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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

DA Theft Leads To Interim Suspension

Posted on July 11, 2008
A district attorney in Texas was suspended pending final discipline as a result of allegations (reported here) and a subsequent conviction on charges that he had caused public funds to be direct deposited into a personal bank account. The basis...

Misconduct Charges

Posted on July 11, 2008
The Illinois ARDC has filed a complaint alleging, among other things, that an associate attorney at a law firm failed to remit approximately $1,500 in fees due to the firm. The attorney also is alleged to have converted fees, failed...

No Reciprocal Discipline

Posted on July 10, 2008
An attorney who had been hired as chief prosecutor for the Ak-Chin Indian Community had been suspended by the Ak-Chin Community Court for two years. Reciprocal discipline was not imposed in Arizona (where the community is located) because the procedures...

Liar, Liar

Posted on July 10, 2008
The web page of the Florida Bar reports that an attorney was recently subject to a public reprimand. The misconduct and additional sanction was summarized as follows: [The attorney] is further ordered to attend The Florida Bar's anger management workshop...

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Violation Of Trust

Posted on July 10, 2008
An attorney convicted of felony mail fraud was disbarred today by the New York Appellate Division for the Third Judicial Department. The factual basis for the plea of guilty revealed that the attorney had set up a trust for a...

Conditional Admission Violation Leads To Suspension

Posted on July 10, 2008
A bar applicant was conditionally admitted in Arizona in July 2007 with conditions of alcohol abstinence that prohibited "ingesting alcohol, food stuffs, beverages or toiletries containing alcohol." a random screning in October 2007 revealed the presence of ethylglucuronide, an alcohol...

Interim Suspension For Non-Cooperation

Posted on July 10, 2008
The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department suspended an attorney pending the completion of disciplinary proceedings for failure to copoperate with the investigation into allegations that he had mishandled an estate matter. The attorney claimed that he...

Intent Found, Suspension Proposed

Posted on July 09, 2008
An Illinois Hearing Board has recommended a one-year suspension of an attorney found to have schemed with a divorce client to cheat his spouse out of her share of the marital estate. The board found that: during his marital dissolution...

"Irretrievably Broken"

Posted on July 09, 2008
A client retained an attorney in a personal injury case but, shortly thereafter, they "began having difficulty with their attorney-client relationship." The lawyer withdrew when the client threatened a bar complaint. He then sued for fees based on his hours,...

Dismissal Overturned In Bar Discipline Case

Posted on July 09, 2008
Noting a significant distinction between bar proceedings based on a criminal conviction and those involving original charges, the California State Bar Court held that a dismissal based solely on the State Bar's alleged failure to notify an attorney "of its...

Sex With Corpse Is Crime In Wisconsin

Posted on July 09, 2008
Not a legal profession case, but of possible interest is a decision issued today by the Wisconsin Supreme Court holding that the attempted disinterment of a corpse for sexual purposes violates criminal law: In sum, by its plain terms, Wis....

Disclosure Of Medical Records May Result In Civil Liability

Posted on July 09, 2008
The Ohio Supreme Court held today that an attorney may be liable for unauthorized disclosure of medical records obtained in discovery. The records were provided in divorce litigation and revealed that the husband had "homicidal thoughts" about his wife...

What Do Law Firms Want?

Posted on July 08, 2008
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw There's some commentary on Northwestern's new two-year program from Brian Leiter here, Bill Henderson here, and some skepticism from Brian Leiter about Bill's view. If I may put it in a nutshell, the Leiter argument says...

Fee Premium Agreement Unenforceable

Posted on July 08, 2008
The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department held that a provision in a fee agreement for a premium and an oral agreement was unenforceable: The subject "Premium Fee" clause in the parties' retainer agreement provides: "We reserve...

Fore!

Posted on July 08, 2008
The Arizona Supreme Court recently approved a hearing officer's recommendation for a 30 day suspension plus one year probation in a matter where the lawyer had represented the wife of a doctor prosecuted for hiring someone to kill another physician.....

