We’ve written a lot over the past six years about the Rules of Professional Conduct, and for good reason. The lawyer conduct rules represent a floor: when your conduct sinks below the floor, you can merit professional discipline. But there are other norms and mores in our legal community, namely standards of professionalism. As the
Screen-surveillance not required for remote depo, SDNY says, but sets other limits
If you’re a litigator, you may have already experienced the brave new world of remote videoconference depositions. If you haven’t yet you will, and when you do, you may have to think about what opportunities for misconduct arise when you aren’t in the room with the witness. If you’re not there to watch, can the
It’s five o’clock somewhere: Lawyers working remotely from other jurisdictions during COVID-19
Whether to flee from areas experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, or simply to take advantage of the opportunity to work far away from the office, lawyers may sometimes wish to work remotely from a jurisdiction other than the one where they are licensed. Though you may dream of “practicing” from a laptop in the distant California mountains,
Law firm marketing alert: Blog image violated copyright, photojournalist’s complaint says
Blogs are a great way to market your legal practice and the more visually compelling the better. Careless use of social media and its visual impact can spell real trouble, though. We’ve posted about things to watch out for in responding to on-line reviews, using Facebook and sharing on-line opinions. Now comes another
Take stock instead of legal fees? Take a hard look and mind the ethics rules
One market effect of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is that transactional clients might be eager to offer you stock or some other form of participation in a deal in lieu of your legal fees. An uptick in proposals like this could come as clients try to limit cash outlays until the business climate and their
Does a client transaction raise flags? You might have a duty to inquire further
New legal ethics opinions: CA finally weighs in on pot; ABA opines on would-be clients
The eyes of the nation and of the world have been on crucial issues of racial inequity in the past few weeks following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. These issues penetrate to the very essence of how we can maintain a just society — issues that likewise go to the
Yelp review leads to N.J. lawyer’s suspension where client info was not “generally known”
We’ve noted before that just because information relating to your representation of a client might be publicly available, your duty of confidentiality means that you can’t disclose it if it is not “generally known.” The two concepts — public availability and being “generally known” — are not the same, as a New Jersey lawyer learned
No DQ for soliciting, representing client’s former employees at depo says CA district court
Defense counsel did not act beyond the scope of their pro hac vice admission by contacting some of their client’s former employees and offering to represent them at their depositions, said a California district court last week, turning back plaintiffs’ motion to disqualify the Ohio lawyers. In its opinion the court analyzed both pro hac
Sexy texts, unauthorized practice spell suspension for OH lawyer
An Ohio lawyer crossed a border and also a line, leading to a two-year suspension and a restitution order under an opinion the state supreme court handed down this week. The suspension was based on ethics violations as to numerous clients, but one involved the prohibitions against unauthorized practice and sexual activity with clients. The