Categories
. Legal ethics

Two ethics opinions: one good, one bad, but both reveal systemic problems.

So, New York and Florida. Interestingly, those states have been bookends of our nation’s problems with COVID-19 and with fighting it. New York got hit very badly early, given the concentrated nature of its population centers, but then engaged in a very serious effort of taking the virus very seriously and managed to significantly flatten […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Not breaking: Dentons didn’t have to say “aloha” to Hawai’i

Well, at least not the goodbye, “aloha.” They can still say the other one as much as they want. So, you probably have seen a headline somewhere in your online surfing about this wacky issue litigated before the Hawai’i Supreme Court. But, just in case you didn’t, here’s all that I think you need to […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

More UPL Madness From Ohio

You may recall some past discussion here of the prolonged saga of the Dinsmore lawyer who moved from one of its offices in Kentucky to its Cincinnati, Ohio office and nearly was denied comity admission in Ohio over accusations of the unauthorized practice of law. While that story ended happily — she was ultimately determined […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Friday Follow Up: Ohio Gets to the Right Outcome on UPL

Almost exactly three months ago, I wrote about what I considered to be a very disturbing ruling in a lawyer admissions case in Ohio.  If you missed that post, you can read it here. I’m pleased to write, in follow-up today, that the Ohio Supreme Court has ultimately gotten to the correct outcome – it […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Friday follow up: This week flu by.

Apologies for the lack of content this week, been down with the flu since Monday afternoon. Two short items by way of follow up today worth highlighting with a hope of resuming this blog’s normal, sub-par output next week. First, word has come out that the former Florida Bar President made the subject of the […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Husband can’t control his wife, gets disciplined.

Sometimes titles for posts are tough to come up with, sometimes they are far too easy.  This is one of the latter and is offered both with a spirit of tongue-in-cheek silliness and because it is a truly perfect seven-word summary of a recent disciplinary case of note. It is, of note, at least for […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Bad blogger doubles up on topics.

I had every intention of posting twice this week, but events, including being under the weather with general ick much of the week, undermined my intent.  So, this mediocre post will briefly hit two items.  And, with any luck, tie the two together in a way that makes this seem, in hindsight, the correct way […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Administrative suspensions -another far too often route to UPL problems.

I’ve long been torn about lawyers losing their license and ability to practice law through administrative suspensions. In Tennessee, for example, this can happen to a lawyer through failing to get your required CLE hours (TN requires 15 annually), or failing to pay your registration fees, or failing to turn in the necessary forms about […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

“Troubling and counterproductive” – yep

One of the more archaic aspects of lawyer regulation is the heavy-handed approach to UPL.  And, I’m not referring to UPL in the sense of something done that involves the practice of law by a person who isn’t a lawyer anywhere.  I’m referring to regulatory efforts involving UPL that are brandished against someone who is […]

Categories
. Legal ethics

Proposal to adopt Ethics 20/20 Revisions in Tennessee Put Out For Public Comment

Back in August 2012, the ABA House of Delegates approved revisions to the ABA Model Rules proposed by the ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission.  Very few of the proposed revisions included in the ABA Ethics 20/20 package are earth-shaking revisions, as many of them only involve change to language in the Comment accompanying certain rules. The […]