ABA Sound Advice: Five Tips for Successful Local Counsel Engagements
A Primer on the Texas Bar Disciplinary System | Seana Willing | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Digital Issues for Individuals Working at Home (Digital Planning Podcast)
At the risk of stating the obvious, we are still in the early days of what we believe to be an “AI Revolution” in the way that goods and services, including legal services, are and will be provided. That means that we do not,...more
Ideally, the attorney-client relationship begins once a signed written engagement agreement is in place, which clearly outlines the clients who will be represented and the agreed scope of legal services. A properly drafted...more
Traduction en cours. Can the buyer in a M&A transaction who takes possession of the seller’s or target company’s privileged communications on closing use those communications in a post-closing dispute against the seller?...more
I just came across a decision issued in the District of Massachusetts, Logue v. The Rand Corporation, and it reminded me of some key aspects of the attorney-client privilege related to in-house counsel about which I have...more
An appellate court in Illinois declined to expand the scope of the third-party beneficiary theory espoused in Pelham v. Griesheimer, 92 Ill.2d 13 (1982) and affirmed summary judgment in favor of the law firm and its partners....more
In this excerpt from our free eGuide on protecting attorney-client privilege, we explore the changes in rules regarding privilege and their real-life implications... The right of an attorney to communicate with a client...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently affirmed the dismissal of a direct claim against an attorney based on the litigation privilege. The attorney, who represented the wife in a divorce proceeding, was sued by...more
Have you ever heard a story and thought, “That only happens in the movies!”? Well, this story may invoke that thought, but unfortunately for one lawyer, it transpired in real life. Although the rule is clear that lawyers...more
The #FreeBritney movement catapulted the ethical challenges of conservatorships into the public eye. Pop icon Britney Spears, whose father was appointed as her conservator in 2008, stands at the center of this cultural...more
A recent decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) addresses the circumstances under which an attorney may be subject to discipline for disclosing confidential client information. In the Matter of Michael...more
The practice of law is increasingly complex, and lawyers can use all the support they can get. Paralegals often play a large role on legal teams, providing invaluable support to lawyers. But this begs some questions: What are...more
We wrote last July about a draft California ethics opinion regarding clients who may have diminished mental capacity. After receiving public comment, the State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and...more
Attorney-client privilege. Most people have heard of it, and most have a general idea it means. But what, exactly, is attorney-client privilege? What's its purpose? What does it cover? When does it begin and end? Can...more
At first glance, TikTok might not have obvious utility to the working professional. After all, its pandemic-era popularity seems to be the product of Zoom-schooled and homebound Gen Zers who flocked to the app as a new...more
Thanks to multiple means of electronic communication that are available these days, employees communicate with each other more quickly and easily—and as a result, more frequently—than ever before. Email and other electronic...more
What are the ethical obligations of a California lawyer for a client with diminished mental capacity? The ethics committee of the State Bar of California answers this key question in draft Formal Opinion No. 13-0002, with...more
An employee is terminated, her laptop and phone seized. As she is escorted from the premises, Human Resources instructs her, in no uncertain terms, about company information: All internal company emails and other business...more
Confidentiality is fundamental to the client-lawyer relationship. Are you talking to your lawyer within earshot of a family member or a third person? Are you talking to your lawyer within earshot of a listening device?...more
Insurance Coverage – Computer Fraud – E-Mail "Spoofing" - Trick or Treat Editors' Note: Does anything cause deeper mortal terror than the prospect of an uncovered loss? In a tale that has an all-too infrequent happy ending...more
Doing Business with a Client – Rule 1.8 Conflicts Arising from Transactionswith Clients – Enforceability of the Transaction - Calvert v. Mayberry, 2019 CO 23 - Risk Management Issue: What are the risks for an attorney who...more
The attorney-client privilege is intended to protect communications between an attorney and his/her client. The Supreme Court stated that the privilege exits to “encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and...more
Lawyers rely on referrals from existing and former clients to obtain new business and, of course, always run the risk that a client who had a bad experience will comment negatively on the experience to that person’s immediate...more
City of San Diego v. The Superior Court of San Diego County, D073961 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th Dist. Modified Jan. 7, 2019) - Brief Summary - During an internal affairs investigation concerning the leak of a confidential...more
School Teacher’s ADA Claim Against Catholic School Was Not Barred By “Ministerial Exception” Biel v. St. James School, 2018 WL 6597221 (9th Cir. 2018) - Kristen Biel was fired from her fifth grade teaching position at...more
Knowing how to fire a lawyer may be one of the most important things that a car accident or personal injury victim can learn. People go to lawyers for help. But sometimes people go to the wrong lawyer....more