October 2016 - Legal Ethics Advisor

New York City Bar: Prosecutors’ Duty to Disclose Held Broader Than Brady Standard

by Nicole Chipi in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 26, 2016

According to a recent opinion from the New York City Bar’s Ethics Committee, a prosecutor’s ethical obligation to disclose evidence favorable to a defendant is broader than the constitutional minimums imposed by the Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland.

“Attorney’s Eyes Only”

by Carlos Alvarez in confidentiality, Featured, Legal Services. Posted October 22, 2016

Court orders imposing “attorney’s eyes only” discovery restrictions do not disrupt the attorney-client relationship or contradict an attorney’s ethical duty to keep clients informed, according to the District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Feuding Directors Can Access Privileged Communications Under Delaware Law

by Nicole Comparato in Featured, News. Posted October 20, 2016

A company’s directors have the right under Delaware law to access all corporate attorney-client communications originated during their terms as directors—even if their interests in the current suit are adverse to the company itself.

Mississippi Court of Appeals: A Bar Complaint Does not Toll the Statute of Limitations on a Legal Malpractice Claim

by Haley Moss in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 15, 2016

The Mississippi Court of Appeals recent decision in Archer v. Creefound holds that a client’s state bar complaint against a lawyer does not toll the statute of limitations on that client’s legal malpractice claim.

Avvo’s Directory Akin to the Yellow Pages: Embedded Attorney Advertising Does Not Render a Profile Listing to be Commercial Speech

by Alessandria San Roman in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 12, 2016

On September 12, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled in Vrdolyak v. Avvo, Inc. that Avvo’s publishing of online profiles of Illinois attorneys, which may contain advertisements for competing attorneys on the same page, does not violate an individual attorney's publicity rights. Advertising

Equity Stake Isn’t a Prerequisite for ‘Partner’ Label

by Noelia Vaccaro in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 9, 2016

May a law firm refer to its lawyers, as partners, when those lawyers do not have voting authority on corporate governance matters or equity shares in the firm? The North Carolina State Bar recently answered this question in the affirmative.

No Longer Up in Smoke? Ohio Lawyers May Now Advise Clients on the Marijuana Business

by Ellen Kruk in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 7, 2016

An amendment to an Ohio Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2 (Scope of Representation) permits lawyers to assist clients who are involved in the state-authorized medical marijuana business.

The Client Comes First: Lawyers Must Report Co-Counsel’s Potential Malpractice

by Daniel Celaya in Ethics Opinion, Featured, Professionalism. Posted October 5, 2016

The sanctity of the attorney-client relationship relies in large part on establishing and preserving a bedrock of trust between the parties. A recently released opinion by The New York State Bar reinforces this principle by concluding that a lawyer to must disclose to his client any potential malpractice of a co-counsel Report

New York: No Obligation for a Lawyer to Report a Judicial Misconduct

by William Golden in Ethics Opinion, Featured. Posted October 3, 2016

The New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) Committee on Professional Ethics recently opined that lawyers do not have a duty under the Rules of Professional Conduct (“RPC”)to report judicial misconduct; however, a lawyer may report a judge for a violation of the Rules of Judicial Conduct (“RJC”). Obligation

[…] of a non-binding advisory opinion, as has been the case with other jurisdictions such as, Florida, San Francisco, and Delaware, it is important to note that Ohio went a step further and amended its rule regarding […]

Remote Lawyering: New Jersey and Ohio On Board - Legal Ethics Advisor on Remote Work: San Francisco Bar Association Advice in Ethics Opinion 2021-1
Not all jurisdictions have adopted the Model Rule version of the choice of law rule; seems like there might be a different result in at least some of those states. See, e.g., NY RPC 8.5(b)(2)(i) ("If the lawyer is licensed to practice only in this state, the rules to be applied shall be the rules of this state").

Art Lachman on ABA Opinion 499 Green Lights Lawyers’ Passive Investment in Firms with NonLawyer Ownership

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Monthly Archives: October 2016