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. Legal ethics

I know I said I wouldn’t write any more about it but…

Here I am, because it is hard not to write something about the news last week that Brendan Dassey’s conviction was overturned.  Dassey, for those of who you did not watch Netflix documentary Making a Murderer and are willing to take me at my word as to what you would have concluded if you did watch […]

Categories
. 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

Thoughts only partly relevant to California’s roll out for public comment of rules revisions.

One mistake.  What should be the price of one mistake?  To some extent, the answer to those questions for lawyers and lawyer discipline matters ought to be foreordained in two consecutive paragraphs of the Scope portion of the ABA Model Rules: [19] ….the rules presuppose that whether or not discipline should be imposed for a […]

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. Legal ethics

Three short technology stories for a Tuesday

Throwback Thursday is definitely a thing all over the World Wide Web it seems, but maybe Tech Tuesday ought to be a thing?  Though, I guess, for lawyers focusing on technology has to be an every day affair. Like multitudes of others, I wrote a little bit recently about the Panama Papers and the Mossack […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

“Sleeping,” sleeping, and Cronic sleeping.

Three recent cases involving lawyers alleged to have been sleeping during trial (actually only two about sleeping lawyers, one about a lawyer pretending to sleep) leave me feeling like there has to be the germ of a worthwhile point to be made in there somewhere, but after drafting and redrafting this post in spare moments […]

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. Legal ethics

Digital assets and ethical issues – good news from the Tennessee legislature

Last week the Chattanooga Estate Planning Council was kind enough to have me come to speak to them about ethical issues arising from the uncertain world of the law regarding digital assets.  They were gracious hosts and, to the extent there were important ethics issues to really discuss, we managed to cover that most, if […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Coming to praise rather than to bury – West Virginia edition

Some, including possibly me, will argue that the greatest thing to come out of West Virginia is the My Brother, My Brother, and Me podcast.  But today, I write about another very positive contribution out of West Virginia, a very good, very thorough ethics opinion that overflows with common-sense with respect to social media issues for […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

South Carolina adopts first of its kind* rule on cognitive impairment.

My paternal grandfather succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease.  As someone who makes a living (such as it is) using his mind (and is pretty certain that he could not feed his family if forced to use his hands for a living), the loss of my mental faculties is one of my greatest fears.  In that regard, […]