He Regulated Medical Devices. His Wife Represented Their Makers.; The New York Times, August 20, 2024

 Christina Jewett, The New York Times; He Regulated Medical Devices. His Wife Represented Their Makers.

"For 15 years, Dr. Jeffrey E. Shuren was the federal official charged with ensuring the safety of a vast array of medical devices including artificial knees, breast implants and Covid tests.

When he announced in July that he would be retiring from the Food and Drug Administration later this year, Dr. Robert Califf, the agency’s commissioner, praised him for overseeing the approval of more novel devices last year than ever before in the nearly half-century history of the device division.

But the admiration for Dr. Shuren is far from universal. Consumer advocates see his tenure as marred by the approval of too many devices that harmed patients and by his own close ties to the $500 billion global device industry.

One connection stood out: While Dr. Shuren regulated the booming medical device industry, his wife, Allison W. Shuren, represented the interests of device makers as the co-leader of a team of lawyers at Arnold & Porter, one of Washington’s most powerful law firms."

Lawyers using AI must heed ethics rules, ABA says in first formal guidance; Reuters, July 29, 2024

Sara Merken, Reuters; Lawyers using AI must heed ethics rules, ABA says in first formal guidance

"Lawyers must guard against ethical lapses if they use generative artificial intelligence in their work, the American Bar Association said on Monday.

In its first formal ethics opinion on generative AI, an ABA committee said lawyers using the technology must "fully consider" their ethical obligations to protect clients, including duties related to lawyer competence, confidentiality of client data, communication and fees...

Monday's opinion from the ABA's ethics and professional responsibility committee said AI tools can help lawyers increase efficiency but can also carry risks such as generating inaccurate output. Lawyers also must try to prevent inadvertent disclosure or access to client information, and should consider whether they need to tell a client about their use of generative AI technologies, it said."

Alito’s inverted flag makes a mockery of the Supreme Court’s code of ethics; The Hill, May 21, 2024

 CEDRIC MERLIN POWELL, The Hill; Alito’s inverted flag makes a mockery of the Supreme Court’s code of ethics

"This violates the court’s newly minted code of conduct, which remains unenforced because the court regulates itself. Its legitimacy is buttressed by a paper tiger.

The inverted flag on Justice Alito’s flagpole violates nearly all of the court’s ethical rules. 

Its first disqualification rule says “A Justice is presumed impartial and has an obligation to sit unless disqualified.” Alito’s impartiality has been shattered. He should be disqualified because he has not avoided “impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities” per Canon 2, and he cannot “perform the duties of office fairly [and] impartially” per Canon 3 because the inverted flag signals his allegiance to a party that has pending matters before the court. 

The partisan and volatile tenor of the inverted flag “endorse[s] a … candidate for public office,” which violates Canon 5 because it trades in the discredited Trump-invented trope of a stolen election. Justice Alito has not refrained from political activity; thus, the independence of the judiciary is called into question, per Canon 1. This is particularly disconcerting because Justice Alito is the third most senior justice on the court...

Every branch of government, including state and lower federal courts, has enforceable and binding codes of conduct that ensure impartiality, fairness and legitimacy. Congress must adopt a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. We should right the flag by turning it upward toward our democratic principles."

Ethical considerations in the use of AI; Reuters, October 2, 2023

 Brad Hise and Jenny Dao, Hanson Bridgett LLP, Reuters; Ethical considerations in the use of AI

"The burgeoning use of artificial intelligence ("AI") platforms and tools such as ChatGPT creates both opportunities and risks for the practice of law. In particular, the use of AI in research, document drafting and other work product presents a number of ethical issues for lawyers to consider as they contemplate how the use of AI may benefit their practices. In California, as in other states, several ethics rules are particularly relevant to a discussion of the use of AI."

Artificial intelligence: Partnership between UNESCO and the EU to speed up the implementation of ethical rules; UNESCO Press Release, June 27, 2023

UNESCO Press Release; Artificial intelligence: Partnership between UNESCO and the EU to speed up the implementation of ethical rules

"UNESCO and the European Commission have just signed an agreement to accelerate global implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence adopted in November 2021 by the 193 Member States of the Organization. A budget of €4 million will be dedicated to supporting the least developed countries in the establishment of their national legislation."

