You’re chatting with your pals at the bar association cocktail hour, and talk turns to the indictment just handed down against a former city official. Someone says, “Hey, didn’t your firm used to represent her?” “Yes,” you reply, “and a couple years ago, I had a really interesting case involving her. Maybe I shouldn’t discuss
Ticket to hell: Fla. judge resigns after taking Rays tix from law firm with pending case
A Florida judge resigned last week in the wake of a state judicial ethics investigation launched after he accepted baseball tickets from a law firm that was litigating a slip-and-fall case before him. The outcome for the judge seems like a foregone conclusion, but it also is a timely reminder for lawyers about the ethics rules governing their interactions with judges.
60 Minutes segment shows ethics issues in client representation
The set-up: Potential client calls you on the phone. He says he is representing a government minister from a mineral-rich West African nation — he won’t say which one. But his (unnamed) principal needs legal help in order to move millions of dollars into the U.S. — consisting of what the representative candidly describes as
“Good … luck sweetie” letter, unauthorized practice, draw discipline complaint
Be aware of your jurisdiction’s limits on what a “retired” lawyer can and cannot do, and obey them — or risk being tagged for the unauthorized practice of law. And, oh yeah — communicate politely. That’s a dual lesson a lawyer in Illinois may be about to learn, according to a disciplinary complaint filed in
Lawyer tries advice-of-counsel defense in disciplinary case; didn’t disclose client’s death
Here’s an update on a case we reported on last year, where a lawyer agreed to a settlement on behalf of his plaintiff client — who happened to already be dead at the time. The court of appeals in the Illinois case, Robison v. Orthotic & Prosthetic Lab, (predictably) tossed out the settlement based
Dabbling in other practice areas can bring disciplinary, malpractice woes to lawyers
Did you make a New Year’s resolution to shift gears in your law practice? Maybe start practicing in a new area of the law that is unfamiliar to you? It’s always fine to add new skills, of course, and marketing yourself in new ways can be a good strategy for bringing in more revenue in
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
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