Virginia might soon become the next state to hold participating in Avvo Legal Services is unethical

Readers of this blog know that I have written extensively on the issues related to Avvo Legal Services.  You can go here and scroll down to see all my posts and links to some of my articles.  And, it is no secret that I have been critical of Avvo's model from the beginning, arguing that it places attorneys in a position to violate several rules of professional conduct.

For this reason, I have not been surprised to see that ethics committees in Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York and, most recently, Utah have issued opinions holding that it would be unethical to participate in Avvo Legal Services.  Florida, and North Carolina are considering the question. Of these, only North Carolina is reportedly considering holding that participating in Avvo Legal Services would be OK, but it is also considering amending the rules -- which begs the question, if is OK to participate why would you need to amend the rules to allow it?  But that is a different conversation...

Today's post is to announce the latest addition to the list of opinions holding that participating in Avvo Legal Services would violate current rules.

As reported in the Lawyer Ethics Alert Blog, just over a week ago, the Virginia State Bar voted to approve a draft ethics opinion holding that a lawyer’s participation in services such as Avvo's would violate the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct.  Like most other opinions on the subject, it does not refer to Avvo by name but given the description of the services it addresses it is pretty clear the opinion relates to Avvo Legal Services.

Not surprisingly, the opinion reaches the same conclusions reached in the literature and other opinions, namely that participating in Avvo Legal Services violates rules related to sharing fees with non-lawyers, paying for referrals, duties to safeguard client property, and duties related to trust accounts including the duty to refund unearned portions of a fee.

Having said that, the opinion states lawyers could participate in the service if some of the conditions are changed.  Doing so, however, would change Avvo's terms and it is not clear that Avvo would want to agree to change its business model.

The opinion (which is available here) will now go before the Virginia Supreme Court for approval.

In light of so many opinions holding against Avvo's service, I have often suggested Avvo is going about its plan the wrong way.  Rather than arguing that the rules should be interpreted to say something they don't, or, worse, that they should be ignored, or continue to advance weak legal arguments, Avvo should advocate for changes in the rules.

Take a look at the position Avvo took in relation to the Virginia opinion (here) and note what they don't do.  They don't even try to address the substantive/legal arguments related to the violations of the rules.  They essentially say the opinion is bad because it does not allow Avvo to do what it wants.  The argument is essentially that what Avvo wants is good, and, thus, preventing it is bad.  Yet, the problem is that even if what Avvo wants is good, it leads to violations of the rules.  The solution can't be to ignore the rules.  The solution has to be to change the way Avvo wants to do what it wants to do so it does not violate the rules or to change the rules. 

What Avvo does now puts lawyers in a position to violate the rules.  Arguing that it doesn't is going nowhere fast.  So, why doesn't Avvo change course and try to present arguments for changing the rules to suggest a new approach would be better for the profession, for consumers and for society in general?  To its credit, Avvo seems to be trying this approach in North Carolina and maybe it is just waiting to see if it works there as a "test case" before trying it elsewhere.

I have argued for this change in tactics before and I am happy to report I am not alone in this view.  Brian Faughnan (of Faughnan on Ethics) has recently published "an open letter" to Avvo arguing the same point.

California opinion on the "insurance triangle"

Back in April, the Los Angeles County Bar Association issued an ethics opinion on whether a lawyer hired by an insurance company to represent an insured can disclose certain information to the insurance company to the detriment of the insured.   It concludes that

When an attorney engaged by an insurance carrier to defend the interests of an insured obtains information that could provide a basis for the insurance carrier to deny coverage, the attorney is ethically prohibited from disclosing that information to the insurance carrier.  In such a situation, the attorney must withdraw from the representation.

Up to the last sentence, the conclusion is not surprising and, as far as I know, the generally accepted view on this issue everywhere.  But the last sentence (the duty to withdraw) only makes sense in jurisdictions that hold that an attorney hired by a person to represent another actually has two clients.  In jurisdictions where the attorney in such circumstances only has one client (the insured, in this example), there should be no duty to withdraw. 

Also, as pointed out by Faughnan on Ethics, what happens when the attorney in California withdraws and a new attorney is appointed to the representation of the insured.  The same thing will happen again, and that new attorney will have to withdraw.

You can read the opinion here.

