Legal Ethics Forum: Ethics

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Ethics Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Ethics

Legal Ethics Forum

Covering Legal Ethics

Post Frequency: 11.2/day

Last Entry: August 14, 2020 at 13:23:48

Firm Publishes in its Advertising Brochure a Confidential Settlement Value

Posted on February 10, 2009
The article from law.com about Quinn Emanuel's publication of a $65m settlement in a case involving facebook is here. "D'oh" as Homer would say.

Will you comment on my brief? If you do, are you my lawyer? Could it be UPL? Problems and Potential of Wiki Briefs...

Posted on February 09, 2009
There's a huge back story to this RIAA suit about a music downloader, but the fundamental issue recent activity presents to this audience is interesting: lawyers post a draft response to a brief on line and ask for comments. (You...

The Ethics of State Ethics Sites

Posted on February 09, 2009
I try -- try -- to keep my list of links to state ethics rules and state ethics opinions on hricik.com up to date, and so every year or so -- sooner if I have time and inclination -- I...

Do Lawyers Have a Moral Obligation to Write Well?

Posted on February 09, 2009
Yes, says my colleague Professor Jack Sammons in this article on The Complete Lawyer. (See below about shameless plugs.) The article's not about competency, it's about morality. Jack's a way deeper thinker than I am, so I won't try to...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Malpractice Claims to Increase?

Posted on February 04, 2009
I'm wondering if suits like this suit against Foley & Lardner charging over-billing and under-representation will rise, or have risen, with the awful economy? (Don't misunderstand me, I have no idea about the merits of this suit.) Anyone have any...

Curricular Review at Law Schools and Ethics...?

Posted on February 03, 2009
Like many law schools (seemingly, all) we're in the curricular reform/review mode, and I was wondering what, if any, thoughts or models had been put forth changing PR. If you know of any, or have any ideas, I'd love to...

Shameless plug for some old friends

Posted on February 03, 2009
These guys are good.DM

Rationalizing Judicial Regulation of Lawyers

Posted on February 02, 2009
That's the title of a new and provocative article by Fordham's Bruce Green and San Diego's Fred Zacharias. The article contends that courts enforce standards of conduct differently in the disciplinary, litigation and civil liability contexts and suggests why and...

Demise of the billable hour again?

Posted on February 02, 2009
Did everyone else notice that, yet again, the NYT is positing the demise of the billable hour (here) and that it was for a time the most e-mailed story on the NYT this weekend? I wonder about the fixation with...

Two new Stanford law review articles on lawyers' ethics

Posted on January 30, 2009
One deals with the ethics of litigating employment cases relating to undocumented workers; the other, a response to David Luban, deals with military lawyers and the war on terrorism.

Welcome (and what brought you here today?)

Posted on January 28, 2009
We respect the privacy of our visitors but can't help but wonder why so many people are visiting us today -- especially those visiting the entry on Top Ten Legal Stories of 2008. If you don't mind sharing, was that...

Georgetown conference on "Empirical Research on the Legal Profession" (and my thoughts about the "growing conjunction" between empirical legal studies and the practice of law)

Posted on January 28, 2009
Details here. The line-up is excellent and the interplay between practitioners and academics will be intense, insightful, and informative for everyone. Mitt Regan, Jeff Baumann., and Carole Silver are heading up the conference.Btw, over the last five years we've seen...

Podcast on Daniel Markovits's New Book

Posted on January 26, 2009
Yale's Daniel Markovits recently gave us a taste of his new book, A Modern Legal Ethics: Adversary Advocacy in a Democratic Age. If that whetted your appetite, check out this podcast with Daniel, which is posted on Yale's web site.

Useful Links on the Right to Counsel in Civil Cases

Posted on January 26, 2009
Thanks to Patrick O'Donnell for passing along this link (related to the right to counsel in truancy proceedings) and this one (related to removal proceedings in immigration court).

Selective waivers in Padilla v. Yoo?

Posted on January 22, 2009
According to this story, which is unfortunately under a reg wall, in the suit brought by Jose Padilla against former OLC lawyer (and current UC-Berkeley Law prof) John Yoo, the government lawyers representing Yoo want to selectively reveal long-sought-after OLC...

