Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman in Good Spirits About the Ongoing Lawfare Against Him, Both Prosecution and Disbarment Proceedings

Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, who is undergoing lawfare as a result of his representation of Trump in the 2020 election challenges, is facing multiple legal proceedings but is in good spirits.

Eastman, widely considered one of the top legal scholars on the right, who founded the Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, served as dean for Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law, and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told The Arizona Sun Times during an interview that he remains “cheerful but defiant.”

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State Bar of Arizona Under Fire as Complaints and Action Against Republican Attorneys Increase

Considerable scrutiny has been placed on the State Bar of Arizona recently following its decision to pursue investigations and disciplinary actions against attorneys representing clients and causes associated with the Republican Party – particularly election attorneys. The Arizona bar is investigating and has found probable cause against Kari Lake’s attorney Bryan Blehm, and he expects they will disbar him. Former Maricopa County prosecutor April Sponsel recently underwent a disciplinary trial for charging violent Antifa rioters with gang charges, and is waiting to find out if the bar’s disciplinary judge will suspend her license for two years.

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Former AG Mark Brnovich Takes Job With Prominent Firm, Progressive Law Professor Laurence Tribe Tries to Cancel Him

The nationally renowned large law firm Boies Schiller Flexner announced late last month that it had hired Former Attorney General Mark Brnovich as a partner. Progressive Harvard Law School Emeritus Professor Laurence Tribe posted on X criticizing the hire, citing an article that said the firm shouldn’t have hired Brnovich because he was an “election denier.”

Tribe quoted the article, “A law firm that rewards such destructive conduct deserves the profession’s full-throated condemnation.” He added, “Every lawyer in America needs to read this brilliant reminder of our profession’s solemn responsibility.”

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Kari Lake Files Bar Complaint Against Hobbs’ Attorney in Election Lawsuit over Statements Regarding Her U.S. Senate Race Announcement

Kari Lake filed a bar complaint against Katie Hobbs’ attorney, Alexis Danneman of Perkins Coie, on Monday over “false statements” Danneman may have made regarding Lake’s announcement that she was running for U.S. Senate. Danneman, who is representing Hobbs in Lake’s lawsuit challenging Hobbs’ gubernatorial win over Lake, sent Lake’s attorneys an email last week stating that she had violated the state’s resign to run laws and must drop her election challenge.

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Michigan Supreme Court Approves Rule Requiring Judges to Use Preferred Pronouns

The Michigan Supreme Court approved a new rule Wednesday requiring justices to use preferred pronouns or “other respectful means” to address attorneys.

The first-of-its-kind state court rule, which faced pushback prior to its approval, is now scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. In his dissent, Michigan Supreme Court Justice David Viviano warned the decision to “dabble in politics” would cause the court to “forfeit legitimacy with large portions of the public,” noting that addressing such topics is “sadly consistent with this Court’s recent practice.”

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Two Bills Making Progress That Would Dismantle the Mandatory State Bar of Arizona

The Arizona Legislature is considering two bills to dismantle the State Bar of Arizona. 

Senate Bill (SB) 1435, sponsored by State Representative Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) and passed the Senate 16-13 on February 27, would make the Bar voluntary and move the licensing and regulation of attorneys back under the Arizona Supreme Court. Currently, lawyers cannot practice law in Arizona unless they are a member of the Bar. While Arizona is a right-to-work state, lawsuits attempting to stop it from acting like a mandatory union have failed due to judges ruling against them. More than half of the states have mandatory bars; the rest are voluntary.

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In Similar Cases to Lake’s and Finchem’s Lawsuit over Electronic Voting Machine Readers, Judges Did Not Order Sanctions Against Attorneys

The judge in Kari Lake’s election challenge lawsuit declined to award sanctions against her attorneys, although he did order her team to pay the costs of the government defendants. However, in a lawsuit Lake filed earlier this year with Mark Finchem contesting the use of electronic voting machine readers, U.S District Judge John Tuchi, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, sanctioned her attorneys. 

That lawsuit was filed in April and Tuchi dismissed it in August. Maricopa County asked for sanctions on the grounds that attorneys brought claims to court that were “demonstrably false,” citing “vague” allegations that machine counting can produce inaccurate results. Tuchi said the attorneys acted “recklessly” and in “bad faith.” He ordered Lake and Finchem’s lawyers to pay Maricopa County’s attorneys fees. He warned others considering similar lawsuits, “It is to penalize specific attorney conduct with the broader goal of deterring similarly baseless filings initiated by anyone, whether an attorney or not.”

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Nashville Bar Association Petitions Tennessee Supreme Court to Require Annual Critical Race Theory Training of Tennessee Attorneys and Judges

The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) has petitioned the Tennessee Supreme Court to modify its rules to require two hours of training on an annual basis to cover the topic of critical race theory.
Critical race theory is “the view that the law and legal institutions are inherently racist and that race itself, instead of being biologically grounded and natural, is a socially constructed concept that is used by white people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of color,” according to Britannica.

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Democrats Already Sending Out Job Postings Seeking Lawyers to Investigate Trump

by Nick Givas   House Democrats have already released job postings seeking lawyers and legal staff to help aid their upcoming investigations of President Donald Trump. Democrats want legislative counsel with experience in: “criminal law, immigration law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, commercial and administrative law (including antitrust and bankruptcy), or oversight work,” according to CNN. “They’re finding us,” Democratic Rep. Adam Smith told CNN Friday. “There are a lot of Democratic refugees out there after the Republicans took over the House, the Senate and the White House.” Democrats are set to take control of the House on Jan. 3. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is also seeking lawyers for “executive branch investigative counsel.” Congressional Democrats have said they will target Trump’s tax returns, his businesses, financial dealings, as well as former and current cabinet members who served under him. One Democratic House committee posted an ad on a job board on Capitol Hill immediately following November’s midterm election. The job posting did not name a specific committee, but said it will look to “conduct congressional investigations and advise on policy matters related to oversight of the executive branch,” CNN reported. Responsibilities for the new hires would include working on subpoenas, interviews,…

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