Sixth Sanction Is Short Suspension

Posted on July 08, 2008
An attorney who had been the subject of two prior public reprimands, a private reprimand and two 60-day suspensions was suspended for 90 days by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He was retained by a wife to initiate a divorce. He...

Broken Pledge

Posted on July 08, 2008
An Ohio attorney engaged in ethical misconduct in two matters. One involved a deed that the attorney had falsely signed and notarized. He had denied the misconduct until the bar retained a handwriting expert. The second matter involved a promise...

Creative Sanction

Posted on July 08, 2008
A subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar imposed an agreed-upon reprimand of an attorney retained through a pre-paid legal services plan to handle a divorce and custody case. The client was unable to attend a hearing but told the lawyer...

The History of the Internet, Part II: Revenge of the Hens

Posted on July 08, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress If only to refute the thesis that the internet is a huge public relations device invented by cats as part of their plan to rule the world, you can watch hens live on the captivating Hencam...

Out At Home Base

Posted on July 07, 2008
The web page of the Washington State Bar Association reports the disbarment of an assistant city prosecutor for the following misconduct: At all relevant times, Mr. Morris was employed as an assistant city prosecutor for the City of Kennewick, which....

Ethics Of Name Change

Posted on July 07, 2008
An attorney who has practiced under her true name for two decades wished to legally change her name for personal reasons and retain the former name for her law practice. She has established a reputation under the present name. May...

Penalty For Client Abandonment

Posted on July 07, 2008
An attorney who had failed to follow through in four retained matters was suspended for six months by the Georgia Supreme Court. The court found mitigation in that the attorney was remorseful and "was suffering significant marital difficulties, which now...

Symposium Opportunity: Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics

Posted on July 07, 2008
[posted by Bill Henderson] During the upcoming academic year, the Georgetown Center for the Study of the Legal Profession and the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics will be co-hosting a symposium on current trends and issues confronting lawyers and law...

Oversight Leads To Default Judgment

Posted on July 07, 2008
The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a default judgment entered against a company that insured doctors because counsel had neglected to file a responsive pleading on behalf of the company when pleadings were filed on behalf of the individual defendants in...

Oh To Be Pro Se: Still The Champ In Frank and Unprofessional Pleading?

Posted on July 06, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress The Texas court pleading going around the internet that raises the "dumbass defense" against a plaintiff and calls him a "f---ing idiot" [without dashes] has been been revealed to be a fake by Ray Ward and...

New Advertising Rules In Louisiana

Posted on July 06, 2008
The web page of the Louisiana State Bar Association has an announcement of new advertising rules governing members of the Louisiana Bar. The full text of the new rules, as adopted by the Louisiana Supreme Court, is linked here. The...

Memo to Will Shortz

Posted on July 06, 2008
The answer to 66-Across in the July 6, 2008 Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle ("What the H?") is wrong. You are excused, however, because this is a common misconception. [Jeff Lipshaw]

Vanity Fair on the Collapse of Bear Stearns

Posted on July 06, 2008
In the July 3 Vanity Fair, Bryan Burrough investigated the collapse in-depth from Wall Street sources -- and questioned whether it died of its own weight: The fall of Bear Stearns wasn?t just another financial collapse. There has never been...

Criminal Defense Attorneys Take Note: False Positive Field Tests For Illegal Drugs

Posted on July 06, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress False positives for illegal GHB, similar to Rohypnol, are being reported from everyday shampoos and soaps, even some made by Palmolive and J&J. It may have started from the 2007 arrest -- and nearly four awful...

Welcome Back to Admin Law Prof Blog, and (Unrelated) Try to Die Before 2011

Posted on July 06, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress Two notes of interest around the blogosphere (posted so early in the U.S. that only Patrick O'D will see them now): -- I was the 10th visitor to the new Administrative Law Prof Blog, resurrected July...

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