In-house attorneys face unique situations when it comes to client relationships and job responsibilities. But when it comes to ethical obligations, the Model Rules don’t recognize any difference between lawyers who work in-house and others. Model Rule 1.0(c) defines “law firm” to include lawyers employed “in the legal department of” an organization, and it has
Litigation-funding agreement “champertous” and unenforceable, MN appeals court rules
Third-party litigation funding is a growing and, some say, controversial industry. We’ve written before about whether such arrangements are permitted under state ethics rules (here), and we reported on the first effort to mandate disclosure of third-party funding via federal court rule (here), as well as the first state statute requiring
Impugning integrity of appellate judges draws stayed suspension for OH lawyer
Many litigation lawyers know about the “litigation privilege” (sometimes called the “judicial privilege”). The doctrine operates to immunize lawyers from liability for statements made during the litigation process that are related to the litigation, even if they injure an opposing party. (Here’s a 2015 Hofstra Law Review article that provides an overview.)
But lawyers
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,
No DQ for firm in California homeless rights case, says district court
“DQ” at this time of year makes me think of drive-in ice-cream cones. But I actually mean “DQ” as in “disqualification,” and instead of sugar cones, it points to an interesting case involving some take-home lessons about conflicts of interest.
Crisis of unhoused residents
California’s massive homelessness problem has been the subject of several federal
Going once, twice … MD bar approves charitable auctions of legal services
Looking for marketing ideas to help you or your firm stand out from the crowd? If you’re tired of branding tee shirts and mugs with your logo, how about donating your legal services to be auctioned off by a charity? As you might suspect, there are ethics issues — and Maryland’s state bar association recently
NJ lawyer suspended for make-believe FINRA arbitration, hiding default against firm
A New Jersey lawyer was suspended for six months for misrepresenting to clients for about eight years that their arbitration matter “was proceeding apace,” when he actually had never filed their claim. The lawyer also concealed from his firm for almost two years the malpractice suit that the clients later filed, including the default judgment
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
Lie to the FTC? Don’t try it, warns agency blog post
Do lawyers need to be reminded not to lie to a federal agency?
As reported earlier this week on Law 360, the staff of the Federal Trade Commission has issued a wake-up call to lawyers who practice before the agency, warning them that intentionally misleading the Commission could lead to “public reprimands, sanctions and even
Arrest threat draws suspension for NY lawyer
A New York lawyer representing a landlord was suspended earlier this month for conduct that included threatening a tenant with arrest and telling him that he was worthless and should commit suicide.
In its opinion, the court found that the lawyer violated Rule 3.4(e) of the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct, which bars threatening