legal ethics round-up (June 3, 2010)

The ABA's National Conference on Professional Responsibility is underway in Seattle.       .  .  .  .  .        Former federal prosecutor Steven Biskupic was cleared of any ethics charges in the Georgia Thompson affair.       .  .  .  .  .       White Collar Crime Prof notes that New York DA Cyrus Vance has a new charging policy that will ordinarily not consider whether an organization pays legal fees for its accused officers and agents, but if that payment is part of an effort to obstruct an investigation, they may be.  That leaves the DA a lot of wiggle room.  When an organization is looking to throw an officer under the bus, cutting off legal fees to please the DA seems very nasty -- especially if the by-law, articles, or employment contract provide for fees.       .  .  .  .  .       A Kirkland & Ellis patent litigator has gone into business for himself, after buying patents and setting up his own firm to prosecute infringement cases.  (h/t: Point of Law)       .  .  .  .  .       Troutman Sanders outsourced its IT help desk. We've seen firms increasingly outsource a variety of internal services, including the copying, billing, etc.      .  .  .  .  .