An ethics blog for IP attorneys
Lawyers Need To Know When It’s Time To Shut Up
I was on a long flight recently and had the misfortune to have to sit behind two lawyers for several hours. For almost the entire duration of the flight, the attorneys were involved in a detailed discussion about what was obvious (to me anyway) to be a client matter. They were discussing an upcoming deposition, […]
Law Firm Ethics Counsel Provide Risk Management Tips
During the July 31, 2015, semi-annual meeting of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers in Chicago, a panel of APRL attorneys who serve as their law firm’s internal ethics counsel discussed some of the common dilemmas and issue they face in their daily practice of representing their law firm client. The issues addressed during this sesssion […]
The “Rat Rule” And USPTO Discipline – Reporting Ethical Violations To OED (Part 1)
“Never rat out your friends. And always keep your mouth shut.” – Robert De Niro, GoodFellas I am of Sicilian ancestry, raised in an Italian household in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn. Despite this upbringing, it was not until I was an adult when I first learned about the “Code of Silence” known as “omertà.” […]
Drunk Driving Can Lead To Professional Discipline
The Bar cares when you’ve stayed too long at the bar. Attorneys need to be mindful that a conviction for drunk driving may impact their ability to practice law. Practitioners who are subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the USPTO, for example, must advise the Office of Enrollment and Discipline within 30 days of any criminal […]
The Ethics of Independence
“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom” – Albert Einstein As we prepare to celebrate the birthday of our country’s independence, I am reminded that we, as lawyers, owe a significant ethical duty to exercise independence in the representation of our clients. As an attorney, […]
APRL Clarifies Advertising Report Did Not “Slam” Current Ethics Rules
As reported last week, on June 22, 2015, following a two-year study, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (“APRL”) Board approved publication of the Report of APRL’s Lawyer Advertising Committee. As explained on the APRL website, “The Report recommends extensive revisions to lawyer advertising rules so they are compatible with modern electronic means of communication. The […]
What They Didn’t Teach In Law School: The Ethical Duty Of “Technical Competence”
“True wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.” — Confucius One of my former partners, a brilliant patent lawyer who was (and is) widely respected in the patent bar, used his desktop computer for one purpose and one purpose only—as a convenient surface on which to attach yellow sticky post-it notes to himself. To […]
Read More about What They Didn’t Teach In Law School: The Ethical Duty Of “Technical Competence”