What was the most important development in the legal ethics arena over the past five years? I was honored to be asked by LexBlog, the folks who provide our blog platform, to share my views on this topic on the LXBN network, which has 8,000+ blog authors. But of course, the invitation also made
Happy Holidays!
The Law for Lawyers Today will be taking a short break over the Xmas holiday. But we’ll be back on December 31 with our thoughts about the past year in Ethics World and predictions for 2016!
On-line blab can kill lawyer licenses and lead to other bad stuff — latest cautionary tales
Here are three very recent reminders about what not to do online. These separate stories involve an Indiana lawyer and two judges: one state and one federal. Apparently human nature makes on-line misconduct irresistible to some people, even at the cost of their licenses to practice, and the risk of other professional embarrassment.
Don’t Steele
Firm should have used internet to find missing “Caveman” client; no withdrawal allowed
If your client stops communicating with you and seemingly disappears, how hard do you have to search for the client before you can convince a court to allow you to withdraw from the representation?
A leading firm found out recently that you at least have to get on the internet and take a look.
Where’s
Fired GC fends off dismissal of retaliation claim, can sue individual director, says district court
A fired GC of a public company recently fended off dismissal of his whistle-blower retaliation claims in California district court. Adding to a split in authority, the chief magistrate judge for the Northern District of California held (1) that the protections of the Dodd-Frank Act applied even though the GC made his report internally, and
Five reasons why lawyers should be thankful
The world has been through dark things in the past couple weeks. But here in the U.S., we will nonetheless sit down on Thanksgiving Day with family and friends for a shared meal that is the proper antithesis — perhaps the strongest one — to hate, death and destruction.
And while you are feeling generally
Want to be “local counsel”? Understand who your client is and define your duties
If you only agree to be “local counsel” in a matter, you can rest assured that your limited undertaking also limits the scope of your duties — right? Wrong — as a recent disciplinary case and recent ethics opinion point out.
No “local counsel exception” to conduct rules
If your law school friend is serving
Buying pre-fab legal blog content — any ethics issues with that?
It’s pretty circular for a legal blogger to write a blog post about — blogging. But bear with me: there’s a legal ethics issue in here. Thomson Reuters recently introduced a new product for busy lawyers who “do not have time to write articles,” but want to produce a blog. (Hat tip to @kevinokeefe over
Disloyal GC’s can be required to disgorge salary, says NJ high court — even if no economic harm
In most houses, Halloween lasts until the kids eat that last candy bar — saving it from their parents’ grasp. So I don’t think it’s too late to spotlight a case that’s bound to scare in-house counsel, in which the New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that the remedy of disgorgement can be applied to
Ninth Circuit agrees law firms are not “persons” for § 1927 sanctions; circuit split deepens
Sanctions have long been available under federal statute for “multiply[ing] the proceedings in any case unreasonably and vexatiously.” Entitled “Counsel’s Liability for Excessive Costs,” 28 U.S.C. § 1927 is a short and seemingly straightforward provision that applies to “[a]ny attorney or other person admitted to conduct cases in any court of the United States…” and