Pro se lawyers must follow ‘no-contact’ rule, new ABA ethics opinion says

Pro se lawyers may not directly contact an opposing litigant if that person is represented by counsel.

Sep 28, 2022 10:03 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

Avoiding Unlawful Client Solicitation: Attorneys must ensure subordinates know the dos and don’ts

Most attorneys understand they must refrain from improper solicitation of potential clients for pecuniary gain, but a new formal opinion clarifies that practitioners must go even further. Beyond their own actions, lawyers are obligated to train their employees to avoid similarly unlawful solicitous behavior.

Aug 1, 2022 1:40 AM CDT

Should the Model Rules have a due diligence standard for money laundering?

In recent years, concerns have arisen over whether attorneys have failed to exercise due diligence in ensuring their clients are not engaged in money laundering. Those concerns escalate when the money laundering may be tied to the financing of terrorism-related activities.

Jun 1, 2022 1:50 AM CDT

Appeals court voids firm fee imposed on departing lawyers who take clients with them

The Colorado Court of Appeals has addressed two issues of first impression that relate to law firm agreements that aim to prevent departing attorneys from taking clients with them.

May 4, 2022 10:50 AM CDT

Lawyers should be able to practice law in any state, says group urging ABA model rule change

The ABA should change its model rules to allow licensed lawyers to provide legal services in any state, according to a proposal by a group of more than 400 lawyers and law professors who provide advice on legal ethics matters.

Apr 20, 2022 12:19 PM CDT

Lawyers have an obligation to ensure employees don’t solicit clients, new ABA ethics opinion says

Attorneys not only must refrain from engaging in improper direct solicitation of potential clients, but there is also an ethical responsibility to ensure that employees or others hired by the lawyers do not engage in such misconduct.

Apr 13, 2022 12:33 PM CDT

New law allows this state’s judges to personally solicit campaign donations; ethics opinion adds wrinkle

A new Tennessee law allows judges to personally solicit and accept campaign contributions, but judicial candidates should “be mindful” of other ethics rules that could be implicated, according to a March 29 ethics opinion.

Apr 11, 2022 4:19 PM CDT

Hawaii joins states that mandate lawyers’ competence in technology

Hawaii has become the latest state to adopt the duty of technology competence for lawyers.

Mar 25, 2022 10:33 AM CDT

Stayed suspension recommended for Taft Stettinius partner who allegedly had sex with client

Updated: A partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister's Columbus, Ohio, office, should receive a stayed suspension for allegedly having sex with a client, according to a recommendation by the Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct.

Mar 15, 2022 3:29 PM CDT

5 tips for working with clients who stand in their own way

Recently, I had an immigration case, where my client was tardy on every deadline and patently refused to do anything beyond the bare minimum to aid their cause. I was emotionally drained by the case but buoyed by the positive result at the end. I must admit I couldn’t fight the impulse to remind the client that they had stood in the way of their own success.

Nov 2, 2021 10:18 AM CDT

Retired prosecutor, disbarred for withholding evidence, says law practice is ‘a screwed-up obscenity’

A retired prosecutor in Maryland told the Baltimore Sun that he didn’t “give a damn” when the newspaper informed him that he had been disbarred for failing to disclose exculpatory evidence and making false statements about its content.

Oct 26, 2021 9:53 AM CDT

‘The Practice’ vs. ‘Boston Legal’: How the original stacks up to the spinoff, part 1

In April, Screen Rant published its list of the 10 best legal drama shows of all time, ranked according to IMDb. After review, I realized two of the 10 were very closely related. Boston Legal was a spinoff of The Practice, and also according to IMDb, the byproduct is better than the initial offering.

Oct 25, 2021 1:28 PM CDT

Ticket-fighting app was engaged in unauthorized law practice, top state court rules

An app that connected traffic-ticket defendants with lawyers was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 4-3 decision.

Oct 15, 2021 3:14 PM CDT