A prominent Chinese dissident may proceed with his malpractice case against a law firm based on allegations that the firm failed adequately to protect his personal data from hackers, a Washington, D.C. district court said in an opinion on February 20. In his $50 million suit, the plaintiff, Guo Wengui, alleges that after he retained
Facebook posts that revealed client info bring public reprimand for MA lawyer
Disclosing client information on Facebook has gotten yet another lawyer in trouble. A Massachusetts attorney was publicly reprimanded earlier this month for posting details of a guardianship case on the social media site, in violation of the Bay State’s version of Model Rule 1.6 (“Confidentiality of Information”). The Board imposed a public reprimand, rejecting an
ABA opinion on judges and recusal based on personal relationships leaves some open questions
Can we be Facebook friends? That’s one question left open by the ABA earlier this month in Formal Opinion 488, on the subject of judges’ personal relationships with lawyers as grounds for disqualification. While spotlighting judicial ethics duties in maintaining impartiality, the opinion fails to provide some needed guidance on social media relationships.
Model
No marketing using client’s info without express consent, says S.C. supreme court, even if “generally known”
As we’ve noted before (here and here), the ethical duty of confidentiality is broad, and can even cover publicly available information. Now comes a reminder that based on the confidentiality rule you should obtain consent before using your client’s name in marketing materials — and that some jurisdictions go even farther. For instance,
Military prosecutor sent “bugged” e-mail to defense lawyers, says motion
We’ve written before about “web bugs” — tracking devices consisting of an object embedded in a web page or e-mail, that unobtrusively (usually invisibly) reveal whether and how a user has accessed the content. Three jurisdictions (Alaska, New York and, most recently, Illinois) have issued opinions pointing to the ethics
Congressman’s tweet about Michael Cohen draws FL disciplinary review
Do we ever take off our “lawyer hats”?
The question has been in the news because of a tweet by Rep. Matt Gaetz, who represents Florida’s first congressional district and is a member of the Florida bar. Pictured at the right, the tweet was directed at Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former attorney, the night before
Extortion or just negotiations? That slippery slope
Last week the media was abuzz with the allegations made against the National Enquirer by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post. The details in Bezos’ blog post about his ongoing dispute with the Enquirer and its publisher David Pecker are sensationalistic to say the least: the world’s richest
Disbarment for anonymous on-line posts should “send a message,” says LA supreme court
Do we need another reminder about the perils of posting internet comments on cases and matters we are connected with? Apparently we do, and here’s a strong one. Earlier this month, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana was disbarred based on hundreds of comments he posted pseudonymously on the website of
LegalForce v. UpCounsel suit challenges on-line lawyer ratings, processing fees
Making big news this summer was the shut-down of Avvo Legal Services just a few months after it was acquired by Internet Brands. (A couple of the many reports are here and here.) Some speculated that the new corporate owner had no stomach to continue to fight for that portion of Avvo’s business
Social media follies: watch your step
Four quick takes on social media pratfalls by judges, lawyers and others — just from the last few weeks. Don’t let these happen to you!
- A Kentucky state court judge posted a comment on a pending murder case on her “official” Facebook page: “This murder suspect was RELEASED FROM JAIL just hours after killing a