This article appeared in Law360 on September 23, 2020. (Subscription Required) The rules of ethics adopted by each state are often said to be based upon or modeled after the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. While the ABA model rules provide a template for states to consider when adopting their own ethics […]
Balancing Newly Divergent State, USPTO Ethics Rules Read More »
For decades, regulators and courts have ruled that sex with a client during the course of the professional relationship is unethical. Nonetheless, lawyers continue to flout precedent and are frequently disciplined for engaging in sexual relations with their clients. Some cases of impermissible attorney-client sex are no brainers–such as the attorney who insists on a
Attorney-Client Sex: A Bad Idea That’s Also Unethical Read More »
The American Bar Association’s House of Delegates approved on Monday an overhaul to its ethics rules governing attorney advertising and solicitation. The ABA vote on Monday capped a four-year effort to modernize ethics rules promulgated in the 1980s–long before the Internet forever changed how lawyers market their services and communicate with prospective clients. The ABA’s
ABA Approves Changes To Attorney Advertising Ethics Rules Read More »
California is an outlier no more–at least when it comes to its ethics rules. On May 10, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued an order approving the adoption of a new set of Rules of Professional Conduct patterned after the ABA Model Rules, which were first published in 1983. The court’s ruling means that California
Seeking National Uniformity, California (Finally) Adopts New Ethics Rules Read More »
Many situations arise in the work place where young lawyers find themselves facing real ethical dilemmas. For example, your supervisor has asked you to do something that you believe may violate the Rules of Professional Conduct. Or you become aware that another lawyer has engaged in conduct already that may be unethical. Or a close
Ethical Considerations for Young Lawyers Read More »
The ABA has dived head first into the pool of law firm cybersecurity. On May 11, 2017, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 477 (here), which addresses a broad range of issues that lawyers must consider to protect client confidential information from “nefarious actors throughout the internet.”
To Encrypt, Or Not To Encrypt, That Is The Question Read More »
I have lived and worked in the Washington, D.C. metro area my entire adult life. Washington is notorious for its traffic. The math for my office commute is simple. Ten hours per week. 500 hours per year. For 30 years. That’s 15,000 hours–or 1.71 years of my life–just going to and from the office. I
Is Working From Home Unethical? Telecommuting And Unauthorized Practice Of Law Read More »
One of the most significant studies of alcohol abuse and mental health disorders among practicing attorneys conducted in the past quarter century has concluded that attorneys are at a much higher risk than other professionals for alcohol use disorder, depression, anxiety, and stress. Researchers from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association
Lawyer Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Frequent Causes of Discipline Read More »
