An ethics blog for IP attorneys
IPO Hosting Webinar on Conflicts of Interest in Patent Prosecution
On Wednesday, February 10, 2016, at 2:00 PM EST, I will be participating in a webinar hosted by IPO Chat Channel on Conflicts of Interest in Patent Prosecution in light of the recent decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court in Maling v. Finnegan, Henderson. In Maling, a case of first impression, the court rejected the […]
Anonymous, Inc.: Lawyers, Ethics And Money Laundering Featured On 60 Minutes
For those of you who are not convinced about the importance of legal ethics in modern society, I urge you to watch yesterday’s broadcast of the story entitled Anonymous, Inc., which was shown on CBS’s 60 Minutes. The venerable weekly news program used a fake client representative, wired with a hidden camera and a false story, […]
IP Attorney Challenging Constitutionality Of USPTO OED’s “Abusive” Ethics Investigation
An IP attorney has filed a lawsuit against the United States Patent and Trademark Office seeking to prohibit the Agency’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) from continuing to investigate him for alleged ethics violations because the process employed in conducting the ethics investigation is abusive and violates due process. The complaint, which was filed […]
Attorneys At Grave Risk For Online Fraud: LinkedIn Meets The Nigerian Letter Scam
On Christmas Eve, I received quite an unexpected surprise–an unsolicited invitation to become a “LinkedIn” connection with none other than Harry S. Truman. Holy cow! After all, it isn’t every day that I am honored to network with a former Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America. Now, I must admit […]
Mass. Sup. Ct. Rules In Favor Of Finnegan, Henderson In Subject Matter Conflicts Malpractice Case
On December 23, 2015, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion dismissing a malpractice complaint filed against an IP law firm for failure to state a claim. See Maling v. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP. A copy of the Massachusetts SJC’s opinion is here. For our previous discussions about the facts and procedural […]
CAFC Muzzles Attorneys’ Appeal From Terminating Sanctions In Patent Case
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled it lacked jurisdiction to hear an appeal of an order imposing terminating sanctions in a patent case based upon trial counsels’ conduct in misleading the court about evidence of an on-sale bar. The Federal Circuit ruled that because the parties […]
Accounting 102 Course for Lawyers
A common theme in attorney discipline cases is the lawyer’s failure to properly handle client funds. Law school, unfortunately, teaches lawyers-to-be little if anything about basic accounting principles or financial record-keeping. Lawyers owe a fiduciary duty to their clients which includes proper handling and documenting their money. For those interested in getting a basic understanding […]