American Bar Association Urges Ethics Code for US Supreme Court; Bloomberg Law, February 7, 2023

Lydia Wheeler, Bloomberg Law; American Bar Association Urges Ethics Code for US Supreme Court

"The American Bar Association wants the US Supreme Court to adopt a judicial ethics code.

Meeting in New Orleans on Monday, the group’s 591-member policy-making body passed a resolution urging the high court to adopt ethics rules similar to the code of conduct all other federal judges must follow.

Concern over public perception of the court seemed to prompt the ABA action. The resolution said the absence of a clearly articulated, binding code of ethics for the justices threatens the legitimacy of the court.

“If the legitimacy of the Court is diminished, the legitimacy of all our courts and our entire judicial system is imperiled,” the resolution said.

Federal judges on lower courts across the country are bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct, which maps out rules for how judges should conduct themselves on and off the bench. The code says judges should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities, refrain from political activity, and recuse themselves from a case when their impartiality might be reasonably questioned because of financial interests or personal bias."

Governor Shapiro announces ethics rules, training for employees; WABC27, January 20, 2023

George Stockburger, Sarah Willson, WABC27; Governor Shapiro announces ethics rules, training for employees

"Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says approximately 3,500 Commonwealth employees will be required to sign an integrity pledge and participate in ethics training.

Shapiro also announced an executive order regarding the solicitation or acceptance of gifts for executive branch employees. The rule includes “a total prohibition on gifts, discounts, services or any other items or other benefits of any value received from a lobbyist or lobbying firm.”...

The moves were part of a three-part ethics package announced by the Governor’s office on Friday."

Allegation of Supreme Court Breach Prompts Renewed Calls for Ethics Code; The New York Times, November 20, 2022

Jodi Kantor , The New York Times ; Allegation of Supreme Court Breach Prompts Renewed Calls for Ethics Code

"Lawmakers are demanding further investigation at the Supreme Court and renewing their calls for binding ethics rules for the justices, after allegations that a landmark 2014 contraception decision was prematurely disclosed through a secretive influence campaign by anti-abortion activists."

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gives an incomplete history lesson on judicial ethics; NBC News, January 4, 2022

Steven Lubet, Williams Memorial Professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, NBC News ; Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gives an incomplete history lesson on judicial ethics

In his end of the year report, Roberts' argument for the court's independence from oversight omitted a key part of its history.

"His comments come amid increased calls for the Supreme Court to be subject to a code of ethics, like all other U.S. courts. As chief justice, though, Roberts has consistently defended the court’s refusal to adopt one, rejecting all suggestions of congressional or other oversight. His referring to Taft’s support for judicial independence seems to bolster that argument. But the story Roberts presented is oddly incomplete, omitting a crucial aspect of Taft’s legacy: Taft also believed that judges should be accountable for their conduct according to ethical standards developed outside the judiciary – a proposition that Roberts has politely but firmly rejected...

Another financial scandal, resulting in the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas in 1969, spurred the ABA to re-examine the by-then-antiquated canons. The ABA promulgated the much-strengthened Code of Judicial Conduct in 1972. The Judicial Conference of the United States, with authority over the lower federal courts, officially adopted the code in 1973, as did every state judiciary in the following years. Though the code itself doesn’t include penalties, violations can lead to discipline in some circumstances.

That progress stopped at the Supreme Court steps. The Supreme Court has declined for over 50 years to adopt the Judicial Conference code, or any other, making it the only court in the U.S.without a formal set of ethics rules."

In a year-end report, Chief Justice John Roberts emphasizes judicial ethics; NPR, December 31, 2021

ERIC MCDANIEL , NPR; In a year-end report, Chief Justice John Roberts emphasizes judicial ethics

"U.S. courts need to do more to ensure compliance with ethics rules — including rules that preclude a judge from presiding over cases in which he or she has a financial interest, Chief Justice John Roberts says in a year-end report on the federal judiciary.

Roberts was responding, in part, to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal which found that between 2010 and 2018, 131 federal judges ruled in cases involving companies in which they or their families owned shares of stock. 

