I’ve mentioned in the past the fact that Tennessee has a version of RPC 4.4(b) that directly addresses, and provides what I happen to think is the correct outcome, for what a lawyer is supposed to do about the receipt of someone else’s confidential information either inadvertently or via someone who isn’t authorized to have […]
Tag: Ethics Opinions
First, no argument from me that I’ve been a bad blogger this week. I’d offer excuses, but no one likes to hear excuses. Second, how about some actual substantive content … I’ve written in the past about ethical issues surrounding the verein structure of some of the largest law firms in the world. Those prior […]
I haven’t rolled a post out with this title in a while, but the more truthful title when it comes to an ethics opinion, issued here in Tennessee on September 9, 2016 would be: “More bad than worthless or more worthless than bad?” First, the good news. Tenn. Formal Ethics Op. 2016-F-161 is short. It won’t […]
Couple of quick hits (pun wasn’t really intended but just sort of happened) for this Friday. A little more than a month ago, I wrote about an ethics opinion out of Ohio that created a real dilemma for lawyers looking to advise businesses related to the medical marijuana industry that was going to become legal […]
It has been a while since I’ve written about a good ethics opinion. There is a Maine opinion from a few months ago that fits the bill (and interestingly was actually posed by bar counsel in Maine apparently) but before I spend a little bit of time discussing it, I want to give context behind […]
I want to quickly discuss an ethics opinion out of New York state. No, not that one. I’m not going to delve into the brouhaha over the one from March 2016 that only got publicity in August 2016 that involves saying it is ethical for a firm to charge clients for work performed by unpaid […]
“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.” Those words, or words of similar effect, make up a pretty widely recognized adage. Depending on the details of any situation, the adage can serve as a proxy for pretty decent advice for a lawyer to give a client, but often less so if the lawyer’s […]
I’ve written about this topic several times (some might say probably too many times) now, but here is the first example of people who — unlike me — actually matter reaching a very familiar sounding set of conclusions about something that quite obviously is the Avvo Legal Services program. South Carolina put out an advisory […]
In July, a new ethics advisory opinion was issued out of South Carolina to address a question related to the obligation to report the misconduct of another lawyer, specifically what sort of timing is required. South Carolina Ethics Advisory Opinion 16-04 addresses an inquiry from a lawyer (Lawyer A) who believes he has knowledge of a […]
A long while ago I wrote about a lawyer’s public interview that should never have happened. Here is a lawyer’s op-ed piece that should never happened, you can read the op-ed if you haven’t already at this link at The Huffington Post. Now, because such a disclaimer seems to be in order and beneficial to some extent, […]