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

Interesting Batson Case: Systemic Permission to Allow Minorities Off Jury Duty Due to Economic and Social Concerns Violates Constitution

Posted on September 29, 2008
Smith v. Berguis, __ F.3d __ (6th Cir. Sept. 24, 2008) presents an interesting question about Batson and the related cases. There's an interesting discussion of the case here, along with the question of whether economic bad times mean whiter...

sight digression re bridges to nowhere

Posted on September 29, 2008
According to Instapundit, journalists and earmark-haters are talking about Joe Biden's alleged "bridge to nowhere" -- the Indian River Inlet bridge connecting Bethany Beach to Dewey Beach. You may have noticed that at this blog we almost never stray into...

Gitmo prosecutor steps down, citing ethical concerns about failures to turn over exculpatory discovery

Posted on September 25, 2008
Story here.

Russia vs. Bank of New York

Posted on September 24, 2008
This case sounds like a script from a far fetched legal thriller. Russia is suing the Bank of New York in a Russian (and allegedly corrupt) court, asserting RICO violations and claiming damages in excess of 20 billion dollars. The...

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

Greta Van Susteren: Law School Grades are Fraud

Posted on September 23, 2008
Read about her comments, and watch a video of a discussion, here. She said it is impossible to tell the difference between an A, an A-,and a B+. I agree with that, to an extent, but the implication is wrong:...

Creative billing earns suspension

Posted on September 23, 2008
We might reminisce nostalgically about the days of yore when a lawyer could hang out a shingle and provide services in exchange for a chicken or bushel of potatoes. It seems, however, that there are limits to the services that...

Book Review: Lawyers in the Dock

Posted on September 22, 2008
"Satan killed Carol; Jesus saved the kids." Said by a jailed client whose fingerprint was found in the blood of a dead woman these words grab you and will not let go. No amount of exposition on MR 1.6, at...

Controversy Over Fordham's Legal Ethics Award

Posted on September 19, 2008
Fordham, a Jesuit-run university, is getting some grief over the Law School's decision to give a legal ethics award to Justice Stephen Breyer. The cause for the concern appears to be that Justice Breyer authored the Stenberg opinion, which struck...

Cornell Law Review Colloquium on David Luban's Book

Posted on September 19, 2008
The Cornell Law Review has published its colloquium on David Luban's book, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity. The colloquium contains numerous responses to the book from prominent legal ethicists as well as a reply from Professor Luban.

"Heller Ponders Dissolution"

Posted on September 18, 2008
Sad story here. According to the article, the management committee has given tacit approval to a mass exodus that would finish off the firm. (Disclaimer: I know only what the article says.) Law firms are now big businesses, and it'll...

Inadvertent Receipt and Firm-Wide Disqualification

Posted on September 18, 2008
Interesting case, depending on which set of facts you base your result on: the majority reasoned that if a lawyer at a firm inadvertently receives privileged documents and doesn't do as is required under state law -- notify and return...

Another Lawyer Learns that "Blacking out" Text Doesn't Remove it.

Posted on September 17, 2008
A litigant used the "black out" feature in Acrobat to "redact" information, and learned that wouldn't work... when the other side cut and pasted the document into Word and showed that important, relevant information had been deleted. A blog about...

Jones Day's Trademark Suit Against Blockshopper.com

Posted on September 16, 2008
There's an article here. Oh, and here. Oh, and this one. It's interesting, and frightening in the underlying information. There's a webpage, blockshopper.com that tracks who buys what property and for how much in certain upscale neighborhoods. Some Jones Day...

Washington Post on Surveillance Showdown

Posted on September 15, 2008
This is worth reading. Well done Messrs Ashcroft, Comey, Mueller, and Goldsmith. DM

Worth Reading

Posted on September 15, 2008
Two new ethics-related articles are worth a look. The first, by Jocelyn Stacey and co-blogger Alice Woolley, contains a valuable critique of the "good character" requirement that many Bars employ. The article focuses on Canada, but its findings seem applicable...

