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Ethics

Legal Ethics Forum

Covering Legal Ethics

Post Frequency: 11.2/day

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

Legal Ethics: New Editors, Renewed Energy

Posted on December 01, 2008
(How's that for a slogan? Maybe if the law professor thing doesn't work out, I can get a job with an ad agency.) I wanted to post something here to welcome the new General Editor and Articles Editor of Legal...

Poll of UC-Berkeley students about ethics courses they'd consdider taking

Posted on November 26, 2008
I recently had lunch with several professors who teach legal ethics at Fordham, and was struck by the variety of the course offerings they had. That prompted me to use the free version of the Survey Monkey site to poll...

Lawyer sanctioned; no "ethics hotline estoppel"; protective order trumped public access

Posted on November 26, 2008
So many legal ethics issues involve competing duties. Here's an article, unfortunately behind a registration wall, about a California lawyer who was involved in a trade secrets case. There was a protective order in place but the opposing party put...

"You are a tyrant!"

Posted on November 25, 2008
I gather that this is more a matter of judicial etiquette than judicial ethics, but when was the last time a sitting state supreme court justice heckled the United States Attorney General during a speech? (An incident made all the...

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Can Louisiana lawyers blog?

Posted on November 25, 2008
A recently filed lawsuit claims that the new Louisiana rules on lawyer advertising effectively prohibit blogging.

More on Public Defender Funding

Posted on November 24, 2008
The New York Times has published this editorial about the public defender funding crisis. The editorial comes on the heels of this story that we highlighted on the blog a couple of weeks ago. It's nice to see the issue...

In Memoriam: Dean Mary Daly

Posted on November 24, 2008
I was deeply saddened to learn this morning of the passing of St. John's Law Dean and ethics scholar, Mary Daly. She was a highly regarded legal ethicist and a widely admired dean and colleague. I only had the pleasure...

Big Ohio Firm's TM Suit Against Blockshopper Proceeding

Posted on November 21, 2008
I don't want to mention its name for fear of a trademark suit, but there's a large law firm headquartered in Ohio (I hope Ohio doesn't start suing people who use its name) that has the initials J D (and...

Signs o the times? DLA Piper asks Partners to Contribute Capital.

Posted on November 21, 2008
I'm in Minneapolis, so the reference to Prince seemed appropriate. DLA Piper has asked partners to contribute up to $150,000 to shore up its balance sheets, according to this report. Some said it was good, others bad, some characterized it...

Travel Time and Billing

Posted on November 14, 2008
In In re Babcock & Wilson, 526 F.3d 824 (5th Cir. 2008), the court addressed whether the district court had erred in awarding a firm only 50% of its usual hourly rates for time its lawyers spent traveling, but not...

Supreme Court Cert in Judicial Case

Posted on November 14, 2008
??? Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., No. 08-22. Did a West Virginia Supreme Court justice's failure to recuse himself from participation in the appeal of a $50 million jury verdict against a company whose chief executive officer was a...

Who holds executive privilege once Obama is president?

Posted on November 13, 2008
Private practice lawyers know that when an organizational client changes management, the privilege is controlled by the new managers -- which may have very different agendas than the prior management. What will happen under the Obama administration when Congress issues...

Odds and Ends (11/13/08)

Posted on November 13, 2008
Here's a nice post at Concurring Opinions about Oliver Tambo, the South African lawyer-activist who was Mandela's law partner. Read the comment by Patrick S. O'Donnell as well. In the closely-watched discipline trial of Santa Clara County (San Jose) prosecutor...

Shot from Canons (Again)

Posted on November 13, 2008
I really do have to write the article, "The Perils of Sardonic Humor." Yet another illustration is in today's NYT, front page of the Arts section. It's about the non-existent Martin Eisenstadt, a Senior Fellow at the non-existent right-wing Harding...

Civ Pro, Ethics, and Appeals

Posted on November 12, 2008
This Ninth Circuit decision breaks no new ground, but does remind us that in general there will be no immediate appeal of inadvertent production during discovery, because both there is no "final decision" and because as a general matter there...

