Professional Responsibility Blog

The most recent episode of the show "Community" was this parody of Law & Order:

The blog "Circuit Splits" has a post on the debate over the applicability of the attorney-client privilege to patent agents here .

As I get ready to discuss prosecutorial ethics next week, there are two items in this week's news on the subject: The Blog of the Lega...

Should a lawyer be allowed to change his mind about a settlement agreement after realizing that the jury would have given his client more mo...

The South Carolina Bar’s Ethics Advisory Committee has issued an opinion ( available here ) in which it addresses the question of whether it...

In a couple of weeks I will be discussing the concept of jury nullification in my Professional Responsibility class, so I thought I would li...

I recently posted links to a video and some articles and comments criticizing the prosecutor in the Zimmerman case ( here and here ).  Here...

Last week, the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in Filarsky v. Delia holding that a private attorney, retained by a city to assist in an...

Is There an Ethical Duty to Convey Offers to Mediate?   I think so....Discuss... here . 

It was recently reported that ABA's Ethics 20/20 Commission has decided not to draft a proposal on non-lawyer ownership of law firms.  ...

The most controversial topic in Professional Responsibility circles today will continue to be unresolved for now... or, more accurately, th...

Judge in Zimmerman case recuses herself.  Story here and video below (after a short commercial).  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , wo...

A few days ago, I posted a short interview with Alan Dershowitz in which he argues the prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case acted unethic...

Here is a video of an interview with Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz in which he argues the conduct of the prosecutor in the case agai...

The Legal Profession blog is reporting today on a case in which the Louisiana Supreme Court has not only denied a bar applicant's requ...

The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department has indefinitely suspended a lawyer after it was found had not payed child...

Last month, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced such a bill to broaden the scope of information that prosecutors must disclose to def...

The Illinois Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in an interesting case that raises some interesting questions as to what constitute...

The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that it has adopted a new rule to facilitate the delivery of legal services in an emergency res...

The issue of whether non-lawyers should be able to "own" (as in own investments in) law firms is back in the news.  I reported on...

Last night the TV show 60 minutes aired a segement on prosecutorial misconduct in a case in Texas in which the defendant was recently exoner...

The former chief drug prosecutor for Wayne County, Michigan has been disbarred for her role in soliciting false testimony. Go here for more...

The debate over whether states will begin to allow non-lawyer firm ownership/investment in law firms continues although a few days ago a cha...

Three new articles in the New York Times discuss the importance of the Supreme Court's decisions on ineffective assistance of counsel.  ...

Here is an interesting article on the conflicting positions of the ABA and New York's Committee on Professional Responsibility on the p...

The SCotUS blog is listing the following articles on yesterday's Supreme Court decisions on ineffective assistance of counsel: Greg S...

Today the Supreme Court announced two decisions in cases involving claims of ineffective assistance of counsel that essentially conclude tha...

The New York Times has published an editorial on the need for the Department of Justice to "take an even closer look at the powers and ...

Go here and here for articles with some analysis on the report on prosecutorial misconduct in the Ted Stevens case.  Thanks to the Legal...

Back in January, 2011, I reported that the Illinois legislature rejected a bill that attempted to regulate entities that lend money to liti...

You are representing a client in a contract dispute where the opposing party claims he is owed $10,000 for services rendered. The client li...

Lawmakers filed a new bill Thursday that would change discovery rules in federal criminal cases, requiring prosecutors to turn over any in...

The long awaited and controversial report on prosecutorial misconduct in the Ted Stevens case has finally been realeased. The 500+ page repo...

Unlike other states that have addressed the issue, the Indiana bar has issued an ethics opinion (Ethics Op. No. 1 of 2012) which concludes t...

The University of Pennsylvania Law Review sponsors a website called PENNumbra which hosts debates on important topics.  The debates usuall...

For decades poor parents in New Hampshire were provided lawyers if they could not afford them, but funding was cut during the last legisla...

