A ruling handed down last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court provides object lessons on several aspects of the lawyer discipline system and how to stay out of trouble. In its order and opinion, the court publicly reprimanded a lawyer who pursued a probate case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,
On-line review response by rogue consultant leads to suspension for OK lawyer
An Oklahoma lawyer was suspended last month for two years based on misconduct involving an unlawful response to a bad on-line review of the lawyer’s services. The disciplinary case is a lesson in being careful about who you’re dealing with when you hire a consultant, and also about not doubling down when confronted with a
Lawyer avoids 6th Circuit sanctions; stay-at-home order might have limited his access to record
The plaintiff’s lawyer in a slip-and-fall case got a pandemic-based pass from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last week, avoiding sanctions that the defendant requested after the lawyer misstated the record. The lawyer had based the plaintiff’s appeal argument on an unsigned interrogatory answer that appeared only in a draft.
But the court in
Zoom-bombing at court hearing for accused Twitter hacker highlights duty of tech competence
The blogosphere lit up last week with news that a Florida state court bail hearing for an accused Twitter hacker had been disrupted by a pornographic Zoom-bomb that highjacked the proceedings and beamed sexual images onto viewers screens. (Some coverage here and here, but don’t worry, no pictures.) The seventeen-year-old defendant is accused of
Reminder from the bench: professionalism means not comparing opposing party to a buzzard or Porky Pig
We’ve written a lot over the past six years about the Rules of Professional Conduct, and for good reason. The lawyer conduct rules represent a floor: when your conduct sinks below the floor, you can merit professional discipline. But there are other norms and mores in our legal community, namely standards of professionalism. As the
Screen-surveillance not required for remote depo, SDNY says, but sets other limits
If you’re a litigator, you may have already experienced the brave new world of remote videoconference depositions. If you haven’t yet you will, and when you do, you may have to think about what opportunities for misconduct arise when you aren’t in the room with the witness. If you’re not there to watch, can the
Does a client transaction raise flags? You might have a duty to inquire further
Yelp review leads to N.J. lawyer’s suspension where client info was not “generally known”
We’ve noted before that just because information relating to your representation of a client might be publicly available, your duty of confidentiality means that you can’t disclose it if it is not “generally known.” The two concepts — public availability and being “generally known” — are not the same, as a New Jersey lawyer learned
Sexy texts, unauthorized practice spell suspension for OH lawyer
An Ohio lawyer crossed a border and also a line, leading to a two-year suspension and a restitution order under an opinion the state supreme court handed down this week. The suspension was based on ethics violations as to numerous clients, but one involved the prohibitions against unauthorized practice and sexual activity with clients. The
Quick malpractice settlement with uncounseled client merits suspension, says TN court
Falling below the standard of care in providing legal services to a client can of course bring a malpractice claim down on your head — and as we’ve pointed out, the economic climate resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic raises the risk of such claims. Let’s say that you’ve actually made an error. If you