Florida seeks comments on proposed opinion on whether to allow sharing of fees with firms that allow sharing of fees with non-lawyers

The Florida bar is likely to adopt an ethics opinion that would make it easier for Florida lawyers to enter into co-counsel relationships with law firms in which non-lawyers have ownership stake -- or, in other words, to share fees with firms that share fees with non-lawyers.  Only two jurisdictions in the US allow sharing fees with non-lawyers, but a number of foreign countries do.

This is a big change in approach since only two jurisdictions in the US currently allow sharing of fees with non-lawyers and it may open the door for even more changes including allowing lawyers to share fees with non-lawyers directly in Florida - which would be good news for Avvo, as discussed in previous posts below.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, yet.  The draft opinion emphasizes that it does not address a Florida Bar member becoming a partner, shareholder, associate, or other formal arrangement in a law firm that is permitted to have non-lawyer ownership in its home jurisdiction.

The committee will accept comments on the proposed opinion until Aug. 15. If no comments are received, the opinion will become final five days later. If comments are received, the matter will be taken up at The Florida Bar's Fall Meeting on October 13.

You can read the proposed opinion here.

Professional Responsibility Committee of the California Bar issues opinion on whether a blog should be subject to advertising rules

The Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility of the State Bar of California recently issued an advisory opinion on whether “blogging” by an attorney is, or should be, subject to the requirements and restrictions of the Rules of Professional Conduct and related provisions of the State Bar Act regulating attorney advertising.  The answer, summarized below, is pretty straight forward and are pretty much what I suggested would be the logical answer to the question when I first blogged about it a few years ago (here).

The opinion is available here and the summary is as follows:

1. Blogging by an attorney is subject to the requirements and restrictions of the Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act relating to lawyer advertising if the blog expresses the attorney’s availability for professional employment directly through words of invitation or offer to provide legal services , or implicitly through its description of the type and character of legal services offered by the attorney, detailed descriptions of case results, or both.

2. A blog that is a part of an attorney’s or law firm’s professional website will be subject to the rules regulating attorney advertising to the same extent as the website of which it is a part.

3. A stand-alone blog by an attorney that does not relate to the practice of law or [that] otherwise express[es] the attorney’s availability for professional employment will not become subject to the rules regulating attorney advertising simply [even if] the blog contains a link to the attorney or law firm’s professional website.

New ABA Ethics Opinion on duties related to the use of modern technology -- UPDATED

The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility recently issued Formal Ethics Opinion 477, which updates Formal Ethics Opinion 99-413, and which addresses different duties related to the use of modern technology.

The opinion concludes that "[a] lawyer generally may transmit information relating to the representation of a client over the internet without violating the Model Rules of Professional Conduct where the lawyer has undertaken reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized access. However, a lawyer may be required to take special security precautions to protect against the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of client information when required by an agreement with the client or by law, or when the nature of the information requires a higher degree of security."

This does not strike me as new or surprising.  It essentially reinforces a duty already in place in Rule 1.6(c) of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct which states that a lawyer "shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client."

What is new (but I don't know if surprising) is that the committee declined to draw a bright line as to when encryption or other security measures would be required. Instead, the committee recommended that lawyers undergo a “fact-based analysis” that includes evaluating factors such as the sensitivity of the information, the likelihood of disclosure if additional safeguards are not employed, the cost of employing additional safeguards, the difficulty of implementing the safeguards, and the extent to which the safeguards adversely affect the lawyer’s ability to represent clients.  Thus, some cases may require lawyers to use encryption, while others might not.  

For a good explanation of the opinion go here, and here.

UPDATE 5/23/17:   Formal Opinion 477 has been revised to clarify that the opinion does not alter Formal Ethics Opinion 11-459 and to note that the change in Model Rule 1.6(c) supported 11-459. There is no substantive change in the opinion. The revised opinion can be found here.  For a good analysis of the opinion go here.

California Committee issues final draft of opinion on whether blogs are subject to advertising rules

Legal Ethics in Motion is reporting that the California Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct has finalized an opinion on whether attorney-authored blogs should be governed by the advertising regulations. The Committee concluded that blogs should be governed as attorney advertising if the blog directly or indirectly expresses the attorney’s availability for professional employment. Thus, a blog that is a part of a firm’s professional website is governed by the advertising guidelines.  “Stand-alone” blogs, or blogs that exists independently of any website an attorney maintains or uses for professional marketing purposes, are also subject to the rules if its content has the same effect as professional blogs.  For more information go here.

Metadata Fair Game in Texas?

