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Academic

Legal Profession Blog

Cover legal ethics, bar discipline, business practice, the tension between the bar and the academy, ethical theory, and comparative legal professions.
By Alan Childress, Mike Frisch, and Jeff Lipshaw

Post Frequency: 40.8/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 14:56:26

Insufficient Evidence Of Conflict

Posted on June 02, 2009
The Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed a trial court determination to grant custody of a minor child to foster parents. The biological mother had appealed, claiming that an attorney had labored under a conflict of interest in his dual roles as...

Written Agreement Does Not Negate Violation

Posted on June 02, 2009
A subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board accepted an agreed disposition for a 60 day suspension. The attorney had handled a matter while suspended for failure to comply withb mandatory CLE requirements. Further, the attorney was found to...

Thy Brother's Former Wife

Posted on June 02, 2009
The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board has recommended the disbarment of an attorney whose brother had died while overseas working as a contractor for Halliburton Company. The lawyer induced his brother's former wife to execute an assigment of rights paying life...

Self Dealing Draws Disbarment Recommendation

Posted on June 02, 2009
An attorney who had violated Rule 1.8(a) in his self-dealing with an estate is the subject of a disbarment recommendation by the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. The board concluded that the misconduct was more severe than in prior cases where....

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Socratic Ethical Violation

Posted on June 02, 2009
The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed all findings of misconduct save one and, as a result, remanded the matter for a sanction recommendation in a matter involving a conflict of interest in a real estate transaction: ...with this sole...

Sanction Proposed For Contract Attorney Overbilling

Posted on June 02, 2009
An Illinois hearing board has recommended a three-month suspension of an attorney based on findings that he had overbilled while working as a contract attorney for Mayer Brown. The detailed findings: We find the Administrator proved by clear and convincing...

The Run, The Park & Other Things

Posted on June 01, 2009
Also from the California Bar Journal: [An attorney] was suspended for two years, stayed, placed on three years of probation with an actual two-year suspension and he was ordered to take the MPRE, comply with rule 9.20 and prove his...

Find A Lawyer

Posted on June 01, 2009
From the web page of the California Bar Journal: The State Bar will create an online ?Find A Lawyer? program for the public after a divided board of governors approved the project last month. But if a consumer is getting...

Proposed Public Reprimand Rejected

Posted on June 01, 2009
The Delaware Supreme Court ordered a one-year suspension of an attorney who had falsely notarized documents in a series of real estate transactions in which he was the purchaser. He also had failed to pay transfer taxes on one of...

Closure

Posted on June 01, 2009
An attorney who did not properly close his practice was reprimanded by the South Carolina supreme Court. The facts: Due to a down turn in business and resulting economic hardship, respondent closed his law practice. Respondent admits he failed to...

"I Would Have Done Differently If I Knew You Were Watching"

Posted on June 01, 2009
An Arkansas Circuit Court judge is the subject of a proposed removal from the bench. According to the report from KSLA 12: A panel of the state committee that disciplines judges has recommended that Circuit Judge L.T. Simes III of...

Child Pornography On Hard Drive Leads To Bar Discipline

Posted on May 31, 2009
The web page of the Tennessee Board on Professional Responsibility reports that an attorney was suspended for five years as a result of his conviction for possession of a computer hard drive that had three or more images of child...

Congratulations

Posted on May 30, 2009
Congrats and further best wishes to Jeff and Alene Lipshaw, who are now celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary (?!!) in Santorini, Greece. I know they are having a good time. And we are happy for them! [Alan Childress] UPDATE: Thanks,...

Entering And Breaking Leads To Reciprocal Sanction

Posted on May 30, 2009
The Louisiana Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline of a stayed suspension for one year and one day based on the same sanction imposed in Colorado.After drinking to excess, the attorney entered the home of an estranged boyfriend without permission through...

