * we wrote about a decision in which

Judge Rakoff of the Southern District of New Yorkdenied the claim of defendant

Bradley Heppnerthat documents prepared by Heppner using the consumer version of the AI model Claude for legal research were privileged. On February 17, 2026, Judge Rakoff issued a written opinion explaining the reasoning behind his February 10 ruling.” Read more

.

here#8 “Jeffrey Epstein Gave Her a $9,350 Handbag, But Did Goldman Sachs’ Departing Top Lawyer Violate Any Rules?” From Reuters: *“Goldman Sachs top lawyer *Kathryn Ruemmler faced fierce criticism on social media and calls for her ouster following revelations that she accepted thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from Jeffrey Epstein when she was previously a partner at a law firm. As a matter of attorney ethics, her conduct didn’t appear to violate any professional rules -- but it raised questions of judgment, some legal ethics experts told me. … Ethics rules for lawyers offer few guardrails on the propriety of accepting gifts. Most state bars have adopted an American Bar Association rule that says a lawyer may not solicit a ‘substantial’ gift from a client. But the rule doesn't prevent a lawyer from accepting an unsolicited client gift, no matter how valuable, said Fordham School of Law ethics professor Bruce Green. Nor are lawyers barred from soliciting or accepting substantial gifts from a former client or other non-client.” Read more ** here**.

#9 “A Legal Practitioner’s Guide to AI & Hallucinations.” From the National Center for State Courts: “AI tools are transforming legal work with the ability to scan millions of cases, statutes, and regulations in seconds. These systems use machine learning, natural language processing, and large language models trained on vast legal datasets to ‘understand’ legal terminology and concepts within their specific domains, and provide insights, identify relationships, and generate content requested by a user. Beyond serving legal professionals, AI is expanding access to legal help for people navigating the legal system without an attorney. Chatbots and virtual assistants can prepare legal materials and assist with governmental filings, making verification of AI outputs even more critical. Using AI carries both responsibilities and risks for legal professionals, who may be tempted to overrely on AI output without adequate verification. This guidance helps attorneys and other legal practitioners understand how generative AI works, what it does and does not do well, and how to use it responsibly.” Read more and download the guide ** here**.

#10 Law School Accreditation News. *It was a big week for law school accreditation news, so you get three headlines for #10. *First, “Top Judicial Officials Form Workgroup Studying Law School Accreditation,” *From the *ABA Journal: *“As the path forward for law school accreditation is reconsidered in several states, a group of chief justices and court administrators launched a * workgroup this week to dig deep into accreditation, including the role of the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The group of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators was created seven months after the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform’s

, which recommends ‘law school accreditation that serves the public’ and proposed the creation of this workgroup.” Read more

2025 report.

hereSecond,

“ABA Weighing Repeal of Law School Diversity Standard,”from

Law.com:“The American Bar Association’s accrediting council voted Friday to send a repeal of Standard 206 for notice and comment. Following an emotional discussion about the future of the American Bar Association’s accreditation standard that governs diversity and inclusion requirements in law school admissions, the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has decided to advance a proposal to repeal the standard. The council voted Friday to send a proposed repeal of the standard out for notice and comment and extend the current suspension of Standard 206 until Aug. 31, 2027. A year ago, the council voted to suspend the standard until Aug. 31, 2025 and then extended the suspension during its May meeting until the end of August 2026.” Read more

.

hereThird,

“ABA Council to Seek Comment on Inclusion of Alternative Licensure Pathways Language in Accreditation Standards,”from

Law.com:“The council voted Friday to send the proposed changes out for notice and comment, which are intended to ‘modernize the language’ to ‘explicitly recognize that law school graduates may achieve attorney licensure through means other than a bar exam.’” Read more

. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the

here)

Accreditation Council for the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.### Get Hired 💼

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