Criticizing judges in public; is there a law school bubble? (revisited)

Posted on January 21, 2009
WSJ Law Blog reports on this new 6th Circuit decision upholding sanctions against a lawyer for publicly criticizing judges. . . . . Endofesq reports on scathing criticism of the economics of the law school financial model -- some of...

To Screen or Not to Screen?

Posted on January 21, 2009
The ABA's House of Delegates will soon be reconsidering an amendment to Rule 1.10 that would permit screening in some matters involving laterally hired attorneys. In August 2008, the House voted to postpone consideration of a similar proposal by a...

Another legal ethics question from Owen's Law Quizzer

Posted on January 19, 2009
As I explained in an earlier post, I bought a copy of Owen's Law Quizzer (4th ed., 1914) at a used book store. The Quizzer, which has a series of questions and suggested answers on a variety of legal topics,...

A Confidentiality Puzzle

Posted on January 16, 2009
WARNING: Only serious legal ethics wonks will want to read this post. (It was inspired by a student's recent query.) Imagine that I am a lawyer in Massachusetts, where Rule 1.6 says that I can disclose confidential information "to prevent...

Does disclosure solve the conflicts problem?

Posted on January 15, 2009
This 2003 paper, The Dirt on Coming Clean: Perverse Effects of Disclosing Conflicts of Interest, was just posted on SSRN (and picked up by Solum). The authors' conclusions, if accurate, have significant implications for our understanding of conflicts of interest...

Prof. Ackerman and Judge Bybee

Posted on January 14, 2009
In an article on Slate Bruce Ackerman calls for the impeachment of Jay Bybee on the ground that Judge Bybee is a suspected war criminal and performed incompetently with regard to certain memoranda as head of the OLC. The memos...

Some Joke

Posted on January 13, 2009
This report on political hiring for nonpolitical positions in the OCR is appalling. The attorney in question refers to his own statements ("as long as I???m here, adherents of Mao???s Little Red Book need not apply") as jokes the report...

Words to the Wise

Posted on January 13, 2009
Law.com reports a San Jose defense attorney (and former deputy DA) has been arrested on charges of money laundering. The story recounts allegations that a client signed over to her a large check and then received from her a series...

Comment on Billing and Screening

Posted on January 12, 2009
Billing by the itemized hour was introduced as a reform of the prior practice of sending the client an invoice reading simply:???For Professional Services $xxx,xxx.00.???As noted in a comment regarding screening, it???s only if we think that lawyers are dishonest...

When will Lynne Stewart's appeal be decided?

Posted on January 10, 2009
I'm not familiar with Second Circuit practice, but isn't a year from oral argument a long wait? What could the court possibly be waiting for?

Legal ethics quiz from "Owen's Law Quizzer"

Posted on January 10, 2009
At the Palo Alto library's used book sale, I picked up the 4th edition of "Owens Law Quizzer," which was "designed especially for the use of law students in review work and in preparation for examination for degrees in law...

California Supremes hear oral argument about conflicts for administrative agency lawyers who serve dual roles

Posted on January 08, 2009
Unfortunately, the story is behind a registration wall here. The key graf: "Somach, a partner with Somach Simmons & Dunn, had come to the San Francisco court to argue that staff attorneys for administrative law agencies shouldn't simultaneously serve as...

"Kill the Billable Hour"

Posted on January 07, 2009
Evan Chesler, presiding partner at Cravath, has called for the end of the billable hour.

CA Legislature: Please Fix This Problem

Posted on January 06, 2009
The CA Supreme Court has rejected the argument that Fresno County's policy of paying a flat fee, including expenses, for criminal representation in a capital case creates a conflict of interest for purposes of Strickland analysis. I want to reserve...

One Worth Watching

Posted on January 05, 2009
Takedown letters have become somewhat notorious in the academic IP community, so this suit against the Fenwick firm (courtesy of this Law.com story) bears watching.DM

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

Update on AILF's Legal Action Center Visa Bulletin Litigation (Updated 7/10/07)
The following is the latest update from AILF regarding its pening ...

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center Legislative Forecast
The ILRC Forecast on Immigration ReformJudith Golub, Executive Dir...

The Christian Legal Society and "discrimation": Response to Susan
In response to Susan's post, I'm inclined to think that, yes, the ...

Stacy Scnheider Legal Commentator Apprentice

Catholic Legal Theory and life and death
Tom Berg’s question regarding the propriety or not of capital pu...