Fiduciary Conflicts

Posted on May 30, 2009
North Dakota has amended its Rule 1.8 (prohibited transactions) to add a provision governing lawyers who act as a fiduciary of an estate, trust or conservatorship . The pertinent addition reads as follows: (l) Neither a lawyer serving as a...

More From North Carolina

Posted on May 29, 2009
A couple of interesting disciplinary decisions from the North Carolina State Bar web page: [ A lawyer] of Cary was reprimanded by the DHC for referring to herself as "Madame Justice" on her campaign website after the Grievance Committee issued...

Public Offender

Posted on May 29, 2009
The web page of the North Carolina State Bar reports on the following discipline: The DHC suspended Robert Brown Jr. of Durham for five years for sexually harassing several employees when he was Durham County Public Defender. After serving three...

Open Your Mail

Posted on May 29, 2009
Pemmsylvania is a jurisdiction that treats practicing while suspension as serious misconduct that warrants a significant sanction. An attorney who had placed on inactive status for failure to complete required CLE was suspended for a year and a day by...

New Trial for Unkindest Cut

Posted on May 29, 2009
The Kansas Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision and ordered a new trial in a medical malpractice case. The trial court had granted a motion for new trial to a defendant doctor who was alleged to have negligently...

Repeat Offenses Draw Prospective Suspension

Posted on May 29, 2009
An attorney with a significant record of prior discipline, including violations after reinstatement from an earlier suspension, was again suspended for one year by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The lawyer had violated ethical rules in three matters, two involving clients...

Related Reinstatement Cases

Posted on May 29, 2009
The New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department entered two virtually identical orders of reinstatement (linked here and here). The attorneys had the disciplinary matter heard by the same referee and were both suspended for two years on...

Overwhelming Life Circumstances Lead To Misconduct

Posted on May 29, 2009
In a bar discipline case decided yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court determined to impose indefinite suspension rather than disbarment for a host of ethical violations in multiple matters including misappropriation of client funds. The court pointed to a number of...

Not Knowingly Frivolous

Posted on May 28, 2009
The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a referee's findings of misconduct in two of four charged instances but reduced the proposed 60 day suspension to a public censure with costs. The attorney had represented a bridal shop owner in a conversion...

Prior Experience Does Not Prevent Recordkeeping Issues

Posted on May 28, 2009
The Ohio Supreme Court web page reports that an Akron attorney: ...has been suspended by the Supreme Court of Ohio for two years, with the second year of that term stayed on conditions, for failing to segregate funds he held...

Sotomayor and Diabetes

Posted on May 28, 2009
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw I have nothing to say about the nomination, and very little reaction, other than this seems to be a perfectly fine nomination of a perfectly fine judge who has the temerity not to have a consistent...

No Second Bite

Posted on May 27, 2009
The full Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the determination of a single justice imposing reciprocal disbarment of an attorney based on his disbarment in the District of Columbia. The court declined the invitation to relitigate the facts found to establish...

Judge May Receive Fees For Legal Work

Posted on May 27, 2009
From the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Commission: Opinion Number: 2009-09 Date of Issue: May 13, 2009 ISSUE Whether a recently appointed judge may receive a fee for legal work performed prior to taking office. ANSWER: Yes. FACTS Prior to taking...

Private Eye

Posted on May 27, 2009
From the Times of London: Thousands of disciplinary rulings against lawyers accused of misconduct can be publicised after one of Britain's leading solicitors lost a battle in the Court of Appeal to keep his own case under wraps. Lawyers for...

Reinstated Without Conditions

Posted on May 27, 2009
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has granted a petition for reionstatement of an attorney who presently resides in Kansas and does not practice in Oklahoma. A dissent would grant reinstatement with conditions: This is a proceeding for de novo review of...

Every Partner's Nightmare

Posted on May 27, 2009
The Illinois ARDC has filed a second amended complaint alleging that a law firm partner engaged in a six-year course of conduct involving misappropriation from his law firm's IOLTA account. the charges further allege that the misconduct was concealed by...

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