Judge sanctioned for attempting to force lawyer to recite pledge of allegiance

Back in October, I reported that a judge in Mississippi held a lawyer in contempt when the lawyer refused to recite the pledge of allegiance in court. See here. The judge apprentely had the practice of requiring everyone to stand and recite the pledge when the judge entered the courtroom. The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance was not impressed by the judge's conduct and it has now recommended a reprimand for the judge. Go here for the full story.

Access to Facebook pages

Facebook appears to be in the news almost daily these days and, for a number of different reasons, it is now clear that all lawyers need to educate themselves (and their clients) on how to use it and not to use it. That includes me, but I do know one thing: very little (if anything) is private on the internet.

For more on the issues related to professional conduct and social media go to this section of this blog, particularly to this post with examples of some of the uses of social media that have created problems for lawyers and judges recently.

Now here is the latest, via the Legal Profession Blog:

Last year, the Philadelphia Bar Association issued an opinion (available here) concluding that seeking to surrepticiously “friend” an opposing party or witness on social media (such as Facebook), personally or through an agent would constitute unethical conduct.

However, a Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas recently held that a party may be compelled through the discovery process to provide an opponent with access to his Facebook and MySpace accounts. In a decision in the case of McMillen v. Hummingbird Speedway, Inc., handed down September 9, 2010, President Judge John Henry Foradora of the Court of Common Pleas of Jefferson County held that access to one’s social networking sites is not protected by any privilege, and that the plaintiff in a personal injury action could be compelled to reveal the usernames and passwords of his Facebook and MySpace accounts to counsel for the defendants (but not to the defendants themselves). The court looked closely at the privacy and disclosure policies of the sites in question, and concluded that users are on notice that information posted on them may be revealed to persons who have access to such information by process of law.

A New York trial court decision reached the same result by a very similar analysis.

Podcast on Ethics 20/20 Commission Documents

In September, the ABA's Commission on Ethics 20/20 released a couple of documents concerning lawyers' use of technology. One paper addressed confidentiality-related issues, and the other paper addressed some of the ethics issues associated with lawyers' use of social media for advertising and marketing purposes. In order to get the word out about the papers and to correct some misunderstandings about them, Andrew Perlman, one of the Commission's reporters created a podcast, which summarizes some of the Commission's work in this area. You can access the podcast here or here.

Thanks to the Legal Ethics Forum for the update, information and links.

New documentary on issue of depression among lawyers

Go here for the full story.

On the issues related to entities that lend money to litigants

A few days ago, the New York Times published a long article on entities that lend money to litigants in exchange for an assignment of an amount of the potential proceeds of the litigants' legal action. See here. The article coincided with a hearing in the Illinois legislature to discuss Senate Bill 3322 which attempts to regulate such entities. The NYT article also generated a lot of discussion among legal blogs. For an interesting discussion of the legal and ethical issues that relate to the litigation loan industry go to Room for Debate, Legal Ethics Forum and The Wall Street Journal Law Blog.

Full interview with former Toyota attorney

A couple of days ago, I reported that the magazine Corporate Counsel was going to publish a long article about a former lawyer for Toyota who has accused the company of hiding important and relevant documents in product liability cases. Here is the link to the six page long article.

Bar association seeks to regulate lawyers' Facebook comments

The Kentucky Bar Association has decided that postings on social media, such as Facebook, represent a dangerous trend that needs oversight. The bar is proposing a regulation that would prohibit lawyers from trying to solicit potential clients on social media unless the comments are regulated by the bar's Advertising Commission. Here is a link to the full story.

Thanks to the Legal Ethics Forum for the link.

Interview with former Toyota attorney who claims the company is guilty of discovery fraud

As you know, Toyota has been in the news recently because of claims of defects in its cars that cause sudden acceleration problems. A side story to that on-going litigation is the litigation against one of its former lawyers who has accused the company of hiding important and relevant documents in product liability cases. I reported on this back in March (here).

A couple of days ago, Law.com posted a video previewing an upcoming story in Corporate Lawyer on the lawyer who has accused Toyota of discovery fraud. The video of a conversation with the lawyer is available here.

NY State Bar on whether in house counsel should be allowed to practice in a jurisdiction where they are not admitted

Law.com is reporting that leaders of the New York State Bar Association have asked the Court of Appeals to permit in-house counsels who have a "continuous presence" in New York to be authorized to practice law here without having to pass the state bar exam. Go here for the full story.

Should attorneys advertise their services in funeral homes?

How would you like to advertise your law practice on a funeral home's website? This is the question attorney and blogger Eric Turkewitz is considering in his most recent post after receiving a message from a directory of funeral homes offering a unique marketing opportunity for firms specializing in Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death & Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect. Go here for the full story.