In the days of yore, lawyers were generally viewed as a socially “conservative” group not likely to seek attention or say controversial or unkind things in public. Those days are, of course, long gone. Today many lawyers go out of their way to say things that are intended to draw attention and address controversial topics.
The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, (the Committee”) recently issued Formal Opinion 508—which highlights the differences between proper witness preparation and unethical “coaching.” The Opinion also sheds light on how remote platforms have paved the way for easier and less detectable means of improper coaching.
What is allowed?
Discussing testimony with
Your client has just been sentenced as a first-time DWI offender earlier this morning. Later in the afternoon, you are in another courthouse. Your same client is facing sentencing for another DWI. The driver’s abstract has not yet been updated to reflect that, based on the morning’s plea, your client is no longer a first-time
Lawyers face tremendous professional stress in the best of times between long hours, deadlines, and the adversarial nature of the work itself. The landmark 2016 report, The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys[1], showed that attorneys experience problematic drinking at a rate much higher than other populations
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred a lawyer for conduct that violated Rules 1.15(I)(a) and 1.15 (II)(b) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct—the maximum sanction for such violations. After failing to respond to various attempts from the State Bar and Special Master to determine the validity of the allegations, the Court found that the
2021 was a whirlwind! Lawyers have had to be more flexible and resourceful than ever. It is the year that the ups and downs of the pandemic made it abundantly clear that this is more of a marathon than a sprint. While resilience can be invigorating, the challenges are ongoing. The stress of keeping up
A Florida lawyer violated the ethics rules by texting his witness during a deposition, the Florida Supreme Court recently held. The court imposed an even stiffer penalty than recommended.
Just the facts, ma’am
In January 2020, the Florida Bar filed its Complaint against the lawyer for conduct during a telephone deposition in a worker’s
Can a lawyer use an advice-of-counsel defense in a disciplinary case? The Florida Supreme Court last month accepted the defense, adopting a referee’s report in a case spotlighting the issue.
The lawyer in the case personally guaranteed a loan for his own business venture. Unable to repay the loan, and facing hard-hitting collection methods from