As reported in Legal Ethics in Motion, a recent opinion of a Texas bar panel concludes that there is no duty to inform opposing counsel that that opposing counsel sent a document containing metadata.   Moreover, Texas rules do not prohibit searching for and extracting metadata from documents. Of the nineteen jurisdictions that have issued opinions with specific requirements regarding attorneys’ obligation when transmitting or receiving documents containing metadata, Texas is only the third state to opine that its rules do not require notification to the sender of the document.

For a current survey of the state of the law regarding metadata, check out this page in the ABA's website.  For more on the opinion in Texas, go here.

Illinois State Bar Association issues Opinion on using cloud services to store client information

Back in October, the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) issued a Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion stating that a lawyer may use cloud-based services to store client information as long as the lawyer takes reasonable measures to ensure that the client information remains confidential and is protected from breaches.

Carefully choosing an internet cloud space provider is, of course, the first step a lawyer must take in order to comply with the duty.  But, it is important to note that the opinion clearly states that a lawyer does not comply with the obligation to protect the client information by merely selecting (however carefully) a reputable provider.   Thus, the opinion concludes that lawyers must conduct periodic reviews and regularly monitor existing practices to determine if the client information is adequately secured and protected.  This means lawyers can not simply rely on the providers, the lawyers themselves must do something.  And to do something, the lawyers must know what it is they are dealing with.  As I say to my students, lawyers must become personally knowledgeable in computer science of employ someone who is.

States continue to adopt the ABA's suggested language on a duty of competence related to "technology" and this opinion, obviously, follows the trend.  All lawyers are now expected to know about, and understand, the advantages and the risks of using technological advances such as cloud storage.  As reported recently, Florida lawyers are now required to take CLE credits on technology issues.  As technology advances, lawyers are expected to keep up.

You can read the ISBA opinion here.  For information on the current state of the law regarding ethical issues and cloud computing, check out this page in the ABA's website.

Thanks to Ethics in Motion for the update and the link.

ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issues new opinion on safeguarding fees to be split with lawyers outside the firm

The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued a new Formal Opinion (No.475) to explain the duties of a lawyer who receives earned fees that must be shared with a lawyer from another law firm.  According to the opinion, the lawyer who receives the money must take steps to appropriately safeguard the funds by placing them in an account separate from his or her own property.  The attorney must then promptly notify the other lawyer, promptly forward the agreed portion to the other lawyer, and provide an accounting if the other lawyer requests it.  The opinion is available here for a limited time.

Not all jurisdictions agree with the approach but it makes sense to me.  The alternative is to have the lawyer transfer the money to the lawyer's general account and then pay the outside lawyer with funds from there.  Either way, the money will be commingling with either clients' money or lawyer's funds for a period of time.

IPethics & INsights has a nice comment on the opinion and its applicability to IP practice here. The Lawyer Ethics Alert Blog also has a comment on the opinion here.

Short comment on the different approaches to ghostwriting

A few years ago, the issue of whether it was proper for an attorney to "ghostwrite" documents for pro se litigants was hotly debated.  Some jurisdictions took the position that it was ok, other required lawyers to disclose their role.  See here and here for example. 

I had not see much on the issue since then until a few days ago, when I saw a short comment in Lawyerist summarizing the state of the law.  You can read it here.

Pennsylvania adopts new rule related to counseling clients in marijuana business

The Legal Profession blog is reporting that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has adopted an amendment to its rules to add a new subsection (e) to Rule 1.2, which states: "A lawyer may counsel or assist a client regarding conduct expressly permitted by Pennsylvania law, provided that the lawyer counsels the client about the legal consequences, under other applicable law, of the client's proposed course of conduct." The rule adopted differs slightly from the proposed rule change published back in May. That original proposal allowed lawyers to counsel clients on conduct expressly permitted by the law of the state where it takes place or has its predominant effect. The adopted rule addresses only conduct permitted under Pennsylvania law.

As you may remember, several other states addressed the issue this year.  Ohio first banned lawyers from counseling clients, but later adopted a rule to allow it (see here and here).  Colorado amended the comment to its rules to address the issue.  See here and here.  For a general comment on the issue, go here.

My article on Avvo is now available

During the spring and summer I wrote an article on ethical issues related to joining Avvo Legal Services.  I started writing the article soon after Avvo announced the new service, and finished it before the recent ethics opinions from Ohio, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania.  Georgetown agreed to publish the original article, but because it took them a long time to get around to it I had the chance to update the draft a little bit based on the recent opinions.  Now the article is finally available.  You can go to the Georgetown website and read it or download it here. 