Professor Daniel Markovits on His New Book

Posted on November 12, 2008
We're delighted to pass along this post from Yale's Daniel Markovits concerning his new book, A Modern Legal Ethics: Adversary Advocacy in a Democratic Age: Thanks to Andrew Perlman and the other editors of the Legal Ethics Forum for giving...

40th Anniversary Celebration for CLEPR at AALS

Posted on November 11, 2008
Here's an announcement that I was happy to pass along: Some 40 years ago the Council on Legal Education and Professional Responsibility (CLEPR) began making nearly 11 million dollars in grants to law schools across the country to establish live-client...

The Growing Public Defender Crisis

Posted on November 08, 2008
The New York Times is spotlighting the issue here, but the problem is hardly new. There have been numerous stories over the last couple of years (see here, here, and here) concerning the woefully inadequate resources in many public defender...

Prosecutors seek to reform state bar discipline process

Posted on November 08, 2008
Santa Clara County prosecutors are supporting a legislative reform that would restrict the California State Bar's ability to impose discipline. The proposed reform follows the bar's recommendation that prosecutor Ben Field be suspended from the practice of law for three...

Conflicts Rules for Law Firms Doing Bailout Work

Posted on November 08, 2008
The Treasury Department has established unusually strict conflicts rules for law firms performing bailout-related legal work for the Department. This story describes the provisions and includes extensive quotes from ethics experts Stephen Gillers and Nancy Moore.

"Porn Prosecutors Seek Recusal of Entire 9th"

Posted on November 07, 2008
That headline certainly catches one's attention. In the appeal by accused pornorgrapher Ira Isaacs, the prosecutors have raised the possibility that the entire Ninth Circuit should recuse itself. (I'd link to the Daily Journal article, but that newspaper hasn't yet...

Odds and Ends (11/4/08)

Posted on November 04, 2008
Peter Moser, a giant in the field of legal ethics, and beloved by friends and colleagures, passed away last month. . . . . Blawg Review No. 184, at the Faculty Lounge. . . . . What implication does the...

The Politics of Blog Ads

Posted on November 04, 2008
David McGowan has raised a very interesting issue about the Prop 8 ads that were popping up for California readers of this blog (and perhaps other readers as well). When should we try to block certain ads? In general, we...

Please ignore the "Yes on 8" ad cycling through this blog

Posted on November 04, 2008
I spent the morning standing in the rain urging voters to vote "No" on California's Proposition 8, which would amend our constitution to reinstate official discrimination against same-sex couples. I then come into school and am horrified to see a...

Cal Supremes ponder arbitration of client claims

Posted on November 04, 2008
Thursday, the California Supremes hear an important case: can law firms enforce binding arbitration that follows the mandatory non-binding fee arbitration process? The larger law firms have filed amicus briefs in support of binding arbitration agreements...

Good luck on the MPRE exam this Saturday

Posted on November 02, 2008
Here's a sampling of advice I've heard over the years. To be clear: I vouch only for the first answer. (1) Review a good outline, read the rules carefully, do lots of example questions, and get a good night of...

Odds and Ends (11/2/08)

Posted on November 02, 2008
A US District Court judge has ordered the DOJ to provide copies of OLC memoranda about domestic surveillance, so that the court can conduct an in camera review. (How much you want to bet that the DOJ tries to take...

In re Charlisse C: Walls sometimes suffice in non-profit public law setting

Posted on October 31, 2008
Decision here. This important case has a nice summary of basic conflicts law, and goes on to hold that non-profit, public law firm can sometimes use walls to cure successive representation conflicts. Unfortunately, it repeats the old insinuation that private...

Hadfield on Self-Regulation and Stagnation

Posted on October 31, 2008
Gillian Hadfield has posted her essay, Legal Barriers to Innovation. (HT: Solum) Here's the abstract:The American Bar Association and its state-level brethren control and regulate the legal profession, determining who can provide legal services, how those providers are trained, and...

Thelen to close

Posted on October 31, 2008
Plans announced here.

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