Legal Services Archives - Page 5 of 8

Alaska Bar Association: Use of “Web Bugs” is Unethical

by SabrinaRishmague in confidentiality, Ethics Opinion, Legal Services, Software, Technology, web bugs. confidentiality. Posted December 22, 2016

Alaska Bar Association recently advised that the use “web bugs” to track e-mail communications with opposing counsel violates The Alaska Code of Professional Conduct.

Up in the ‘Clouds’: Illinois Finds Duty of Competence Applies to Selection of Provider

by Vincent Calarco in client confidentiality, cloud computing, competence, confidentiality, Ethics Opinion, legal ethics, Legal Services, Outsourcing, Technology. Posted December 20, 2016

This fall, the Illinois State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics reached two conclusions regarding use of cloud-based services. In Opin. 16-06, the Committee opined that:

Attorneys Entitled to Fees Despite Allegations of Rate Increases and Estimate Overruns

by Marissa Shulman in Attorneys Fees, client waiver, legal ethics, Legal Services. Posted December 13, 2016

In August, the Connecticut Superior Court held that a law firm accused of failing to notify its litigation clients of rate increases and estimate overruns may still recover its legal fees. Attorneys

No Love for Lawyer Who Reported Ethics Violation for Personal Benefit

by Daniel Celaya in Attorneys Fees, legal ethics, Legal Services. Posted December 8, 2016

An attorney who agreed to a fee-sharing agreement with his former firm tried to void the arrangement by claiming that there was a conflict of interest between his former firm and defendant, the Board of Education of the City of Buffalo. Love

Virginia: Conflict of Interest & Importance of Public Confidence Precludes Law Firm From Lobbying General Assembly

by William Golden in Conflict of Interest, Ethics Opinion, law firms, legal ethics, Legal Services, lobbyists. Posted December 6, 2016

The Virginia State Bar recently opined that lawyer-legislator status creates a conflict of interest such that not only is the lawyer precluded from lobbying the legislative body of which he is a member, but so too are all the other members of the consulting firm of which he is a member and law firm that owns the consulting firm.

“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.

Widening the Scope of the Administration of Justice: IAC Waivers in Plea Bargains

by MelissaScott in Ethics Opinion, Legal Services, Professionalism. Posted September 14, 2016

On June 10, 2016, the New York State Bar Association issued Opinion 1098, which prohibits prosecutors from ethically requiring that defendants waive ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”) claims as a condition in plea bargains. Widening

Good Old Fashioned Rivalry: NY Bar Allows Attorneys to Represent Direct Competitors of Former Clients

by Nicole Comparato in Ethics Opinion, Featured, Legal Services. Posted September 12, 2016

A lawyer may represent a new client who is a direct competitor of a former client in an unrelated action against a third party, even where it would be in the former client’s best interest for the new client to lose the suit. Fashioned

New York Firms May Bill for Work of Unpaid Interns

by SabrinaRishmague in Legal Services, News, Professionalism. Posted September 6, 2016

A recent opinion issued by the Committee on Professional Ethics of the New York State Bar Association ruled that law firms may bill clients for the work of unpaid interns.

Ohio Advises on the Use of Flat Fee Agreements in Criminal Cases

by Danielle Gauer in Ethics Opinion, Legal Services, Professionalism. Posted April 1, 2016

In its recent Ethics Opinion 2016-1, the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Board of Professional Conduct addressed the issue of whether an attorney retained in a criminal matter can enter into a flat fee agreement requiring a client to pay a fixed amount in advance of representation. Agreements

[…] 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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