Categories
. Legal ethics

The ethics of putting together an unenforceable contract.

It is still astounding (as well as deeply dispiriting) that the context of the discussion I’m about to launch is the work of White House Counsel but this is the world we currently occupy.  You may very well have read this fascinating The Washington Post article by now released in connection with the ongoing news story […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Crossing the Line in Maine

No, the title is not a veiled attempt to publicly-shame Maine’s Governor for his latest act of public ridiculousness… or is it?  This is instead a short post discussing conduct that I posit is a lot more common than you might think and that resulted recently in a very low-level of discipline against a Maine […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

A duty to ask: Another of the unintended consequences of unbundling

Yesterday, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued its latest ethics opinion, Formal Opinion 472, “Communication with Person Receiving Limited-Scope Legal Services.”  On the whole, it isn’t a bad opinion.  It is well-constructed, addresses multiple topics that seem ripe for discussion, and clearly is the product of a lot of thought and […]