Judges question Musk's role in DOGE, Trump targets Covington over Jack Smith ties, lawyers fined over fake, AI-generated cases, and more ??
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
??'Where is Mr. Musk in all of this?' Judges question secrecy of DOGE's activities
On social media and at political rallies, Elon Musk has taken credit for leading the team that is cutting allegedly wasteful U.S. government spending, even waving a chainsaw on stage at a conference. In court, it's a different story.
Questions about Musk's role and the activities of the team, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, are at the heart of multiple lawsuits seeking to block them from accessing government systems and slashing programs.
Many of the suits allege that Musk and DOGE are violating the Constitution by wielding the kind of vast power that only comes from agencies created through the Congress or appointments made with confirmation by the Senate.
Despite Musk's public assertions to the contrary, DOGE operates in great secrecy.
The scant information presented in court about who is ordering the cost-cutting and how it is working has led some judges to rule in favor of Musk and DOGE, at least for now. In some cases, however, despite noting concerns about DOGE's opacity, judges have found there is sufficient evidence to pause its activities.?
??Trump curtails US business with law firm representing Jack Smith
President Donald Trump on Feb. 25 signed an order suspending security clearances for lawyers at Covington & Burling who are representing former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The memorandum also directs U.S. agencies to end engagements with Covington to the extent allowed by law and orders a review of government contracts with the firm.
Smith led two since-dismissed federal criminal cases against Trump accusing him of plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling classified documents.
Trump and his allies have portrayed those cases as misuse of the criminal justice system. Smith has defended his probe, saying politics played no role in the work of his office.
"We're going to continue holding the people who were responsible for the weaponization of government - who supported it - accountable," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Covington is among the most prominent law firms in Washington and has traditionally had deep ties to government agencies. It has a number of former top U.S. government lawyers in its ranks, including former Attorney General Eric Holder.
?? Judge fines lawyers in Walmart lawsuit over fake, AI-generated cases
Three lawyers suing Walmart in a personal injury lawsuit must pay fines totaling $5,000 for citing fake cases generated by artificial intelligence in a court filing, a federal judge ruled.
The lawyers, including two from national law firm Morgan & Morgan and one from a smaller firm, had an ethical obligation to ensure that the cases they cited were real, U.S. District Judge Kelly Rankin in Wyoming said in his sanctions order on Feb. 24.
Rankin imposed a $3,000 fine on Rudwin Ayala of Morgan & Morgan, who earlier this month apologized and said he used an internal AI program that "hallucinated" the cases, which he incorporated into a filing in the case.
The judge also removed Ayala from the lawsuit, and he imposed fines of $1,000 each on T. Michael Morgan and local counsel Taly Goody of Goody Law Group for not doing enough to ensure the accuracy of the filing that Ayala drafted.
"As attorneys transition to the world of AI, the duty to check their sources and make a reasonable inquiry into existing law remains unchanged," Rankin wrote.
Judges across the country have questioned or disciplined a growing number of lawyers over the past two years for including AI-generated cases and quotations in court documents. Examples have cropped up in at least nine lawsuits since chatbots like ChatGPT ushered in the AI era, highlighting a new litigation risk.
??Want to hire Elon Musk's lawyer? That will be $3,000 an hour
A leading attorney for billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk and embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams now has a standard billing rate of $3,000 an hour, placing him on the top shelf among even the priciest of Manhattan lawyers.
Alex Spiro, known for his high-profile clientele and relentless litigation style, is among a small group of lawyers at Quinn Emanuel now billing the $3,000 rate, according to a source familiar with the firm's billing practices.
The Los Angeles-founded law firm disclosed a range of new billing rates in court filings in recent days. The source said the top rate applies to Spiro and to William Burck, the firm's global co-managing partner.
Quinn Emanuel's $3,000 top rate marks a milestone for leading U.S. law firms as lawyers' hourly fees continue to soar.
The firm said in its court filings that its partners now bill between $1,860 and $3,000 an hour. It said it will charge between $1,775 and $2,725 an hour for "of counsel" attorneys at the firm, and between $1,035 and $1,665 for associates.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading The Legal File, and have a great day!
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