Professional Responsibility Blog

The Oregon Bar has published an ethics opinion addressing the following specific questions: 1. May Lawyer review a person’s publicly avai...

 A few days ago I posted a few links to articles commenting on the 50th anniversary of the case that recognized the right to counsel in cri...

A few days ago I posted a link to an editorial in the NY Times on the state of the right to counsel ( here ).  As we celebrate the 50th anni...

The Legal Profession blog is reporting on a case that reiterates an important lesson for all lawyers.  Lawyers can't blame their client...

Here is a link to another case holding it is improper to represent the buyer and seller in the same transaction.

Under what circumstances should an attorney have a duty in tort toward the affiliates of an entity client?  The question is now before the...

A couple of days ago, The New York Times published a good editorial on the state of the right to counsel.  It starts: A half-century ago...

For a short comment on this question, go here .

Tomorrow, the Kentucky Supreme Court will hear an interesting case that asks the court to determine whether an attorney entered into an inva...

The New Hampshire Bar Association has issued an opinion on the use of cloud computing. It joins a number of other jurisdictions holding th...

A couple of years ago I reported on a case in which  the Appellate Division of New York's Supreme Court  affirmed a decision nullifyin...

Here is a story we have seen before.  If you are looking for another example of conduct outside the practice of law which can result in disc...

In its January meeting, the Illinois State Bar Association's Board of Governors approved three ethics opinions addressing probate fees,...

Legal Ethics in Motion is reporting ( here ) that last month the Florida Bar Professional Ethics Committee issued Proposed Advisory Opinion ...

Prosecutor Discretion has some thoughts on the subject here .

The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued a new opinion ( here ) on issues relating to a judge's ...

Go here for a great summary of last year's top stories in international legal ethics.

I've always thought that lawyers should not charge at all for the time it takes to prepare a bill.  That is not time spend on the clien...

In a very surprising move the Kansas Supreme Court recently ruled that an overworked and inexperienced defense lawyer's flat-fee arrang...

About ten days ago, the Washington Court of Appeals issued a decision on whether an attorney can sue for wrongful discharge.  The court hel...

Yesterday I reported that defense attorneys in the case against the alleged 9/11 mastermind have argued that the US government have been li...

The ABA Journal is reporting today that an ABA House of Delegates has approved a resolution encouraging lawyers to consider providing unbund...

Professor Andrew Perlman, the Chief Reporter for the ABA's "Commission on Ethics 20/20," is reporting that just a few days ag...

On of the defense attorneys in the case against alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four accused co-conspirators in the murd...

The Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers is currently holding a national meeting and today they had a discussion on recent de...

Blogger has published a long but interesting article on what he calls "America's broken criminal justice system." In it, he di...

Back in March of last year I posted a comment on a case in Texas in which a judge was under investigation for misconduct when he was a prose...

A divided Florida Supreme Court yesterday eliminated a number of existing limits in the state's regulations on advertising by lawyers bu...

The Center for Justice & Democracy has published a new study called Courthouse Cornerstone: Contingency Fees and Their Importance for Ev...

By now you may have heard of this story or seen the video; but in case you haven't here it is.  The video shows how a judge left a woman...

I found this headline at the Legal Profession blog very interesting:  "Self-Representation In Bar Discipline Case Is Evidence Of Incomp...

Last August, the ABA amended the comment to Model Rule 1.1 to extend the notion of competence to include knowledge about "technology....

The Ethics Committee of the New York City Bar Association has just issued a very informative new ethics opinion on the duties owed to prosp...

Injured has a short post with some common sense advice on settlement talks here .

The Tennessee Supreme Court is considering proposals to amend the rules related to advertising but I find it difficult to believe most woul...

The ABA Journal has asked its readers about the most ridiculous cases they have encountered, and the readers have responded with pages wort...

The title says it all. The story is available here . Thanks to Ross Good for sending me the link.

Continuing our long running list of really dumb things to do, this one could be one of my favorites:   The Legal Profession Blog is reportin...

Over at the Legal Ethics Forum, Nicole Hyland has posted a summary of remarks she is preparing to deliver at a conference on ethical issues ...

As readers of the blog probably know by now, it was recently reported that F. Lee Bailey has been denied admission in Maine, where he now re...

Back in June I posted a note about a report that a Judge in Missouri was under investigation for allegedly allowing her clerks to handle li...

Here is a list to the top stories in Legal Ethics in Canada for 2012, as compiled by friend of the blog Prof. Alice Wolley. Thanks to Joh...

The Legal Ethics Forum has posted its annual top stories of the year list here .

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 recently filed four resolutions and reports for the ABA House of Delegates to consider at its February 2...

Over at the Legal Ethics Forum, Nicole Hyland asks "Your client has obtained privileged documents belonging to the adversary. What do ...

A few days ago, I posted a note with links to several articles on whether Justice Scalia should recuse himself from cases related to gay mar...

The National Law Journal has published a survey of hourly fees based on information provided by 55 of the nation's largest firms.  The f...

Last week, the TV show 60 minutes devoted one of its segments to the problem of wrongful convictions.  The show was mostly about police inte...

The question of how to determine when a Supreme Court justice should recuse him or herself has been in the news a lot this year. It was par...

Back in September, I wrote about the Obama administration's attempt to interfere and regulate the representation of Guantanamo detainees...

You may remember my previous posts on a video (apparently a big hit on You Tube) in which a judge totally loses control during a divorce hea...

USA Today is reporting that a Southern California judge has been admonished for saying a rape victim "didn't put up a fight" d...

Law students looking for a challenge and an opportunity to earn $5,000 and a trip to New Orleans should consider entering the Levit Essay Co...

In an opinion released last week, the Supreme Court of New Mexico has interpreted the state rule on imputation of conflicts of interest to h...

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

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...