Lawyer Discipline

How to make a website accessible

People need to start thinking about website accessibility in the same way they think about security and privacy. That’s according to Lainey Feingold, a disability rights lawyer in Berkeley, California, who works on web and other digital accessibility cases. “In the coming years, everything will hopefully be born accessible, as…

Jul 1, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Lawyer who gave incarcerated boyfriend $11 lands in ethical trouble for contraband

An Ohio lawyer who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after admitting that she passed $11 to her incarcerated boyfriend found herself in disciplinary trouble for the conduct. The Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct is recommending a stayed suspension for the lawyer, Virginia Riggs, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Thursday.…

Jun 24, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Lawyer suspended amid accusations of ‘inappropriate diatribes’ and ‘vitriolic emails’

A Chicago lawyer accused of sending “vitriolic emails” to opposing counsel and making false claims and “inappropriate diatribes” in pleadings has been suspended from law practice. In an order on Wednesday, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended lawyer Joel Brodsky from law practice “immediately and until further order of the court.”…

Jun 20, 2019 3:24 PM CDT

Top 10 rules to be a successful lawyer

“We are here to live life and be as successful as we can possibly be,” writes trial attorney James Gray Robinson. Check out his top rules about practicing law—and life in general—that can help lawyers to be successful, whether they are young or old.

Jun 20, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Lawyers accused of misconduct for offensive, inappropriate emails about colleagues, minorities

Two lawyers should be disciplined or subjected to remedial action for participating in an email chain with a group of people calling themselves the “Forum of Hate,” according to the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland. One of the lawyers, James Markey, was an administrative law judge at the Board of…

Jun 19, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Lawyer engaged in ‘sustained campaign of unfounded litigation,’ disbarment recommendation says

An Illinois lawyer should be disbarred for trying to gain control of a long-running case by filing several unfounded suits alleging malpractice, fraud and a “virtual kidnapping,” according to an ethics hearing board. The actions by Waukegan, Illinois, lawyer David Alan Novoselsky caused an “astonishing amount of harm” to several…

Jun 14, 2019 1:17 PM CDT

Second state adopts ABA model rule barring discrimination and harassment by lawyers

Maine has adopted an ABA model rule that bars discrimination and harassment by lawyers. Maine is the second state to adopt Rule 8.4(g) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, according to Bloomberg Law. Vermont was the first. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court adopted the new rule, which takes effect…

Jun 13, 2019 11:39 AM CDT

Judge engaged in ‘inappropriate and harassing behavior’ toward women, complaint alleges

Cook County Judge Mauricio Araujo “engaged in a pattern of inappropriate and harassing behavior toward women with whom he has interacted in professional settings and in his official judicial capacity,” according to a complaint filed Thursday by the state’s Judicial Inquiry Board. The complaint cites specific incidents in which Araujo…

Jun 7, 2019 2:37 PM CDT

Lawyer admonished after he’s caught on mic saying he has prosecutor in his pocket

The New Jersey Supreme Court has admonished a lawyer who was caught and recorded on a courtroom microphone saying he has the prosecutor “in my pocket.”

Jun 5, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Military prosecutor accused of tracking defense lawyers’ emails is tossed from case

A military prosecutor accused of attaching tracking software to emails sent to 13 defense lawyers and paralegals is no longer prosecuting the case of a Navy SEAL. A military judge in San Diego, Capt. Aaron Rugh, removed Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak from the case Monday, report the New York Times, the…

Jun 4, 2019 11:00 AM CDT

Lawyer previously suspended for wine theft is disbarred for breaking promise of free representation

A Cincinnati-area lawyer has been disbarred in Ohio for sending a woman an invoice for nearly $10,000 for his legal services after he had agreed to represent her for free. The Ohio Supreme Court disbarred lawyer Rodger William Moore of Alexandria, Kentucky, in a May 30 opinion. The Cincinnati Enquirer…

Jun 3, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

3 law partners suspended for failing to supervise trusted-but-embezzling office manager

Three partners in a former New York law firm have received six-month suspensions for failing to properly supervise a nonlawyer office manager who embezzled more than $200,000 from client funds. The name partners in the former Garden City law firm Karol, Hausman & Sosnik were suspended in May 29 opinions…

Jun 3, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Judicial immunity protects judge who was recorded disparaging lawyers, 6th Circuit says

A Michigan state judge caught on a recording disparaging two lawyers has immunity in their suit alleging a conspiracy with opposing counsel, a federal appeals court has ruled. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati ruled Tuesday that the actions of Judge Paul Hamre did not fit within…

May 30, 2019 2:56 PM CDT

The 6 most important qualities for an equity partner

From a sociological perspective, law firms are very different from many other businesses. On the one hand, law firms have the clear distinction between fee earners and staff (the non-fee earners). Although both categories are part of the same organization, they form two distinct separate classes: an upper class (fee earners) and a middle class (staff). These two classes do not mix well. Even a nonlawyer CEO or COO will be seen in the end as part of the middle class.

May 30, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Judge sanctions lawyer and clients $220K for alleged misconduct in guardianship case

A Texas judge has ordered a lawyer and his clients to pay more than $220,000 in sanctions for an alleged “vexatious litigation campaign” against a mentally incapacitated millionaire and his guardians. Judge Oscar Kazen imposed the sanctions against lawyer Phil Ross and his clients in a May 24 decision, the…

May 29, 2019 12:45 PM CDT