Professional Responsibility Blog

 The Chicago Bar Foundation has published a short article called "2024 Resolution for the Legal Profession: Back to the Future, With a ...

 Happy New Year, everyone!  And, as you know, this is the time of the year when we see "top ten lists" and "year in review...

 Earlier this year, I reported that California adopted a version of Model Rule 8.3 which, subject to some exceptions, requires disclosure of...

 The Lawyer Ethics Alert Blog is reporting that the Board of Governors (BOG) voted at its December 2023 meeting to remove the words zealous...

 This year marks six decades since the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the Supreme Court held that states mu...

 To listen to the program, go here , where you can find a written transcript of it also.

Sunday, December 24, 2023 This is old news by now, but in case you missed it.  Michael Cohen's lawyer was all over the news recently bec...

 Long time readers of this blog have heard (or have read, rather) me complain often that courts do not do enough to discourage misconduct du...

NPR has published a long, disturbing article, titled "Ohio prosecutors broke rules to win convictions and got away with it" (see h...

The Hill recently reported ( here ) that a committee overseeing attorneys in Arizona has found probable cause that lawyers who represented K...

 Proposed Florida Bar Advisory Opinion 24-1 provides guidance regarding lawyers’ use of artificial intelligence.  Lawyer Ethics Alert Blogs ...

Yesterday I reported that the Colorado Supreme Court suspended a lawyer for using artificial intelligence.  Also, back in June I reported th...

Last summer I posted a few times about a case in New York in which two lawyers got in trouble for using AI to write a brief which the court ...

November 23, 2023 Long term readers of this blog will remember the saga of the company "Do Not Pay" which at one point claimed to ...

 The New York Legal Ethics Reporter has published a good short article called "Criticizing Judges Can Be Hazardous to Your Professional...

 Back in March of this year, I posted a comment on an Op-ed piece in the New York Times arguing that it is important to ease "unauthor...

 That's a long title above, but hear me out.  Last July, I reported on a complaint filed in Illinois against a lawyer for his conduct t...

Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) violated the US Constitution’...

 A few days ago I reported that the US Supreme Court adopted a code of conduct and that it was immediately generally criticized as inadequat...

 Last week I reported that the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee was going to hold a meeting to discuss a number of proposals, includin...

In response to mounting criticism over the conduct of some justices, the Supreme Court announced that it has adopted an ethics code.  Yet, n...

 Oregon made history last week by introducing a new pathway for attorney licensing reminiscent of an apprenticeship system.  Law school grad...

Do you remember the first wave of debates about allowing alternative business structures and partnerships with non-lawyers?  Back then, a st...

 The Louisiana Ethics Blog has posted a short comment on best practices for texting with clients.  Though short, the post is longer than min...

Last week, a California judge made a “preliminary finding” that attorney John Eastman breached professional ethics rules when he aided Donal...

November 8, 2023 The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hold a public hearing on November 15 to address public comments on five pro...

 On this date, fifteen years ago I posted for the first time on this blog.   Originally, I thought I would use the blog as a place to post ...

 Courthouse News Service has a new article on Rudy Giuliani's possible disbarment and other legal troubles.  Read it here .

Citing its commitment to improving access to justice for all and especially indigent parties, the Illinois Supreme Court announced last week...

 Does Georgia not have a rule equivalent to Model Rule 1.18 on the duties owed to prospective clients?  ...  That's a rhetorical questio...

Long time readers of this blog might remember a few posts on whether an attorney can reply to negative online reviews.  All sources I have s...

 If you have been paying attention to the news, you know by now that three lawyers have pled guilty in the RICO case in Georgia claiming tha...

 Justice says Mississippi court rule to assign lawyers to poor defendants isn't working and there isn’t much the court can do to enforce...

 Long time readers of this blog will remember early this year I posted a series of stories discussing the saga of a company called DoNotPay ...

 If you have been following the news, or this blog, you know that things are getting pretty desperate for Rudy Giuliani, (go here and scrol...

You may have heard the famous Shakespearean quote that goes something like "the first thing you do, kill all the lawyers" or somet...

 It depends.  The San Diego County Bar Association explains here .

 I often complain that judges do not do enough to discourage misconduct during discovery, so today I am happy to report that at least one ju...

A federal judge recently denied the New Orleans District Attorney’s motion to dismiss a wrongful conviction claim by a man who spent 26 year...

About two weeks ago, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued a new Formal Ethics Opinion (No. 508) on th...

Oct 4, 2023 If you have been following the news, or this blog, you know that things are getting pretty desperate for Rudy Giuliani, (see her...

Last January I reported ( here ) that New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron sent a note to lawyers for the Trump family and the Trum...

Judge Aileen Cannon recently agreed to a Justice Department (DOJ) request to hold hearings to examine potential conflicts of interest of two...

 Back in March I reported a story about the fact that one of Trump's lawyers in the New York "hush money case" involving payme...

 It has bee a while since I posted to the ongoing "how not to practice law" series, which highlights particularly shocking miscond...

Long time readers of this blog know I have been following the debate about Model Rule 8.4(g) since it was merely a proposal before within th...

A few days ago, I posted a story questioning why Rudy Giuliani would concede the main elements of a cause of action for defamation he had be...

As you probably know, John Eastman, one of Trumps co-conspirators in the criminal case filed in Georgia, is also facing disciplinary proceed...

 Last Friday I posted a story about how Rudy Giuliani attempted to prevent having to comply with discovery in a defamation case by conceding...