Professional Responsibility Blog

As we near the end of the year and start thinking of "top ten" lists, I think it is fair to say that the top three topics of debat...

As you probably know, the recently adopted Model Rule 8.4(g) has generated a lot of debate.  Some states have rejected it, a handful have ad...

A Mississippi district attorney who prosecuted a black man six times for the same crime is facing a class action lawsuit that claims he has ...

Several sources, including the Daily Memphian , are reporting that a Memphis Criminal Court Judge has received a reprimand from the Tennesse...

We all know that attorneys have an ethical obligation to provide competent and diligent representation to all their clients. We also know th...

When an opinion ends by stating that "bad writing does not normally warrant sanctions, but we draw the line at gibberish" you know...

Law Practice Today, the magazine of the ABA Law Practice Division, just published its most recent issue and it is all dedicated to ethics is...

This fall I have discussed regulatory reform efforts in California ( here , here , here , and here ), Utah ( here and here ), Arizona ( her...

Faughan on Ethics has a short update on efforts to adopt Model Rule 8.4(g) around the country and on revisions on the rules regarding adver...

The Legal Talk Network's most recent Law Technology Now Podcast features Bill Henderson, professor at Indiana University Maurer School o...

As I have written before, I am sure that by now you know that the Model Rules were amended a few years ago to include a comment about the us...

Long time readers of this blog know I have posted many stories on efforts around the country to provide more access to legal services, parti...

Back in August I reported that Utah approved significant changes to the notion of the practice of law and its regulatory scheme ( see here )...

One hundred and six "renowned legal ethics scholars" (including myself) signed an amicus brief to the Missouri Court of Appeals ur...

The District of Columbia Bar Legal Ethics Committee has issued an opinion on the duties owed to clients and the profession when an impaired ...

Because paralegals hold vulnerable information in trust, competence in ethical rules is crucial to protecting their firm, clients, and even ...

Model Rule 8.4, which is the basis of Rule 8.4 in most, if not all states, holds that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to "vi...

A couple of weeks ago, the New York State Bar Association issued an ethics opinion with an answer to this interesting question:  can the sam...

In case you have not heard, the Practicing Law Institute is hosting a program next Wednesday you might be interested in.  The concept is sim...

The lawyers for a group of mayors in Puerto Rico have been ordered to refile an amicus brief because of what a federal judge considered inde...

A blog reader from Indiana wrote to me to tell me that Indiana adopted a version of the proposed Model Rule 8.4(g) before it was adopted by ...

Long time readers of this blog know that I have been following the developments on Model Rule 8.4(g) way back since it was proposed in 2016....

At the end of last year, I reported that the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that sometimes, the relationship between a jud...

About 3 weeks ago I posted a comment on issues raised by some of Rudy Giuliani's recent comments and actions.  In it I suggested that th...

In the most recent Thinking Like a Lawyer podcast, hosts Joe Patrice and Elie Mystal, two popular contributors to Above the Law discuss a ...

A few days ago I posted a link on "how not to practice law" about a case involving a lawyer accused of stealing files from a firm ...

Need I say more?  The Legal Profession Blog has a summary here .  The complaint is here .

Long time readers of this blog will remember that there has been a lot of debate in recent years about whether it is a good idea to continue...

A few days ago, the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued a short opinion in which it imposes the most bizarre sanction I have ever seen in a discip...

Last month Michigan adopted the standard of "technology competence" illustrated in the ABA's Model Rule Comment [8] to Rule 1....

A few days ago I posted a short comment on Rudy Giuliani and the practice of law.  In it, I questioned whether he understands the notion of ...

Long time readers of this blog will remember that over the past few years there has been a debate on whether jurisdictions should allow non-...

So you want to get disbarred?  Ask and you shall receive.  According to a story in Above the Law, here is the text of an email message sent ...

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you know that Rudy Giuliani who is often labeled to be "a personal co...

As you probably know, I have been posting updates on changes proposed (and some already adopted) in California.  First, there was the adopti...

About three weeks ago I posted a comment on the ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility's recent Ethics Opinion on Judg...

The ABA Journal is reporting that a St. Louis lawyer was held in contempt, jailed for two days and ordered to pay more than $775,000 to her ...

Currently, the maximum length of a suspension from practice in Tennessee is five years.  The only harsher punishment is disbarment. Disbarme...

If you have not read the whistleblower complaint, you can listen to it by hitting the play button below or  go here .

Over at Ethical Grounds, Michael Kennedy has posted a short comment on duties that a lawyer owes to clients regarding their social media use...

As I am sure you know, there are many cases out there that describe inappropriate conduct during discovery in general, and during deposition...

I am sure that by now you know that the Model Rules were amended a few years ago to include a comment about the use of "technology...

As I have written before, the question of whether mandatory membership in a bar association violates the First Amendment is not a new issue,...

A few days ago I reported that the Tennessee Supreme Court vacated an ethics opinion and held that the duty to disclose exculpatory evidence...

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that imposes some changes to an existing law that provides free legal cou...

The ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued a new Ethics Opinion on Judges’ Social or Close Personal Relationship...

As you may remember I have been following the news about attacks in several states to the notion of a "unified bar."  Lawsuits ha...

Yesterday I reported on the recently approved report of a task force in Utah on proposed changes to the professional regulatory scheme, incl...

Long time readers of this blog know I have been following the different task forces around the country considering sweeping changes to the w...

Long time readers of this blog might remember that I have posted a few times about the split among jurisdictions on whether Rule 3.8 imposes...

The 2019 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession was published recently.  It contains data on lawyer demographics, wages, legal education, pro b...

A few days ago I wrote that the California Bar’s Task Force on Access Through Innovation of Legal Services submitted its recommendations for...

As you probably know, jurisdiction are divided on the issue of whether a convicted criminal defendant should be required to show actual inno...

The Alaska Bar Association recently announced that it is considering adopting a rule equivalent to Model Rule 8.4(g), although the rule woul...

I have discussed in the past whether it would be constitutional to discipline attorneys for expressing their views when criticizing judges. ...

The New York Times has published an article on how a new Trump administration immigration initiative is forcing many asylum seekers to navig...

If you are a reader of this blog you know that the legal profession in the United States has been involved in a long standing debate on whet...

Conventional wisdom states that lawyers should advise their clients (or other witnesses) to answer deposition questions "narrowly....

A task force on "access through innovation of legal services" appointed by the State Bar of California has prepared a report which...