As we welcome 2026 with high hopes and new resolutions, let’s review some highlights from 2025 and consider practices that should be carried forward into the new year and those which should be left behind.
Ethics Opinions Issued in 2025
In Texas Ethics Opinion 701, the Professional Ethics Committee concluded that an attorney
Lawyers sometimes forget that, as the American Bar Association has noted, we cannot “take off the lawyer hat” to circumvent ethics rules. Likewise, lawyers are not any less susceptible to discipline for ethics violations just because their conduct takes place on social media instead of the courtroom. These are important rules to keep in
The North Carolina Business Court recently issued an order revoking the pro hac vice admission of a Florida attorney and barring him from practicing in North Carolina courts for an entire year. The order arose from a series of misrepresentations and failures to correct inaccuracies made in connection with pro hac vice applications, as well
A recent decision from North Carolina highlights the complications faced by disciplinary authorities in dealing with the ever-increasing number of attorneys working “remotely” in other jurisdictions.
A New York licensed attorney living in North Carolina was nearly disbarred until the North Carolina appellate court reversed the disbarment orders of the North Carolina Discipline Hearing Commission
Today, several jurisdictions (D.C, Utah and Arizona) permit lawyers to practice in organizations where non-lawyers have ownership interests. For example, D.C.’s Rule 5.4(b) permits D.C. barred attorneys to “practice law in a partnership or other form of organization in which a financial interest is held or managerial authority is exercised by an individual nonlawyer who
Like it or not, artificial intelligence is not going away and it’s evolving—quickly. While AI talk has been brewing for quite some time, many of us assumed AI’s direct effect on our business was still years off. But over the last year the pace of development and use has accelerated exponentially and it is
Anyone who takes or defends depositions in Ohio will want to be familiar with Opinion 2022-13, issued by The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct (“the Board”). The Opinion will be of particular interest to out-of-state lawyers who want to take depositions in Ohio but are concerned about engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.
What’s trending
The rapid evolution of technology over 2 years of COVID not only allows for a remote practice, but in many regards encourages it. So much so that some firms are now hiring attorneys who will work primarily – if not exclusively – remotely.
The focus of regulators’ concerns is shifting less on where
Can violating a legal ethics rule qualify as an unfair trade practice under a state’s consumer protection statute? A Florida district court recently said “Yes.” The question arose in motion practice over the admissibility of expert testimony in a timeshare-exit case.
And then there was one
A group of entities connected to Wyndham Vacation Resorts
Two recent developments in states accounting for a hefty percentage of U.S. lawyers spotlight the profession’s move toward technology-based practice models that are untethered from physical offices.
In New York, the state senate last month unanimously passed a bill that would remove the requirement — dating to 1909 — that New York-licensed lawyers residing outside