As lawyers, we help clients solve problems, get results, but also advise them on risk. Clients rely on their lawyers for their expertise in the area—as well as their advice that is generally devoid of emotions. But who advises lawyers and law firms on their risks? Following the same thought process, and the adage of …
Why Your IP Law Firm Needs A Risk Management Audit Read More »
These days, it’s good to be a trusts and estates lawyer. While the rest of legal field is scrambling to figure out how to survive the next few weeks and months with little new business coming in and much existing business on hold, attorneys who represent the elderly and infirm report a boom in business. …
Attorneys’ Ethical Duties When Representing Clients With Diminished Capacity Read More »
by Charles Lundberg, Esq. Reprinted with permission. Published March 30, 2020 in Minnesota Lawyer. In a span of less than two weeks, the coronavirus outbreak has caused unprecedented disruption in law firms and created a host of new issues for firm general counsel and ethics partners. Here is a sampling of new ethics and risk …
Quandries and Quagmires: Legal Ethics, Risk Management in Pandemic Read More »
On February 25, 2020, Michael E. McCabe, Jr. was quoted in Law360 (including the lead story in IP360 and Legal Ethics360), in an article entitled “$32M Dentons Verdict Could Put Vereins in the Crosshairs“ by Aebra Coe. The Law360 article addresses the ethical risks of the Swiss verein structure as it relates to conflicts of …
Quoted in Law360: “$32M Dentons Verdict Could Put Vereins In The Crosshairs” Read More »
From the now-I’ve-heard-everything category, there is this: A plaintiff in a federal action claims that during the course of a mediation of her employment discrimination case, counsel for the defense–a partner with a major international law firm– allegedly “shook his butt” at plaintiff’s counsel while uttering profanity. Plaintiff demands sanctions of $7,000 for the alleged, …
The Curious Case of the Twerking BigLaw Attorney 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 »
A federal court in Alabama yesterday disqualified a law firm from representing a new client in a patent infringement case against a current firm client. In Southern Visions, LLP v. Red Diamond, Inc. (N.D. Ala. Feb. 26, 2019), the court held that Bradley Arant Boult Cummings (“Bradley”) was ethically barred from representing one client (Southern …
On February 6, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court shuttered a Colorado business, which once billed itself as an “expert patent law” firm, and its owner, for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. According to the Court’s order (here), Intelligent Patent Services, LLC (IPS) and its non-lawyer owner, Dak Steiert, are enjoined from engaging in …
Colorado Supreme Court Shuts Down Sham “Expert” Patent Law Firm Read More »
