Professor Alberto Bernabe - The University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law
April 27. 2024
As reported in Above the Law: Confronted with an ethics investigation zeroing in on a number of different types of conduct that justified discipline, a lawyer in New Hampshire apparently thought he could get out of his troubles by destroying or altering evidence stored in his computer. He could not; and got disbarred.
Above the Law has the full story here.
UPDATE 5/1/2024: The ABA Journal has the story here.
March 20, 2024
The ABA Journal and Above the Law are reporting that the Washington Supreme Court has adopted alternative pathways to a law license, becoming the second state to do so in a little more than four months. The court approved three ways to bypass a bar exam, with different standards for law school graduates, law students and law clerks participating in a lawyer-tutoring program already in existence. All involve apprenticeships or internships.
You can read the different standards in the court's press release here. The ABA Journal has more details here. Above the Law has the story here.
UPDATE (April 13, 2024): Lex Blog has published a comment on the story here.
A disciplinary panel in Washington has found that Jeffrey Clark, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, violated ethics rules for lawyers in his attempt to aid Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election. This is only a preliminary ruling that starts a process that could lead to the suspension or even permanent revocation of Clark’s license to practice law. So, stay tuned....
The Legal Profession Blog describes the process as follows:
"The Jeffrey Clark bar disciplinary hearing in the District of Columbia has now concluded its evidentiary phase. The Hearing Committee announced a non-binding conclusion that a disciplinary rule violation has been proved by clear and convincing evidence. It will make formal findings after receiving briefs from the parties.Those findings and conclusions will be reviewed by the Board on Professional Responsibility, which (unless it dismisses, which Disciplinary Counsel can appeal) will in turn be reviewed by the Court of Appeals."
1. Jenny Brobst (Memphis Law) recently posted an article offering a look at the role of technology and ethical competency rules, vis-a-vis how tech has rolled out unevenly in the United States. You can take a look at it here.
2. Above the Law: Maybe We've Got The Artificial Intelligence In Law 'Problem' All Wrong