Categories
. Legal ethics

Lawyers and client confidentiality. Death does not part us.

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 […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Another for the annals of ethics opinions of questionable origin

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 […]

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. Legal ethics

Ohio ethics opinion is concrete example of “Tis better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

“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 […]

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. Legal ethics

Friday follow-up – more proof that it’s risky for lawyers to work with Avvo Legal Services

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 […]

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. Legal ethics

South Carolina ethics opinion on RPC 8.3(a) – right answer but not the best articulation of the rationale

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 […]

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. Legal ethics

A former lawyer of Donald Trump speaks … but shouldn’t have

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, […]

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. Legal ethics

Another development on impaired lawyers, Virginia drafts an ethics opinion

Almost a year ago, I wrote a little bit about what was a first-of-its-kind rule adopted by South Carolina to address the obligations of lawyers in a law firm when a lawyer within their midst was becoming impaired as a result of aging.  South Carolina’s adoption of a new RPC 5.1(d) aimed at that specific […]

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. Legal ethics

“En” to the . . . ah . . . to the no, no, no!

So, blame my children for the Meghan Trainor reference, but it is a catchy tune and, actually, not the worst of messages of female empowerment.  Nevertheless, it fits my ramblings today too well for me to resist. A blurb about a trademark infringement suit involving an Atlanta law firm that operates under a trade name […]

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. Legal ethics

ABA Formal Opinion 16-474: half (or more) of a pretty good opinion

Last week, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued its latest formal opinion – Opinion No. 16-474 addressing the topic of “referral” fees under the ABA Model Rules and, specifically, the intersection of Model Rule 1.5(e) and conflicts requirements under Model Rule 1.7.   Along the way, the opinion also stakes out […]

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. Legal ethics

Fixing a bad ethics opinion – Kudos to the TN BPR!

Late in 2015, the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility issued Formal Ethics Opinion 2015-F-160 addressing issues regarding retention of client files.  I wrote here about a significant problem with the part of the opinion that indicated that our RPC 1.15(b) required retention of all client files for a five-year period.  The problem, to me, was […]