Professional Responsibility Blog

Just about a year ago I reported ( here ) that the two most recent decisions on whether a convicted criminal defendant had to prove actual...

Yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court announced rule amendments that make Illinois the first state to adopt so-called “proactive management ...

Readers of the blog might be interested in this forthcoming law review article: Restraining Lawyers: From 'Cases' to 'Tasks'...

The ABA Center for Innovation, about which I wrote not too long ago here , is accepting applications for its inaugural fellowship program. ...

Just a few minutes ago I posted an item on the much discussed newly adopted ABA Model Rule 8.4(g), and then I found this new bit of news:  ...

The ABA recently approved an amendment to Model Rule 8.4 to make it misconduct to use discriminatory or biased speech.  Back in January I ...

For those of you interested in issues related to the criminal justice system, you may want to check out a new article by David Patton (NYU L...

The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued a new Formal Opinion (No.475) to explain the duties of a la...

Above the Law has published an interesting take on the issue of jury nullification.  You can read it here .

New Mexico’s chief public defender has been found in contempt of court and fined $5,000 for refusing to provide lawyers to represent crimina...

A few years ago, the issue of whether it was proper for an attorney to "ghostwrite" documents for pro se litigants was hotly debat...

The Legal Profession blog is reporting that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has adopted an amendment to its rules to add a new subsection (e...

Model Rule 1.8(j) was adopted a number of years ago to regulate possible sexual relationships with clients.  It states that "a lawyer ...

During the spring and summer I wrote an article on ethical issues related to joining Avvo Legal Services.  I started writing the article soo...

I recently read in the Legal Profession blog a summary of a recent decision out of the Utah Supreme Court with the oddest fact pattern I ha...

The Legal Ethics Committee of the District of Columbia Bar has just issued two opinions on social media use.  Ethics Opinion 370 is availabl...

My essay Through the Looking Glass in Indiana: Mandatory Reporting Child Abuse and the Duty of Confidentiality was recently published by No...

IPethics & INsights has published two articles reviewing the current state of the law on advanced waivers.  Go here for part 1 and here...

I am happy to report that my humble blog is one of the finalists in the 2016 Best Legal Blog Contest.  But it now needs your help!   Please ...

In 2008, the American Bar Association adopted as a goal to work to "eliminate bias and enhance diversity” by promoting full and equal p...

The Sixth Amendment Center has published two articles analyzing in detail Indiana's system for providing attorneys to indigent defendant...

Last August I reported on the ABA Report on the Future of Legal Services and concluded that I was not impressed.  You can read my detailed r...

Back in August I reported that the parents of two Americans killed in Benghazi, Libya, filed a lawsuit Hillary Clinton for wrongful death, ...

Back in March of 2015, I reported that a state judge in California removed an entire DA's office from a high-profile murder prosecution ...

For the third time in four months, a state bar ethics committee has warned attorneys that participating in an Avvo like client referral prog...

The Legal Profession Blog is reporting that the Supreme Court of Virginia has approved amendments to Rules 1.6 and 3.3. The amendments cla...

Long time readers of this blog know I often complain about the fact that courts do not seem to take prosecutorial misconduct too seriously....

IPethics & INsights  has published a short and informative post called Five Myths About USPTO Ethics Investigations and Disciplinary Com...

As you probably know, there are differences of opinion as to whether the duty to disclose information imposed on prosecutors by ABA Model Ru...

Just about a month ago, I reported that the Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct decided that attorneys aren’t allowed to help someon...

Ohio has two parallel disciplinary mechanisms:  the certified grievance committees of local bar associations and the state disciplinary co...

Last July, Professor Ron Rotunda wrote a column in Verdict arguing that the government should not force lawyers to perform pro bono service...

There is a new way to find a lawyer online in Michigan (and soon in other midwest states).  Using data from the State Bar of Michigan, Zeek...

September 10, 2016 If you used the textbook by Prof. Stephen Gillers in your Professional Responsibility course (as a student or professor...

Citing the fact that many law graduates are facing high debt, California Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have required recent...

Back in 2015, in a case called Searcy v Florida Bar , a Federal District Court Judge enjoined the Florida Bar from enforcing a rule prohib...

Over the years, I have commented on many cases where courts reverse criminal convictions due to inappropriate comments by overzealous prosec...

Back in July, 2015 I reported that the State Bar of California Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility had issued an "interi...

Lawyerist has posted a short note on a new study that concludes that in nearly 70% of all civil cases only one of the parties is represente...

Suppose a law firm hires a student as a law clerk and the student does some work for one of the lawyers.  The lawyer would be allowed to bil...

Verdict has just published a column making a case for mandatory pro-bono.  You can read it here .

I am late to post on this story about something that happened last week and which has received a lot of attention already, so I will keep it...

The last ABA national conference on professional liability featured a panel on ethical issues related to representing clients involved in th...

A few days ago I reported that the Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct decided last week that attorneys aren’t allowed to help someo...

A few days ago I reviewed the final report of the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services ( see here ) and pointed out that one of it...

A few days ago I wrote about my concern that the newly adopted amendment to Model Rule 8.4 can be used to impose sanctions for what is other...

A few days ago I posted my review of the final report of the ABA Commission on the Future of the Legal Services.  In case you missed it, you...

A few days ago I reported that the Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct decided last week that attorneys aren’t allowed to help someo...

IPethics & INsights is reporting that on August 5, 2016, the USPTO Director issued a Final Order reversing an administrative law judge’...

South Carolina's Ethics Advisory Committee has issued an opinion holding that participating in a program like Avvo's Legal Services ...

Back in 2014, the American Bar Association created a Commission on the Future of Legal Services and charged it with the task of studying how...

Back in January I wrote a long post on a proposal to amend Model Rule 8.4 to make it a sanctionable offense to engage in harassment or disc...

NPR is reporting that the parents of two Americans killed in Benghazi, Libya, are suing Hillary Clinton for wrongful death, alleging the 2...

The ABA House of Delegates just adopted a Resolution , which urges courts and legislatures to adopt rules or enact statutes that would est...

Original post (July 11, 2016); Update below: I recently posted a note on a recent opinion in Ohio which essentially concludes it is uneth...