2019 - Legal Ethics Advisor

A New Take on “Persistence”: Lawyer continues practicing law for seventeen years, despite being suspended

by Jordan Luczaj in disbarment, discipline, legal ethics, misconduct, practicing without a license, Uncategorized. Posted December 24, 2019

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently disbarred an attorney after the attorney practiced law without a license for seventeen years. Persistence

Judicial “Climate” in DC Impacted By Stormy Reply to All

by Robert Klasfeld in judicial ethics, legal ethics, reply-all, Technology, Uncategorized. Posted December 19, 2019

This fall the District of Columbia Federal Court Judges provided another cautionary example of the dangers of using reply to all when responding to an email. Judicial

Slipping and Falling into Discipline: New York Attorney Suspended from Practicing Law

by Fahim Gulamali in Attorney Suspension, duty of diligence, legal ethics, personal injury, Uncategorized. Posted December 17, 2019

A New York attorney was recently suspended from practicing law for two years after neglecting to follow up on a personal injury case. Slipping In April of 2012, the attorney was retained in a personal injury action resulting from a slip and fall accident. Although he commenced the action in May of 2013 and participated in a pre-trial conference in July of 2015, after which the matter was certified ready for trial, the attorney ...

Trustworthiness of AI in Law Debated at International Roundtable

by Katelin Stephens in Artificial Intelligence, international, legal ethics, regulation, Technology, Uncategorized. Posted November 5, 2019

Over 80 participants from all over the world met at the “AI and the Rule of the Roundtable” in Athens, Greece, on September 21 and 22, to debate the trustworthiness of developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the standards for those who use it.

Forwarding Fail: Forfeiting Legal Fees for Emailing Confidential Client Information?

by Camila Rivero-Fernandez in Attorney Client Privilege, fiduciary, Idaho, legal ethics, Technology, Uncategorized. Posted October 29, 2019

The Idaho Supreme Court recently held, in Parkinson v. Bevis, that a client may sue her attorney for breach of a fiduciary duty arising out of the attorney-client relationship, just as any other principal may sue her agent who owes her a fiduciary duty, and seek fee disgorgement as a remedy. Confidential

Washington Court Diagnoses Privileged Communication, Says No to Agents

by Esther Ponce de Leon in Agent, Attorney Client Privilege, Client Communication, Uncategorized. Posted October 24, 2019

A Washington appellate court restricted privileged communications between an attorney and a corporate client to employees of that client, but not to the client’s nonemployee agents.

JUDICIAL RECUSAL DUE TO PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS — ABA PROVIDES ETHICAL GUIDANCE

by AMcLaughlin in ABA Opinion, formal opinion, judicial disqualification, judicial ethics, judicial recusal, legal ethics, Uncategorized. Posted October 22, 2019

The American Bar Association (“ABA”) recently issued an opinion providing guidance on when judges should recuse themselves due to personal relationships with lawyers or involved parties. JUDICIAL

The Importance of Disclosure: A Cautionary Tale of an Attorney Who Put Himself First

by Daniela Pessoa Valdes in Conflict of Interest, duty to disclose, legal ethics, securities law, Uncategorized. Posted October 17, 2019

Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming summary judgment against an attorney who acted as an unregistered broker by soliciting roughly $1.27 million in commissions from his EB-5 clients. Importance

Facebook “Friendship” Leads to Judge’s Disqualification

by Karina Oms in Disqualification, Facebook, judicial ethics, legal ethics, social media, Uncategorized. Posted October 15, 2019

The growth in popularity of social media has led to complicated ethics questions, particularly related to judges and lawyers. Facebook

Third DCA Says “No” to Double-Dipping: Contract Lawyers Cannot Adversely Appear in Lawsuits Stemming from Contract

by Tessa Mears in Adverse Interest, Conflict of Interest, Florida, Florida Bar, former client, legal ethics, Uncategorized. Posted October 10, 2019

The Third DCA recently released an opinion that provides further demonstration of the limitations on lawyers representing parties in the same or in a substantially related matter.

[…] 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

Yearly Archives: 2019