Professional Responsibility Blog

Over at the Legal Ethics Forum, Nicole Hyland has published a good short comment on the recent decision to revive the case challenging the r...

Is it unethical for an attorney to publicly disagree with a former client's interpretation of a decision issued in a case where the att...

Back in May of 2011, I wrote the "the next big thing" in Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility was going to be the debate on wh...

Continuing our running list of examples on how not to practice law, here is a link to a brand new opinion from the Court of Appeals for the...

Otherwise is reporting that The New Jersey Supreme Court has invited public comment on a proposal to abolish “common law retaining lien.”  ...

Over at the Litigation and Trial blog, Max Kennerly has published two excellent comments on issues related to discovery and litigation manag...

I have commented before on the practice of some judges of imposing unorthodox, unusual or "creative" punishment, in lieu of applyi...

Last week in class we discussed the ethical issues related to perjury, including the duty not to use evidence the lawyer knows is false and ...

As President Obama prepares for his second term in the White House, should he put an end to military commissions, used to prosecute captured...

Lowering the Bar has a post discussing multiple cases where clients get in trouble for bragging about their misconduct on the air ( here )....

The Legal Profession blog is reporting on an interesting case in which the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals imposed sanctions on an at...

As is well known, in Brady v. Maryland , the Supreme Court held that prosecutors have a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence to criminal de...

One of the, if not the , hottest topic in Professional Responsibility today is whether non-lawyers should be allowed to invest, fund or esse...

About a month ago, the Washington Supreme Court issued an interesting opinion holding that a prosecutor engaged in prejudicial misconduct r...

The New York Personal Injury Law blog has a good short comment on the duties of an attorney hired by an insurance company to represent one o...

The question of whether in-house counsel have a right to sue a former employer/client for wrongful termination is one that continues to gene...

As you probably remember, back in 2010, the Supreme Court decided  Connick v. Thompson , which has been described as "one of the most ...

After a two-day delay because of storm Sandy, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Chaidez v. United States , which raises the issue of...

The New York Times is reporting that the judge in the Trayvon Martin murder case on Monday denied a prosecution request to bar lawyers for G...

In class we discuss a few cases illustrating improper conduct during depositions.  There are many such cases - and some videos - that are us...

The Legal Profession blog is reporting today ( here ) on a recent case in which an attorney was disbarred for, among other things, beating u...

Back in August I posted a story about the lawsuit filed by 3M Corporation against the law firm Covington & Burling ( here ) for an alle...

Mike Frisch (Georgetown) has strong words about a recent report in Washington DC, which he calls "the worst hearing committee report in...

Back in March I posted a comment on a case in Texas in which a judge was under investigation for misconduct when he was a prosecutor.  My or...

In class I am often asked if a lawyer violates the rule that says lawyers can't provide financial assistance to clients if the lawyer ta...

Back in August I posted a story about the lawsuit filed by 3M Corporation against the law firm Covington & Burling arguing that the l...

Here is another installment of the on-going series on how not to practice law.  In this new case, a lawyer was disbarred for, among other th...

The Legal Profession blog is reporting on a recent opinion from the Ohio Supreme Court in which an attorney was indefinitely suspended  for...

Just when you think you have seen (or heard) it all... Here is a report on something I had not heard before, other than at the movies.  Reme...

Lowering the Bar ( here ) and Prof. Jonathan Turley ( here ) are reporting today on a story about a New Orleans prosecutor who recently resi...

Ethics opinions in at least eight states have addressed whether a lawyer's use of a third party company that brokers discounted service...

I never saw the TV show "Arrested Development"; a friend just sent me this clip ....

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 has released for comment its most recent drafts of proposals.  As explained by one of the commission memb...

Back in May I reported Now comes news that starting in 2013, candidates to admission in New York state will be required to show that they ha...

The Illinois Review Board has proposed a suspension of two years of an attorney who concealed assets in a bankruptcy by transferring the ass...

Why is it that so many people are so stupid about how they use Facebook?  What is it about Facebook that makes some people do stupid things?...

Almost 17 years after the verdict in the OJ Simpson case, former prosecutor in the case Christopher Darden said he believed defense attorney...

Back in July I posted a video (apparently a big hit on You Tube) in which a judge totally loses control during a divorce hearing and starts ...

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 has released for comment, along with a Cover Memo from Co-Chairs Jamie S. Gorelick and Michael Traynor...

The Blog of The Legal Times is reporting ( here ) on an interesting story that involves a clash between the U.S. Justice Department and the ...

Here is another story worthy of our continuing series on bizarre, dumb or unbelievable conduct deserving of sanctions.  In this particular c...

One of the first important lessons I always try to get my students to learn is that given the fact that the rules don't provide for sanc...

Here is a new installment in our running list on how not to practice law:  the Florida Supreme Court has suspended  two attorneys for misco...

A few days ago I reported that the US District Court for the District of Columbia held a hearing regarding a challenge to new restrictions o...

Today is the last day to nominate your favorite blogs for the ABA Journal 's annual 100 best legal blogs list ("Blawg 100"). I...

Richard Zitrin, professor of legal ethics at UC Hastings, has published an article describing how sometimes disastrous accidents make the le...

Back in 2010 I posted a comment criticizing the practice of appointing attorneys for juveniles in delinquency proceedings to serve simultan...

Here is a link to a short article on the fact that federal appellate courts are split over whether money sanctions issued against an attorn...

Some states do not require lawyers to have malpractice insurance.  Do you think it is unprofessional to opt not to get insurance?  Here is a...

Reminder: Aspiring Lawyers Should Not Engage in Terrorism. Lowering the Bar explains here .

Lyle Denniston of the SCotUS blog is reporting that last Wednesday the Supreme Court "strongly hinted that one of last Term’s key ruli...

A former client of Covington & Burling (3M Corp.) has filed a complaint against the firm arguing that the law firm violated its duties t...

The ABA Journal is now accepting nominations for its 100 best legal blogs ("Blawg 100") list. If you've enjoyed reading my blo...

Submissions and nominations of articles are now being accepted for the third annual Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Scholarship in Prof...

Last Friday, the US District Court for the District of Columbia held a hearing regarding a challenge to new restrictions on lawyers represen...

Prosecutorial discretion is an important part of the criminal justice system.  For the system to work, prosecutors must have some level of d...

Almost a year ago I wrote about the controversy over the request for admission to the bar by Stephen Glass, a former journalist who was expo...