District of Columbia Bar new opinions on social media use

The Legal Ethics Committee of the District of Columbia Bar has just issued two opinions on social media use.  Ethics Opinion 370 is available here.  Ethics Opinion 371 is available here.  The Legal Profession blog has a summary here.

Opinion 370, does not seem to add anything new.  It concludes that "a lawyer who chooses to maintain a presence on social media, for personal or professional reasons, must take affirmative steps to remain competent regarding the technology being used and to ensure compliance with the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct."

Opinion 371, on the other hand, provides more information and analysis in an attempt to provide  guidance about "advice and conduct by lawyers related to social media in the provision of legal services, including whether certain advice and conduct are required, permitted, or prohibited by the Rules."

Ohio Supreme Court adopts amendment to allow lawyers to advise clients in legal marijuana business

Just about a month ago, I reported that the Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct decided that attorneys aren’t allowed to help someone establish a legal medical marijuana-related business in the state because using, growing and selling marijuana remains a federal crime.  A few days later, I updated the story when it was reported that the Ohio Supreme Court would consider a draft amendment to the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct to address the issue.

The Court not only prepared the draft, it just formally adopted the amendment. The amendment modifies Prof. Cond. R. 1.2(d)(2) by adding a new subsection, which reads:  “A lawyer may counsel or assist a client regarding conduct expressly permitted under Sub.H.B. 523 of the 131st General Assembly authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes and any state statutes, rules, orders, or other provisions implementing the act. In these circumstances, the lawyer shall advise the client regarding related federal law.”

Thanks to the Legal Profession blog for the update.

Should a law firm be allowed to bill a client for work performed by an unpaid intern? -- UPDATED

Suppose a law firm hires a student as a law clerk and the student does some work for one of the lawyers.  The lawyer would be allowed to bill the client for the "cost" of the law clerk's time, right?  But what is the client paying for?  Is it an amount that reflects a portion of the firm's overhead costs or is the client paying the firm for the value of the time of one of its employees (the law clerk)?  Is there a difference?

Now, what if the firm is not paying the law clerk at all.  It would seem odd that the firm could claim the client has to pay certain value for "overhead" when in reality there is no overhead.  On the other hand, since the law clerk is not a lawyer, can the firm charge the client for the value of the time of the law clerk?

My guess is these questions have probably been addressed by ethics opinions, but I have not done the research.

What I can tell you is that there is a new opinion (available here) out of the New York State Bar Association that holds that a "law firm may bill a client for work performed by a student-intern despite the fact that the law firm does not pay the intern, because the intern receives academic credit for the work, as long as (i) the internship program complies with applicable law, (ii) the educational institution does not object to the client charges, and (iii) the charge is not excessive."

Not everyone agrees this is the correct decision.  See this article in Above the Law for a negative review of the opinion.

UPDATE (8-26-16): The ABA Journal online is reporting that various law student groups and some labor groups have signed a letter to the New York Law Journal calling the ethics decision “fundamentally flawed” and asking the ethics committee to reconsider.

UPDATE (9/6/16):  Legal Ethics in Motion has an update here.  It states, in part: "In response to the opinion, several organizations wrote an open letter, printed in the New York Law Journal, criticizing the decision as “fundamentally flawed.” . . .  In the letter, the signatories ask the ethics committee to reconsider its decision because the opinion “fails to consider the circumstances of most unpaid legal internships and the important moral questions they raise.”  The letter also challenges the assumption that unpaid internships at private firms comply with the applicable labor laws. The organizations contend that when a law firm charges for an intern’s free labor, they implicitly derive a substantial and economic benefit that cannot be offset by the academic credit that the interns receive, and they therefore may be entitled to pay."

Ohio board holds attorneys can't advise clients on marijuana business -- UPDATE: Ohio Supreme Court reacts by asking for an amendment to the rules

The last ABA national conference on professional liability featured a panel on ethical issues related to representing clients involved in the legalized marijuana business.  As reported by the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct Conference Report, "[t]he panelists and other authorities ... said the uncertainties facing cannabis industry lawyers stem from the absence of clear guidance, in the ethics rules or case law, on several questions regarding the propriety of representing marijuana businesses in states that have decriminalized the drug for recreational or medicinal purposes."  For this reason, there is a risk for lawyers of facing professional discipline for providing legal services to marijuana businesses.