Leiter ranking Canadian law schools

Posted on September 13, 2008
Is this a blessing or a curse? Law school rankings have come to Canada. Brian Leiter was hired by Macleans magazine to design measurement criteria, compile data and rank the schools. This year?s ranking ? the second that Leiter has...

Interesting Factoid About Yahoo Mail's Tracks

Posted on September 12, 2008
I couldn't find this case on line, but Nat?l Economic Research Assocs., Inc. v. Evans, LECG Corp., 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 337 (Mass. Super. Ct. Aug. 3, 2006) addresses the purported fact that if you use a laptop to view...

Jane Mayer on Jess Radack and John Walker Lindh

Posted on September 11, 2008
A thread on one of my listservs praised The Dark Side, Jane Mayer's account of some aspects of the "war on terror" so I bought it and have been reading it. I am sympathetic to her general theme. I have...

You can't keep a good man down: Bill Lerach runs "friends and family" program in prison

Posted on September 11, 2008
Bill Lerach -- erstwhile scourge of corporate America, crusader against sleaze and graft, admitted felon -- is in prison lockdown after offering football tickets to a prison guard. Story here. I admire plaintiffs lawyers and respect much of what Lerach...

Former Judge and Prosecutor Admit to Affair

Posted on September 09, 2008
The prosecutor and judge in Mr. Hood's case have admitted to having had an affair at around the time of Mr. Hood's trial. Mr. Hood's lawyers have sent this letter to Governor Rick Perry, asking him for a 30 day...

Op-Ed by Lawrence Fox About the Hood Case

Posted on September 08, 2008
Executing Justice in the Texas Courts By Lawrence J. Fox They did not execute Charles Hood on June 17. On that night, the State of Texas did the right thing for the wrong reason. The execution was postponed not to...

The Hood Case, the Texas AG's Office, and Government Lawyers

Posted on September 08, 2008
In a case that gets stranger by the day, an assistant attorney general in Texas has filed a grievance against her boss, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, concerning Mr. Abbott's involvement in the Hood case (background on the case here...

The Chronicle of Higher Education on Legal Ethics Experts

Posted on September 08, 2008
The Chronicle of Higher Education has published a story about Bill Simon's controversial article on legal ethics experts. I think the Chronicle offers a balanced take on the issues, which were previously discussed here, here, here, and here, so if...

Clients, communication, and consumer protection

Posted on September 05, 2008
In a thoughtful and interesting new article recently posted on SSRN, Denver University Law Professor Eli Wald critiques the current regime of legal ethics rules (primarily ABA Model Rule 1.4) that governs communications between attorneys and their clients...

Milavetz v. United States

Posted on September 05, 2008
The Eighth Circuit has struck down a provision of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act that barred attorneys from advising clients to take on more debt before they file for bankruptcy protection. The provision violates attorneys' free speech...

Cal Supremes consider screens in public law context (John Steele)

Posted on September 04, 2008
[Note: This post was by John Steele. Sorry for any confusion.] Story here. Let's see where they come out. The decision is due within 90 days. I've never been impressed with the argument that only lawyers in private practice can't...

Letter from Former Judges and Prosecutors to Texas Governor Perry

Posted on September 03, 2008
A very impressive group of former judges and prosecutors has asked Texas Governor Rick Perry to delay Charles Hood's execution so that a full hearing can take place to determine whether the prosecutor in Hood's case was secretly sleeping with...

Most Interesting Law Professor Sidelines

Posted on September 03, 2008
I mentioned below that Seton Hall Professor David Feige has co-created and is a writer for a new television show on the criminal justice system. I know that other law professors have interesting sidelines and was hoping to get a...

Law Professor Creates New Television Show About the Criminal Justice System

Posted on September 03, 2008
Seton Hall professor and former Bronx public defender David Feige is a co-creator, writer, and supervising producer for a new television show called Raising the Bar. The show focuses on the criminal justice system and was inspired by Feige's book...

Interesting Bar Opinion on Electronic File Ownership, Organization, and Delivery

Posted on August 27, 2008
In Formal Opinion 2008-1 (July 2008), the Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York addressed various issues concerning the organization, delivery, and the ability to charge clients for delivery...

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...