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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

Big Law Associate's Wrongful Termination Suit Can Proceed

Posted on April 29, 2009
Here are the allegations: A Massachusetts lawyer discovered child pornography on a client's computer and told his firm about it. The firm instructed the lawyer to destroy the child pornography, and the lawyer refused to do so. The lawyer (correctly,....

$14M dreams in smoke...

Posted on April 27, 2009
Some of you may recall that a proposed settlement of a class action against TD Visa had included a provision that $14M be placed in a fund for distribution to the 16 Canadian common law law schools for teaching related...

Liars and character

Posted on April 27, 2009
A couple of days ago Rob posted on the case of Loren Friedman, who falsified his transcript in applying to law firms, and also omitted to provide information about his past academic failures when applying to law schools. For those,...

Welcome to Our Newest Co-Blogger, Professor Roy Simon

Posted on April 26, 2009
We are delighted that Roy Simon has agreed to join us as a co-blogger. Roy is the Howard Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics at Hofstra Law School and is the director of Hofstra's Institute for the Study of Legal...

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Banana lawyer slips, tort cases fall

Posted on April 26, 2009
On April 23rd, a California judge overseeing "banana" cases against Dow Chemical and Dole Foods dismissed two cases on the spot, from the bench, because of what American Lawyer writer Ben Hallman calls "the most egregious plaintiffs lawyer extortion and...

Update on Judge Keller's Case

Posted on April 25, 2009
There's a story in the current issue of The Texas Lawyer updating the Keller case and discussing the Expert Witness' Declaration. It can be accessed by Googling The Texas Lawyer and clicking on the current issue. (I would provide a...

Federal prosecutors hire biglaw defenders

Posted on April 24, 2009
The assistant US attorneys who prosecuted Senator Ted Stevens have hired famous, big name white collar defense lawyers, now that the prosecutors are themselves under investigation. (via Instapundit)

Judicial Selection in Tennessee

Posted on April 24, 2009
Tennessee is currently debating how it should select its judges. The story, which involves an unusual robocalling campaign, is here and here. Let's hope that Tennesseans don't forget about the Caperton case and the various problems associated with electing judges...

DOJ seeks to overturn precedent prohibiting questioning without counsel present

Posted on April 24, 2009
Articles here and here about DOJ's efforts to have Michigan v. Jackson overturned.

Lying to Judges

Posted on April 23, 2009
In 2006, I published an article, ?In Praise of Overzealous Representation ? Lying to Judges, Deceiving Third Parties, and Other Ethical Conduct,? 34 Hofstra L.Rev. 771. A 2008 article in Case Western Reserve L. Rev. purports to rebut that article...

Maybe we should focus more on business school ethics?

Posted on April 23, 2009
What I find most insightful about the sordid tale of transcript-falsifying lawyer Loren Friedman is that his business school does not seem to care.

Is a government lawyer a "cause lawyer?"

Posted on April 22, 2009
I've always understood the "cause lawyer" as existing in some tension with the client-driven approach to lawyering, and thus I would never have classified a government lawyer as a cause lawyer. Because a government lawyer dedicates her services to a....

Legal ethics exam from 1926

Posted on April 21, 2009
Jim Fischer passed along this legal ethics exam from 1926. I'd love to know the recommended answer for the question about coaching witnesses. Download Old exam

New USDC (D. Mass.) case: real estate closings not UPL

Posted on April 21, 2009
New look at a classic issue: what law-related aspects of real estate commerce are the practice of law? The lawyers lose this one. Download UPL

David Luban's Torture Memo

Posted on April 21, 2009
The Unreleased Torture Memo David Luban "I remember well the pain of those of us who served our country even when the policies we were carrying out were unpopular or could be second-guessed. We in the Intelligence Community should not...

Rule Revisions in Kentucky

Posted on April 17, 2009
Kentucky has adopted extensive revisions to its rules of professional conduct. The changes go into effect on July 15, 2009 and can be found here.

No prosecutions for "enhanced interrogations" -- including no prosecutions of the lawyers?

Posted on April 17, 2009
It seems clear that the Obama DOJ will not be prosecuting the CIA personnel who carried out the -- take your pick -- torture or enhanced interrogations. Sonja Starr believes that it's likely that the lawyers won't be prosecuted either....

Right to Counsel Report

Posted on April 17, 2009
?Justice Denied: America?s Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel? has just been released by The Constitution Project. It is a report and recommendations of the National Right to Counsel Committee, which has been working on the project for...

Imminent U.S. News Frenzy

Posted on April 15, 2009
The annual fascination with the U.S. News & World Report rankings is about to begin, with the official release coming in the next few days. The most notable addition is a ranking of evening programs. Judging from this news announcement...

Can informal networking lead to DQ? (Silicon Valley)

Posted on April 15, 2009
Story here. It appears that an individual is claiming an attorney client relationship arising not out of a formal relationship but rather out of what some might call networking. The DQ motion also says that the law firm's investment arm...

Would you take a year off for one-third the salary?

Posted on April 13, 2009
Skadden seems to be surprised by how many associates have accepted the firm's offer to take a year off of work in exchange for one-third pay. Perhaps that's a sign that Skadden associates are not as motivated by money as...

Ambition, public confidence, and judicial ethics

Posted on April 13, 2009
Is there anything problematic if a judge makes decisions with an eye toward public acclaim? Phrased more charitably, is there anything wrong if the judge desires to inspire public confidence in the judicial system? We've now had two US Supreme...

Draft of Expert Opinion in Judge Keller Matter

Posted on April 11, 2009
I have written a draft of an expert witness opinion in the Judge Keller matter. If anyone would be interested in seeing it, please email me at lawmhf@hofstra.edu. (John, my efforts to email you a copy have apparently failed.)

Wisconsin diploma privilege under attack

Posted on April 11, 2009
Althouse posted about it. I didn't know that the issue had reached the Seventh Circuit.

Gillibrand: Declining, Communcation, and Withdrawal

Posted on April 11, 2009
In an Editorial Observer article in the NYT yesterday, Dorothy Samuels quotes Steve Gillers on the Gillibrand/Phillips Morris matter. According to Samuels, Steve objects to publicly criticizing lawyers for their choice of clients. As I have explained elsewhere, I consider...

Expert Opinion in Judge Keller Matter - Signing On

Posted on April 11, 2009
There is now a draft suitable for review by anyone who might be interested in signing on. Please let me know if you would like to see it. lawmhf@hofstra.edu

New blog: The Ethical Quandary

Posted on April 10, 2009
Check it out. Lots of good stuff, from the Hinshaw firm, which does a lot of legal ethics, risk management, and professional liability work.

Rule 1.10 Developments

Posted on April 10, 2009
As many of you know, the ABA House of Delegates recently amended Model Rule 1.10. The stated goal was to permit screening of laterally hired attorneys in order to prevent the imputation of a conflict of interest. The problem, as...

Lawyering to undo a bankruptcy court's ruling: when does it cross the line?

Posted on April 08, 2009
Suppose you're a lawyer in US bankruptcy court and your client is ordered to transfer overseas assets. You believe that under the local law of the foreign jurisdiction, compliance with the US court's order would be unenforceable, if not illegal....

Story about Judge Bybee's work at the OLC

Posted on April 08, 2009
I've read a lot about Professor John Yoo's stint at OLC, but less about Jay Bybee's time there. This article fills in some gaps.

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