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)
Be cautious, be curious, be vigilant, and be brave. Those were the words of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence. It is good advice. GenAI is here and lawyers need to understand its...more
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
Finding an attorney who is the right fit can be tough and it may mean you have to speak to more than one before you find someone you like. Have you ever wondered what happens if you decide to retain one attorney over the...more
Consideration of ethical and professional issues raised by Florida attorneys use of AI, including the following: - Florida Bar Ethics Opinion 24-1 (01/19/24). (Copy to be provided for download.) Overview of the opinion...more
The American Bar Association recently issued a Formal Ethics Opinion addressing the ethics of attorney office sharing arrangements. In Formal Opinion 507, issued on July 12, 2023, the ABA Standard Committee on Ethics and...more
Some conflicts of interest are easy to spot. Most lawyers recognize, for example, that a lawyer cannot act as an advocate in one case against a person the lawyer represents in another case, even if the matters are unrelated. ...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
You may not have heard the phrase before, but most likely you have encountered a “litigation terrorist” – an attorney who deliberately creates chaos in litigation. This is a growing trend in litigation and can manifest...more
Last week, the State Bar of California filed an 11 Count Notice of Disciplinary Charges against John Eastman for “legal” services rendered to former President Donald Trump and others promoting the idea that the 2020...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
The American Bar Association (ABA) has issued its second formal opinion concerning Model Rule 4.2 in as many months. The so-called “no-contact rule” prohibits a lawyer from having contact with a represented party about the...more
American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rule 4.2, the “no-contact rule,” provides that: “In representing a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be...more
Get those cold storage crypto wallets ready, Ohio lawyers! The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct issued an advisory opinion allowing lawyers to accept and hold cryptocurrency in escrow when related to the representation of a...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
Are there limits on employees or agents of a law firm soliciting work for the firm from individuals known or reasonably believed to be in need of legal services for a particular matter? In a recently issued opinion, the...more
Brief Summary - A California appellate court held that it is a violation of the duty of candor for an attorney to prosecute an appeal while failing to cite known authority that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain...more
It's one of the most gut-wrenching events in a lawyer's practice when they suspect the client is lying about the facts to cover up fraudulent or criminal activity. The client may be hiding liabilities when applying for a loan...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
This presentation will provide an overview of the California Rules of Professional Responsibility, as reenacted in 2018, and related California statutes, focusing on the Lawyer-Client Relationship, the lawyer’s role as...more
Life happens fast. Blink, and you may miss important legal ethics opinions that capture the latest risk management trends. Our New Year's Edition of the Lawyers' Lawyer Newsletter highlights 11 opinions from 2021 that may not...more
In a case of first impression in North Carolina, a judge for the North Carolina Business Court was recently asked to decide whether a single law firm may simultaneously represent both a corporation and its individual...more
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.” But how many of us have godlike clients? At some point in their careers, most lawyers will make a mistake, whether trivial or significant in terms of the representation or the outcome of...more
The objective of The Ethics and Professional Liability Bulletin is to keep legal professionals informed of recent developments and trends in the areas of legal ethics, professionalism, and professional liability. August 23,...more
[co-author: Stephanie K. Benecchi] Why the term “zeal” as used in the ABA Model Rules is misleading and potentially harmful, and why its removal will result in rules that clearly set out a lawyer’s ethical obligations...more
A new ethics opinion from New Jersey turns the concept of “implied consent” under ABA Model Rule 4.2 on its head. The March 10, 2021 Ethics Opinion from New Jersey - A recent opinion from the New Jersey Advisory Committee...more