If you have not heard of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), now is the time to become familiar. Millions of companies will be affected by its reporting requirements. With the effective date being right around the corner, all lawyers need to be thinking about the CTA. The CTA, which Congress passed as a component of
Qualified non-lawyer support staff is a key component to the operation of many law firms and law offices across the country. Accordingly, the lawyers in those firms have a great interest in retaining exceptional nonlawyer staff. But the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct (the “Board”), recently reminded lawyers of the ethical restrictions placed upon them
Rule 1.8 addresses conflicts that can arise between a lawyer and client (as opposed conflicts between clients). Prior to the adoption of Model Rule 1.8 in 1983, the ABA Model Code flatly prohibited agreements limiting liability. DR 6-102(A) provided that “A lawyer shall not attempt to exonerate himself from or limit his ability to
Joint representations can present a host of ethical issues for lawyers to navigate including what to do with the clients’ file upon termination of the representation. The NYSBA’s Committee on Professional Ethics recently issued Opinion 1249 which explains that in a joint representation, the presumption is that the lawyer will share confidential information received from
Earlier this month, the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct (“Board”) issued an Opinion which provides guidance to attorneys engaged or contemplating engaging in an office-sharing arrangement. Sharing office space has many enticing advantages for lawyers such as reducing overhead and having access to other attorneys to collaborate with, all while maintaining a sense of independence.
Marketing is an integral part of the private practice of law. But where is the line between permissible advertising tactics and impermissible solicitation? Often it is hard to find guidance to tell you on which side of that line your marketing strategies fall. The recent ABA Opinion 501 
may help. It sets forth several hypotheticals
Remember your first days in law school, when you were introduced to a whole Black’s Law Dictionary-worth of exotic legalese? Words like “estop,” “arguendo” and “gravamen”? (If you’re like us, you’ve spent your post-school days learning how to avoid this jargon and write plain English; but we digress.) Remember “escheatment”? The term of course
Law firms that want to include mandatory arbitration provisions in their client engagement agreements must explain to the client the benefits and disadvantages of arbitrating a prospective dispute, the New Jersey state supreme court held late last year — and merely providing a link to the arbitration rules doesn’t satisfy the requirement, the court said.
Can you ethically withdraw from representing a client if you fear contracting COVID-19 as a result of some aspect of the representation? Earlier this month, the New York State Bar Association issued an ethics opinion that said “Yes,” provided that the lawyer gets any necessary permission from a tribunal. While advisory for New York lawyers
One market effect of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is that transactional clients might be eager to offer you stock or some other form of participation in a deal in lieu of your legal fees. An uptick in proposals like this could come as clients try to limit cash outlays until the business climate and their