When you start planning to leave your firm for greener pastures, lots of ethics issues can crop up (bad pun). One of the most acute issues sprouts if you get an offer to join a firm that is on the opposite side of a matter you are already handling. That was the situation in a
Keeping your client out of social media trouble — how far can you go?
Your domestic relations client has some really unfortunate Face Book posts that she put up before you filed for divorce on her behalf. Your personal injury client has some pictures on Instagram that seem to depict him riding a surfboard, despite his claimed injury. And your business client, charged with producing a defective product, has
Unauthorized practice — a continuing risk for unregistered in-house lawyers
We’ve written before to remind in-house lawyers that even if you don’t sign pleadings or appear in court on behalf of your corporate employer, you are still practicing law when you give advice and participate in business transactions on your employer’s behalf. If you do so without being duly licensed, you are straying into unauthorized
Celgard DQ decision– sky is not falling, but representing economic competitors still merits caution
Celgard, LLC v. LG Chem, Ltd., a disqualification case decided by the Federal Circuit, continues to make waves. Insightful commentary from Ronald Rotunda is here; he notes that typing the case name into Google yields more than 5,000 hits.
Last December, when the opinion came out, there was concern (see here and here
Billing follies — what not to do
This week’s not-to-be-missed article on lawyer folly is a jaw dropping round-up of bad billing conduct, as reported in the American Lawyer.
It’s well-known that every jurisdiction’s version of Model Rule 1.5 prohibits charging an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses. So what could lawyers have been thinking when they did things
Verizon says legal departments among most likely to fall for phishing scam
As Willie Sutton supposedly said, he robbed banks “because that’s where the money is.” That also explains why law firms and lawyers are increasingly the targets of cyber-intrusion, particularly phishing scams. Apparently, phishing in legal waters can yield a full net of stolen information.
“Most likely” to take the bait
Verizon’s 2015 Data Breach
Threat to file disciplinary complaint can backfire
We’ve all been there. Opposing counsel has acted like a jerk throughout your case. But now, counsel has crossed the line with conduct that you think is not merely uncooperative or dilatory, but also unethical.
Thinking of telling your opponent that you’re going to file a complaint with disciplinary authorities about that unethical conduct?
More lessons from the trenches: GC’s can face challenges when managers by-pass law department
Here is the second in our series of interviews with general counsel from a variety of organizations, who share their lessons from the trenches. You can read the first installment here.
Deal documentation quandary
What should general counsel do when a manager by-passes the legal department in negotiating transaction terms with another party —
Looking for creative legal marketing? Try doughnuts.
Law firm-branded coffee mugs; golf umbrellas with the firm logo; managing-partner bobble-head dolls — giving away law firm tchotchkes like these is often part of a firm’s marketing program. (Well, maybe not the bobble-heads; I made that one up.)
But how about delivering doughnuts to banks and real estate agents to encourage them to refer
Lawyers take note: Here comes the Internet of Things
This might be an odd confession for a blogger, but I’ve always been a little leery of technology. I’m not a Luddite, or anything, but I’m definitely a late adopter. So I’ve been following the buzz about the coming Internet of Things with some trepidation.
In case you’ve somehow missed it, the Internet