Roberts said that while those amount to "less than three hundredths of one percent of the 2.5 million civil cases filed in the district courts" during that period, the federal judiciary must take the matter seriously.

"We are duty-bound to strive for 100% compliance because public trust is essential, not incidental, to our function," he wrote."

Ethics Webinar: When an Attorney or Expert Screws Up; American Bar Association (ABA), Thursday, January 24, 2019

AMBAR.ORG     |      CAREER CENTER     |      MEMBERSHIP     |      CALENDAR     |      CLE     |   PUBLISHING

Oops: What To Do When an Attorney or Expert Screws Up Webinar | January 24, 2019 1:00 PM — 2:00 PM ET 1.00 Ethics/Professionalism CLE Credit   LEARN MORE

This program will address the ethical rules governing attorneys when they make a mistake or discover that someone else has made a mistake. The program also provides:

Practical tips for identifying mistakes Strategies for addressing mistakes with clients Practical solutions for resolving mistakes and avoiding malpractice claims Adverse consequences of not addressing mistakes early Practical tips to comply with ethical obligations and avoid malpractice claims Sponsor(s): Section of Litigation; Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division; Senior Lawyers Division; Young Lawyers Division; Standing Committee on Paralegals; ABACLE Panelist(s): David Benkert (Ankura Consulting, Inc); Latoyia Watkins Pierce (AXA); Michael Leboff (Partner, Klein & Wilson); and Selena E. Molina (Associate, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP) (Moderator)

When it comes to this White House, the fish rots from the head; Washington Post, March 7, 2018

Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post; When it comes to this White House, the fish rots from the head

"“Make no mistake about it, if Trump does not fire Kellyanne Conway after THREE Hatch Act violations another redline will be crossed,” tweeted Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics counsel during the Obama administration. “He will be saying breaking the law does not matter — I will pardon away any sins.” Eisen added: “Well, it does matter, and the American people will not tolerate it.” Richard Painter, who was George W. Bush’s ethics counsel, weighed in as well. “In any other White House, a single major ethics violation would result in dismissal,” he wrote on Twitter. “This is her third, and all three within the same year. She needs to go.” But we surely know she won’t — at least not for this.

The expectation of compliance with the law and concern about the appearance of impropriety are entirely absent from this administration for one very simple reason: Trump has set the standard and the example. Don’t bother with the rules. If caught, just make up stuff."

6 Core Values and 5 Emotional Intelligence Skills Leading to Sound Ethical Decisions; IPWatchdog, July 6, 2017

Bernard Knight, IPWatchdog; 6 Core Values and 5 Emotional Intelligence Skills Leading to Sound Ethical Decisions

"Ethical conduct is required in all jobs and by all organizations.   It also applies to positions at all levels.   Anyone can disagree with a substantive business or legal decision, but make an ethical mistake and your company, firm or individual career could be in jeopardy.   I explain below some excellent tools to avoid ethical missteps...

This article discusses how you can use core values and emotional intelligence skills to avoid ethical mishaps.   These skills are easy to gain and can save you from an unintended ethical mishap.   For more on the importance of emotional intelligence, see my prior IPWatchdog article."

Walter Shaub’s Brave, Quixotic Ethics Battle with Trump; New Yorker, July 7, 2017

Sheelah Kolhatkar, New Yorker; Walter Shaub’s Brave, Quixotic Ethics Battle with Trump

"After leaving his post at the O.G.E., Shaub will join the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., as the director of its ethics program. According to Lawrence Noble, the Center’s general counsel, Shaub learned about the job opening only recently. “When the opportunity came for us to hire Walt, we couldn’t pass it up,” Noble said. He added that, to the best of his knowledge, Shaub “was under no outside pressure” to leave the O.G.E. before his term ended, and Shaub told the Washington Post much the same.

In his new role, Shaub will be helping the Center to expand its ethics program, strengthen its watchdog role, and help design potential fortifications to the ethics rules, which have been “stress-tested” under President Trump, as Noble put it. He added that Trump had exposed many weaknesses in ethics laws. With Shaub’s help, his organization will be looking at ways to strengthen and update conflict-of-interest rules for the President specifically, as well as ways to potentially give more power to the O.G.E., which, currently, can only offer advice and suggestions and has no enforcement role."