The debate over whether states will begin to allow non-lawyer firm ownership/investment in law firms continues although a few days ago a cha...

Earlier today, the Illinois court of appeals issued two opinions on ineffective assistance of counsel.  In the first one, People v. Watson ,...

It has not been a good month for Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the US.  First it was his ludicrous speech about the President's a...

I have been following the critical reaction to the very problematic argument that the Obama administration has inherent (and pretty much abs...

A few days ago, I wrote about the Attorney General of the United States' speech in which he tried to explain why it would be OK for the...

Abnormal Use has a story with lots of links to information on a problem we discuss in class and that was the subject of a session at a recen...

Yesterday I wrote about Eric Holder's speech on the Obama administration's policy on extrajudicial killing.  Professor Jonathan Turl...

Over the years, I have commented on a number of cases where courts have reversed convictions due to improper comments by prosecutors, but I ...

The Attorney General of the United States spent a little time trying to explain why it would be OK for the President to order someone to kil...

The Wall Street Journal law blog is reporting that the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has found that New York's rule of Profes...

In a short editorial, available here , the New York Times is calling for the resignation of the federal district judge who sent the racist m...

Suppose you go to a store and pay with a $10 bill, but thinking you paid with a $20, the cashier gives you more change than you deserve. Wou...

Here is an interesting post from the Australian Professional Liability Blog on prosecutorial obligations. Although the language used is dif...

Last month I reported that, finally, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the release of the report on prosecutorial misconduct in the...

Richard Cebull, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, has acknowledged that he forwarded a racist email to se...

In a summary order in a case called Bazadier v. McAlary , (available here ) the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that the st...

Just a few days ago I posted two notes about cases in which the attorneys lied to the disciplinary board in an attempt to cover their miscon...

Prof. Andrew Perlman, reporter for the ABA Commission that is preparing the next round of proposed amendments to the Model Rules, has posted...

We have seen this one before , but it never ceases to amaze me.  The Legal Profession blog is reporting that the Maryland Court of Appeals ...

In a new case, reported today in the Legal Profession blog, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals has concluded that a conviction for f...

Prof. Andrew Perlman, one of the members of the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20, has posted an announcement in the Legal Ethics Forum stating...

What are some of the legal and ethical issues that arise when a lawyer leaves a firm?  The Legal Intelligencer Blog has a series on "Do...

Lyle Denniston of the SCOTUS blog is reporting today that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., has told five members of the Senate Judiciary...

I have often complained that courts do not do enough to encourage proper conduct by district attorneys.  Today I am happy to report an incid...

A couple of weeks ago I reported that last November the federal government enacted a bill that slashed federal funding for civil legal ass...

Prof. Jonathan Turley is reporting today that Durham County District Attorney Tracey Cline, has been removed for serious allegations of pro...

In a new case from New Jersey, the state Supreme Court has disbarred an attorney for misappropriation which included the use of money from a...

An Illinos Hearing Board has recommended a 60-day suspension of a former elected State's Attorney who was convicted of the aggravated...

How about that!?  Last night I wrote about an article in the NY Times calling for the release of the report on prosecutorial misconduct in t...

Toward the end of last year, I posted several comments on the reports on prosecutorial misconduct in the Ted Stevens case.  Go here and  he...

The District of Columbia Bar is considering enacting a new rule (designated as Rule 8.6) to require lawyers in the District of Columbia who ...

Esther F. Lardent, the president and chief executive officer of the Pro Bono Institute in Washington, has published a short article called F...

Here is an interesting story from the Baltimore Sun about a hospital that apparently has an agreement with a number of lawyers in the area ...

About a year ago, I reported on an unusual case where a lawyer tried to offer an expert opinion as a doctor in one of his cases.  Today, the...

The other day, I posted a note about whether a suspended lawyer can represent others in a setting where private individuals are allowed to d...

According to a recent report in the ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct, an anti-solicitation bill (S 2316), which the New J...