In the movie “Goodfellas,” Robert De Niro famously advises that the two greatest life lessons are “Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.” Those are good rules if you’re in a crime syndicate. But as most lawyers know, our Rules of Professional Conduct can actually require us to “rat out” our
Witness to an execution: no conflict issue for ass’t state AG, says district court
In an unusual application of the lawyer-witness rule, a district court recently held that the rule would not prevent an assistant state attorney general from being on an open phone line along with the court and other party representatives during the execution of a death-row inmate — even though the assistant AG might have to
Two-lawyer household – too much information, Ohio Board says
Confession: I’m a lawyer who’s married to a lawyer. If that’s your situation too, then you know some of the challenges — how life at home falls apart when you both have trials scheduled; the strain on the budget in those early days when you’re paying off two sets of law school loans; playing rock-paper-scissors
Lawyer’s “compassion fatigue” entitled to little weight; WA court disbars him for converting client funds, other misconduct
A Washington lawyer was disbarred last month by the state supreme court in a disciplinary case with an interesting array of issues: the heavy penalties for using trust account money to “rob Peter to pay Paul;” the danger of treating the representation of a relative too casually; “compassion fatigue” as a potential mitigating factor in
Measure twice cut once: 10th Circuit decides malpractice policy doesn’t cover overbilling claims
As the legal market continues to change, attorneys face more challenges when it comes to client relations. While the trend has been for clients to slash attorney’s fees by hiring third party auditors to review bills, or to aggressively seek discounts on fees, ethical considerations, and now the United States Court of Appeals for the
Luxury ride over: TX court disqualifies former Rolls-Royce lawyer based on conflict
Do you toil in the pressure cooker of a firm, but dream of going in-house? Many lawyers have that goal. But the churn works in the other direction, too, with in-house lawyers migrating to firms or solo practice. When they do, they can face conflict of interest issues leading to disqualification, as a former in-house
A Bitcoin for Your Thoughts?
So, you’ve just met with a potential client and the opportunity to take a fascinating case or close a major deal is at your front door. The catch? The client wants to pay for your services in Bitcoin. Do you accept? Can you accept?
The do’s and the can’s
If you’re licensed in Nebraska the
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
PA lawyer suspended for “textbook” conflict of interest after representation adverse to assault victim
Representing a campus sexual assault victim-turned-activist and later using her confidential information in representing an alleged campus assailant with interests adverse to the former client is a “textbook” conflict of interest. That’s the message the Pennsylvania Supreme Court sent in suspending a lawyer for a year in a consent-to-discipline case published this week.
Former -client
Failing to notify opposing counsel of client’s “burn files” leads to disqualification in NJ case
What are your ethics obligations when your client gives you documents that the client may not be entitled to have? Model Rule 4.4(b), adopted in some form by most jurisdictions, provides some guidance. Applying it, together with other principles, a New Jersey appeals court, in an unpublished ruling, recently disqualified a firm from