White House Waivers May Have Violated Ethics Rules; New York Times, June 1, 2017

Steve Eder and Eric Lipton, New York Times; White House Waivers May Have Violated Ethics Rules

"The Trump administration may have skirted federal ethics rules by retroactively granting a blanket exemption that allows Stephen K. Bannon, the senior White House strategist, to communicate with editors at Breitbart News, where he was recently an executive.

The exemption, made public late Wednesday along with more than a dozen other ethics waivers issued by the White House, allows all White House aides to communicate with news organizations, even if they involve a “former employer or former client.”"

The White House’s Aversion to Ethical Scrutiny; New York Times, May 25, 2017

Editorial Board, New York Times; 

The White House’s Aversion to Ethical Scrutiny

"Mr. Trump’s own Justice Department disagreed, saying on Tuesday that its ethics experts “determined that Mr. Mueller’s participation in the matters assigned to him is appropriate.” Mr. Mueller did not represent Mr. Kushner nor Mr. Manafort while at WilmerHale, a firm that employs 300 lawyers in Washington and 1,200 globally. Nor was Mr. Mueller privy to any confidential information about their cases, a state of affairs that satisfies both District of Columbia and federal rules.

Why would White House lawyers pursue such a baseless line of attack? “They’re trying to use the ethics rules to fire a special prosecutor,” Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush White House, said. “That’s insane.” If the Bush administration had told him to concoct legal justifications for evading ethics rules and legal inquiries in this way, Mr. Painter said, “I’d have quit.”"

White House looking at using ethics rule to weaken special investigation: Sources; Reuters via CNBC, May 20, 2017

Reuters via CNBC; White House looking at using ethics rule to weaken special investigation: Sources

"The Trump administration is exploring whether it can use an obscure ethics rule to undermine the special counsel investigation into ties between President Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia, two people familiar with White House thinking said on Friday."

Pick Your Favorite Ethics Offender; New York Times, April 1, 2017

Editorial Board, New York Times; 

Pick Your Favorite Ethics Offender

"President Trump and his administration are offering the country a graduate-level course in the selling of the presidency. Much attention has focused on how Mr. Trump is using the White House for personal gain, but many other officials, including members of his family, friends and close aides, also stand to rake it in at the public’s expense.

Mr. Trump has driven right over the Constitution by allowing foreign governments to funnel money to him through his hotels and golf courses, in violation of the emoluments clause. So it comes as no surprise that the people who work for him have felt free to abuse their positions and run roughshod over ethics rules. He has created an anything-goes culture in which some aides and advisers are openly working to bend government policy to serve their personal interests. In other cases, the potential for corruption is less obvious but no less dangerous. Here are some of the most egregious offenders."

Ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn didn’t sign ethics pledge; PBS NewsHour via Associated Press, March 22, 2017

Stephen Braun and Chad Day, PBS NewsHour via Associated Press; 

Ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn didn’t sign ethics pledge

"President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn did not sign a mandatory ethics pledge ahead of his forced resignation in February, raising questions about the White House’s commitment to the lobbying and ethics rules it imposed as part of the president’s promise to “drain the swamp.”

Flynn “didn’t have the opportunity to sign it,” said Price Floyd, a spokesman for the retired Army general. “But he is going to abide by the pledge” and has not engaged in any lobbying work since leaving the White House that would have violated the pledge, Floyd said."

Trump Ethics Monitor: Has The President Kept His Promises?; NPR, February 17, 2017

Alina Selyukh, NPR; 

Trump Ethics Monitor: Has The President Kept His Promises?

"Although Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office now, he continues to own stakes in hundreds of businesses, both in this country and abroad.

Ethics experts say this vast international web of personal financial ties could influence Trump's thinking on public-policy decisions. Trump has dismissed such concerns; he notes presidents are exempt from the conflict-of-interest rules that apply to Cabinet members and other government employees.

Past presidents have complied voluntarily with the ethics rules.

What Trump and his team have done is commit to certain steps that do touch on some of the ethics and conflicts-of-interest concerns. The Trump Ethics Monitor below focuses on those promises and tracks their status."