Ethics Officials Seeing More Cases from Lawyers’ Online Foibles
Lawyers who are more circumspect in person are making online mistakes that are landing them in trouble with ethics officials.
James Grogan, chief counsel of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, recalls an early case that got the attention of bar counsel in more than one state, the National Law Journal reports. Steven Belcher, a temporary lawyer at a St. Louis law firm who was licensed in three states, was helping defend a wrongful death case when he decided to e-mail a picture of the deceased to a friend, the story says. The body of the overweight man was pictured lying naked on an emergency room table. Belcher added his own commentary.
The result was a 60-day suspension, the story says. “It got our eyebrows up,” Grogan told the publication. “We thought, ‘Wow, are we going to see more of these?’ Well, I think it’s clear we are starting to see more.”
The story notes an increase in interest in the issue. Bar associations and bar counsel hold seminars on online ethical mistakes, and the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 will consider whether existing ethics rules adequately address online transgressions.
“It’s not as if lawyers never misbehaved before,” the story says. “But now they’re making the same old mistakes—soliciting for sex, slamming judges, talking trash about clients—online, leaving a digital trail for bar counsel to follow.”
The story summarizes other online foibles, including these:
• A Chicago immigration lawyer posted an ad on Craigslist seeking a secretary and asking for measurements and photos. In a follow-up e-mail, the lawyer said one of the job requirements would be “sexual interaction with me and my partner.” The disciplinary penalty is pending.
• A Florida lawyer called a judge an “evil, unfair witch” on his blog. He was reprimanded in April 2009.
• A Tampa lawyer listed four lawyers who weren’t licensed in Florida as attorneys on the website for his law firm. He was suspended for 90 days.
