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.

Are companies who provide "do it yourself" legal services engaged in the unauthorized practice of law?

The Legal Ethics Forum is reporting today that the Pennsylvania Bar has concluded that many online legal document preparation services, including many of the services provided by LegalZoom, constitute the unauthorized practice of law. The opinion is here. LegalZoom's response is available here.

How not to practice law (if you are a prosecutor): sell the offender's property

Today's entry into our continuing list of examples on how not to practice law relates to the conduct of prosecutors: sell the offener's property without due process. Here is the story.

Professor Bernabe's abnormal interview

The products liability blog Abnormal Use recently asked me to participate in their interview series. Here are my comments.

Supreme Court grants cert on Turner v. Price

The Supreme Court has granted cert on Turner v. Price which asks whether an indigent defendant has a constitutional right to appointed counsel at a civil contempt proceeding that results in his incarceration. For links to all the legal documents, including the lower court's opinion go to the SCOTUS blog.