Now comes news that the Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct decided last week that attorneys aren’t allowed to help someone establish a legal medical marijuana-related business in the state because using, growing and selling marijuana remains a federal crime.

So, on the positive side, this decision does provide clear guidance for lawyers in Ohio.  But, obviously, on the negative side, it is not what lawyers representing clients in this particular business would want to hear.

I have not read the opinion itself, though, so I can't provide an opinion on it.  I just read the news in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, which did not link to the opinion itself.

UPDATE (8-18-16):  Soon after the advisory opinion was published the Ohio Supreme Court ordered its staff to prepare a draft amendment to alter its professional conduct rules for lawyers in order to clarify the legal services they can offer to clients connected to Ohio's upcoming medical marijuana business.  The Columbus Dispatch has more on the story here.

Thanks to Lloyd Snyder (Cleveland-Marshall College of Law) for the update.

UPDATE (8-19-16): The Law for Lawyers Today has an update on the story here.

UPDATE (9-16-16): Faughnan on Ethics has a comment on the story here.

UPDATE (9-20-16):  The Ohio Supreme Court has adopted an amendment to Ohio Rule 1.2 to allow representation of clients in the legal marijuana business.  Go here for more.

Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit holds Fedral Government can't prosecute people who comply with state marijuana laws

A few days ago I reported that the Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct decided last week that attorneys aren’t allowed to help someone establish a legal medical marijuana-related business in the state because using, growing and selling marijuana remains a federal crime.  A few days later I posted a link to a comment on the issues regarding providing legal advice to clients in the legal marijuana business.

In a related story that affects the argument upon which the Ohio opinion is based, the ABA Journal is reporting today that the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has held taht the U.S. Justice Department can’t spend money to prosecute people who are strictly complying with state medical marijuana laws, finding that such spending is banned by Congressional appropriations rider.  The case is United States v. McIntosh.

Comment on the law of lawyering for clients in the marijuana business

A few days ago I reported that the Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct decided last week that attorneys aren’t allowed to help someone establish a legal medical marijuana-related business in the state because using, growing and selling marijuana remains a federal crime.

Today, Above the Law published a good short comment on the state of the law on this issue around the country.  You can read the article here.

Florida adopts amendments to rules that may make it improper for lawyers to participate in Avvo Legal Services and other similar "matching" sites

Original post (July 11, 2016); Update below:

I recently posted a note on a recent opinion in Ohio which essentially concludes it is unethical for lawyers to participate in services like Avvo's Legal Services.  (I happen to think that, as presently constituted, participating in Avvo Legal Services is unethical pretty much anywhere (see here, here and here), but not everyone agrees with me.)

Now comes news that the Florida Bar is considering certain amendments to its rules on referral services, which, depending on how they are interpreted, may also make it unethical to participate in Avvo's services.

Avvo Legal Services can argue it should not be considered a referral service, but the proposed Florida rule is apparently designed to defeat that argument by eliminating the distinction between referral services and "lead generators" - which is what Avvo is.  The new Florida rule holds that any private entities that connect consumers looking for legal services with lawyers are to be called “qualifying providers” regardless of whether they are a “traditional” referral service or a technology-based provider (AVVO, LegalZoom).

Once all the different services are in the same category, whether they are lead generators or referral services does not make a difference.  And the other important change to the rule is that it says that a lawyer can participate in private, for profit service only if the lawyer receives no fee or charge that is a division or sharing of fees unless the provider is The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service or a referral service approved by the Florida Bar.

As I have discussed elsewhere, Avvo disputes that its payment structure constitutes fee sharing, but I think the argument can easily be made that it is.  In such a case, therefore, unless the Florida Bar has "approved" Avvo as a referral service in Florida - which I doubt - than Florida lawyers would be violating the rules by participating in Avvo's Legal Services.

You can find the redline version of the proposed rule and its comment here.   Lawyers Ethics Alert Blog has more information here.

UPDATE (8/1/16):   The Board of Governors met on Friday, July 29, 2016 in Miami Beach and approved the proposed revisions.  Lawyer Ethics Alert Blog has more details here.

Is there a duty to disclose to client that co-counsel has committed a significant error?

What should you do when you are co-counsel on a case or in a deal, and you become aware that the other lawyer has made an error?  A new ethics opinion from the New York State Bar Association says that if you reasonably believe that your co-counsel has committed a significant error or omission that may give rise to a malpractice claim, you must disclose the information to the client.  The Law For Lawyers Today has more information here.