Maybe you were lucky and opposing counsel was able to delete the inadvertent email you sent her before she read what would have inevitably blown your whole case. But what about for those lawyers who were not so fortunate? Did you commit malpractice? Do you anticipate hearing from disciplinary counsel? Certain mistakes can be damaging
Of cats and competence: legal ethics lesson from the trenches
By now, you’re probably one of the 3.7 million people who’ve seen the video of a virtual court hearing in Texas that went terribly wrong for the county attorney. (If not, here it is on YouTube.) As depicted for all to see, the hapless lawyer appears on-screen as a fluffy white cat, complete with moving
In narrow ruling, law firm escapes liability for not thwarting real estate cyber-scam
In a narrow ruling last month by a sharply-divided West Virginia high court, a law firm escaped liability for failing to prevent a phishing/spoofing scheme that resulted in more than $266,000 in closing funds being wired to scammers, after they impersonated plaintiffs’ real estate agent. The opinion is part of the developing law on lawyer
Zoom-bombing at court hearing for accused Twitter hacker highlights duty of tech competence
The blogosphere lit up last week with news that a Florida state court bail hearing for an accused Twitter hacker had been disrupted by a pornographic Zoom-bomb that highjacked the proceedings and beamed sexual images onto viewers screens. (Some coverage here and here, but don’t worry, no pictures.) The seventeen-year-old defendant is accused of
Quick malpractice settlement with uncounseled client merits suspension, says TN court
Falling below the standard of care in providing legal services to a client can of course bring a malpractice claim down on your head — and as we’ve pointed out, the economic climate resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic raises the risk of such claims. Let’s say that you’ve actually made an error. If you
Can your client pay with Bitcoin? Ethics issues to consider
Bitcoin has come a long way since 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz made the first Bitcoin purchase by paying 10,000 Bitcoins for two Papa John’s pizzas – a pizza order that today would have been worth over $80 million.
In addition to the pizza giant, some law firms are now accepting cryptocurrencies in exchange for legal
Dealing with an impaired lawyer: D.C. identifies ethics duties
It’s no secret that lawyers struggle at disproportionate rates with mental-health and substance-abuse issues. The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being reported in 2017 that in a study of 13,000 practicing lawyers, 28 percent struggled with depression; 19 percent struggled with anxiety; and between 21 and 36 percent qualified as “problem drinkers.” Most at risk
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
Client sanctioned for local counsel’s communication screw-up
Going abroad? Think that “national counsel” is going to take care of anything that comes up when you’re gone? Get swamped when you return and take “several weeks” to wade through the e-mail that piled up in your absence? If you’re local counsel, that might be a recipe for disaster — for your client —
Redacting documents can be tech challenge — and legal ethics risk, too
Everyone knows that we have an ethical duty of competence, and in most jurisdictions this includes a duty to be aware of the “benefits and risks” of relevant technology. Examples of possible technology issues affecting our practices: encryption (and cyber-security in general), cloud storage, e-mail handling, the internet of things — there