Professional Responsibility Blog

I often tell my students that by the time they graduate and pass the bar the regulation of the profession might be different than what we co...

Many of you know the TV show "Better Call Saul," now in its fifth season.  (If you don't go here first, then here .)  The sho...

The Pennsylvania Bar Association has issued an ethics opinion intended to provide guidance now and into the future on working from home and ...

Long time readers of this blog know that I have reported on a number of cases documenting the misconduct of prosecutors in New Orleans.  (Se...

The original message and first update appear below.  TODAY'S UPDATE  (4/9/20):   Friend of the blog and Bar Counsel for Vermont, Micha...

The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices has released its final report concerning pretrial reform in the Illinois crimina...

If you ever need to figure out the differences between the ABA Model Rules and the Louisiana Rules, here is a video that explains them.

The Legal Profession blog recently reported two different instances where courts in Wyoming and Massachusetts recognized that public defend...

Here is a podcast on "How to practice law remotely and efficiently during the COVID-19 crisis" originally posted by the show Asked...

Yesterday I posted a link to advice on how to behave responsibly during the crisis.  Today I bring you two examples of the opposite. In t...

Michael Kennedy, Vermont's bar counsel offers some quick and sound advice on practicing law reasonably during a public health crisis .

Because the practice of law is considered to be a profession, and a profession is defined, among other things by the fact that it requires s...

The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility just released a new formal opinion (Formal Opinion 490) on the ethical ...

Original post: March 22, 2020 It has been a while since I posted a story to our running count of "how not to practice law" categ...

I often tell my students that disqualification is a more common consequence to conflicts issues than discipline.  Yet, every now and then we...

A few weeks ago I wrote about an opinion from North Carolina on whether attorneys could (or should) reply to negative online reviews.  See h...

Long time readers of this blog know I have posted many stories related to the notion of competence related to the use of "technology...

Statement by the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee: In light of the unprecedented risk...

A few days ago, the Board of Trustees of the California Bar delayed deciding (until May) on most of the proposals put forth by a legal tech ...

Readers of this blog will remember the current discussion within a number of jurisdictions on whether to allow trained non-lawyers to provid...

Lawfare is reporting that Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn has waived attorney-client privilege, allowing pros...

The Ohio Supreme Court is asking for public comments on proposed amendments to address the process for investigating and prosecuting allegat...

Almost a year ago, I wrote about a couple of complaints filed in Florida that I argued could challenge the very notion of professional regul...

In a recent case summarized in the Legal Profession blog, the Georgia Supreme Court held that a malpractice suit implies waiver of the attor...

I have written about the notion of " wellness " before, including about a report on the negative effects of the practice of law a...

Original post 3/1/20 The North Carolina State Bar has issued a proposed ethics opinion on whether it is ethical for attorneys to reply to ...

Assume that an adult man was convicted of 3 counts of attempting to have sex with girls under the age of 15.  Now, almost 20 years later, th...

The Illinois Supreme Court has launched a pro bono pilot program to reduce the backlog of criminal appeals in the state. During the six-mont...

As you probably know, jurisdictions are divided on whether a convicted criminal defendant has to argue and prove actual innocence as a requi...

A few days ago I reported on the opposition to a proposal by the the ABA’s Center for Innovation and four standing committees seeking to pro...

The Innovation for Justice Program at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, in partnership with the Arizona Supreme Cour...

The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) has adopted a proposal to amend a number of rules related to the pract...

Last week I reported on the opposition to a proposal by the the ABA’s Center for Innovation and four standing committees seeking to advance ...

According to Model Rule 4.2, and its state equivalents, with a few exceptions, an attorney can’t communicate directly with someone the lawye...

Yesterday I wrote about the debate at a national level on proposals to change certain aspects of the regulation of the profession.  Today I ...

Last November I reported that the ABA’s Center for Innovation and four standing committees adopted a resolution seeking to advance the disc...

As I am sure you know, there is a strong ongoing debate related to possible changes to the regulation of the profession due to a growing con...

Here is the most recent "Digital Detectives" podcast in which the hosts discuss the landscape of AI in the legal space and what is...

Long time readers of this blog know that I have posted many articles and comments on prosecutorial misconduct over the years, and some may r...

As you probably know, in the vast majority of jurisdictions disbarment is not permanent which means that disbarred lawyers can request for r...

As you know, the doctrine of qualified immunity recognizes a defense for certain government officials from liability for injuries caused by ...

On October 29, 2019, the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics issued an advisory opinion, Opinion 1176, which add...

In the most recent "Lawyer 2 Lawyer" podcast, podcast Professors Deborah L. Rhode and Scott Cummings talk about issues affecting t...

Did Trump’s lawyer Pat Cipollone lied to the Senate when he stated that Republicans weren’t allowed to participate in House depositions?  An...

Lawyer Ethics Alerts Blog is reporting that on December 12, 2019, The Florida Bar filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court requesting...

On January 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of Virginia approved a new formal ethics opinion to clarify the scope of Rule 4.2, which regulates the...

Over at The Law For Lawyers Today, Karen Rubin has some good advice for all lawyers.  Her post Five ways to stay out of ethics trouble in 20...

Just a few days ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that should be called Chaparro Nieves v. Office of the Publ...

Georgetown Law’s Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute recently released a new report on t...

This is the time of the year when many blogs and websites start issuing their "top ten lists" (mostly of important events of the p...

Original post: December 8, 2019 The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued ABA Formal Ethics Opinion ...

A few days ago I posted that the NY State Bar Association issued an opinion saying that lawyers are allowed to represent client's in the...

Back in September and again in November I reported on Utah's move to allow non-lawyers to provide certain legal services.  See here and...

Last month, the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics issued Opinion 1177 , reaffirming that the New York Rules of...

An Ohio attorney who put price tags from cheaper items on more expensive ones at Walmart and then checked them out was given a one-year stay...

At some point in 2018, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court adopted a set of rules for the assignment of cases to court appointed attorneys (“Regla...

Long time readers of this blog might remember that I have been following the many lawsuits filed around the country alleging that mandatory ...

About a month ago I posted a note about a case in which the court found one of the briefs in the case to be total "gibberish."  Se...

Bloomberg law is reporting that a California federal judge recently imposed sanctions on a party for nearly $4 million for discovery miscond...

It sounds like it!  Go here to read about it.

Back in April I reported that the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a Formal Opinion (No. 485) concl...

About a month ago I noted that Georgia was in line to become the 38th state to adopt the notion of understanding "technology" as p...