Legal Services Archives - Legal Ethics Advisor

Florida Legal Ethics Update: From Questioning Diversity Quotas to Proposals for a Regulatory Sandbox and More

by Jan Jacobowitz in Access to Justice, Attorney Advertising, CLE requirements, legal ethics, Legal Services, negative online reviews, regulatory sandbox, Rule 5.4 Professional Independence of a Lawyer, Technology, UPL. Posted July 12, 2021

Florida CLE Diversity Controversy The Florida Supreme Court attracted national attention when it recently sua sponte changed the CLE programming requirements such that The Florida Bar cannot approve CLE programming and Florida lawyers cannot receive CLE credits for attendance at any program for which there was a diversity requirement or quota pertaining to the selection ...

Virtually Speaking…New ABA Formal Opinion 498 Provides Guidelines for Virtual Practice

by Jan Jacobowitz in ABA Opinion, Attorney Client Relationship, Legal Services, Remote Work, virtual law office. Posted April 7, 2021

Virtual Practice Here to Stay…? The Pandemic sent most of us home and the legal profession embraced technology with a gusto previously unseen. As the world slowly reopens, there is much discussion about which aspects of remote work may be long lasting. No doubt, technology and the virtual practice of law has made a permanent ...

The California Bar Task Force is Prompting Much Needed Discussion About Change

by Amanda Rementeria in Legal Access, Legal Services. Posted March 26, 2020

The California Bar task force is investigating whether regulatory changes are required to address the need for access to affordable legal services.

Utah Task Force Calls for ‘Reimagining the Way Legal Services are Regulated.’

by AMalkin in Equal Access, Justice, Legal Access, Legal Services, Uncategorized, Utah. Posted October 8, 2019

The Utah Supreme Court has unanimously voted to approve a pilot program allowing non-traditional legal services proposed by a Utah Task Force.

Florida Supreme Court Adopts Amendment to Rule on Experts

by Ten Stallings in Advertising, Attorney Advertising, Legal Services. Posted August 13, 2019

The Supreme Court of Florida approved an amendment to Florida Bar Rule 4-7.14, to align with a federal court ruling that allows lawyers and law firms, not board-certified by the Florida Bar, to make claims of specialties or expertise in their advertisements.

California Task Force Proposes Innovative Regulatory Changes that Add Technology and Nonlawyer into the Legal Services Mix

by Ten Stallings in Attorney Client Relationship, Legal Services, Referral Services, Technology. Posted August 6, 2019

After a recent study found that ethics rules which prevent lawyers from working with other disciplines is driving up the cost of legal services and pricing consumers out of the legal market, California’s State Bar is taking steps to allow lawyers and firms to evolve their business practices and keep up with the times.

Who’s on Third? A Lawyer’s Obligation to Pay Third-Party Claims on Settlement Proceeds

by Lauren Alvarez in Attorney Client Relationship, Attorneys Fees, Legal Services, Third party claims, Uncategorized. Posted June 18, 2019

Lawyers faced with third-party claims to client funds often are confronted with deciding whether a particular third-party has an interest sufficient to impose an obligation on a lawyer to refrain from disbursing funds to the client.

GoFundMe “Funds” Suspension

by Isabella Falcon in Attorney Suspension, Attorneys Fees, Featured, gofundme, Legal Services, Outsourcing, Professionalism, Rules of Professional Conduct, Social Media. Posted March 4, 2019

A West Virginia attorney’s creation of an inappropriate GoFundMe page, in confluence with other misconduct, resulted in a joint recommendation in which the attorney agreed to a 42 month suspension and a public reprimand.

Former DA getting “salty” on Facebook

by Rebekah Molasky in Attorney Suspension, judges, Legal Services, Professionalism, Rules of Professional Conduct, Social Media. Posted March 1, 2019

On February 8, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court approved its Disciplinary Board’s proposal to suspend former, Centre County District Attorney, Stacy Parks Miller, for 366 days overimproper, ex-parte communications with judges and the creation and dissemination of a fictitious Facebook page.

Indiana Cautions Lawyers About Affiliations with Legal Services Companies and Out-Of-State Law Firms

by Jose Paez in Advisory Opinion, Attorneys Fees, Conflict of Interest, Legal Services, legal services corporations, out of state law firms, Outsourcing, Referral Services, Rules of Professional Conduct. Posted February 27, 2019

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission recently advised caution for attorneys who may be approached by non-lawyer companies or out-of-state law firms offering an affiliation and fee sharing to provide legal services to Indiana clients.

[…] 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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