Client Protection

82 ABA Journal Client Protection articles.

Attorney-client privilege case dismissed by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed an attorney-client privilege case two weeks after hearing oral arguments.

Jan 23, 2023 11:22 AM CST

Judge won’t sanction Texas lawyer for missteps after mistaken disclosure of info about Sandy Hook families

Updated: A Connecticut judge has declined to sanction a Texas lawyer representing Infowars host Alex Jones for failing to take proper action after his paralegal mistakenly released confidential documents to the opposing counsel.

Jan 19, 2023 9:41 AM CST

Law firm’s more protective test for attorney-client privilege ‘is a big ask,’ Kagan says

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan told a lawyer representing a tax law firm Monday that his proposed expansive test for protecting documents under attorney-client privilege “is a big ask,” according to coverage of the oral arguments.

Jan 10, 2023 8:29 AM CST

Hulu’s ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and keeping an appropriate distance from your clients

“‘Reasonable Doubt,’ a relatively new series that first aired in the fall on Hulu, is the next offering with high hopes of capitalizing on the public’s love for legal procedurals with a criminal focus,” writes lawyer and ABA Journal columnist Adam Banner.

Jan 9, 2023 12:28 PM CST

California bar opened 205 ethics matters about this lawyer, who wasn’t disbarred until this year

The State Bar of California opened 205 disciplinary matters over four decades about lawyer Tom Girardi, who was disbarred in June after he was accused of failing to pay settlement funds to clients in three separate matters.

Nov 7, 2022 11:34 AM CST

Ex-lawyer gets prison time after staging sham depositions, creating bogus documents to claim court wins

A former California lawyer has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for collecting legal fees from clients and then using phony legal documents to persuade them that he was winning their cases.

Oct 6, 2022 11:56 AM CDT

After suspension, Judicial Watch founder alleges legal ‘jihad’ to remove pro-Trump lawyers

Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman has gone on the offensive after his 18-month suspension for ethics violations while representing a woman in a lawsuit against Voice of America.

Sep 20, 2022 9:38 AM CDT

Dentons’ $32.3M malpractice loss remains intact after top Ohio court declines to hear case

Updated: The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear Dentons’ appeal of a malpractice verdict requiring it to pay $32.3 million to a former corporate client that had to find new lawyers after the law firm was tossed from a patent case.

Aug 31, 2022 10:12 AM CDT

Massachusetts high court tells defense counsel when to stay quiet about confidential information

Massachusetts’ highest appellate court has instructed lawyers about when to stay quiet about evidence that could incriminate their clients.

Aug 23, 2022 2:00 PM CDT

8 types of clients you must manage in your legal practice

Very early in my legal career while practicing law in Jamaica, a client kept me on my toes with a criminal law matter. In one instance, it was clear I had not been given any written instructions about a matter and that client was getting increasingly agitated. A very senior lawyer sitting beside me passed me a note that simply said, “Get that in writing. You must always protect yourself.”

Aug 17, 2022 3:06 PM CDT

Why it helps to have some clients

Clients. If you have a private law practice, it helps to have them. But what does one do to land clients—and more important, the right ones?

Aug 15, 2022 10:49 AM CDT

Judge accused of bullying behavior and demeaning comments gets suspension

The Arkansas Supreme Court has ordered a judge to be suspended without pay after he was accused of making negative comments to unrepresented defendants about their appearance, background, residency and ethnicity.

Aug 12, 2022 11:32 AM CDT

Lawyers can hold cryptocurrency in escrow for clients, with safeguards, state ethics opinion says

Lawyers may hold cryptocurrency in escrow for clients, but they must have technical competence and safeguard against losses, according to an Ohio ethics opinion.

Aug 12, 2022 9:13 AM CDT

Sharing fees with nonlawyers is inconsistent with profession’s ‘core values,’ ABA House says

Additional language reaffirmed the “core values” in the ABA’s Model Rule of Professional Conduct 5.4. and said that “nothing in the resolution” should be interpreted as undermining a 2020 House resolution that encouraged regulatory innovation to expand access to justice.

Aug 9, 2022 2:43 PM CDT

New York is first state to require CLE course in cybersecurity

Lawyers in New York will have to take at least a one-hour cybersecurity course as part of their continuing legal education requirements beginning in July 2023.

Aug 8, 2022 9:51 AM CDT

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