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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

Suing Starbucks

Posted on June 05, 2008
The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department upheld an award of $50,000 in compensatory damages against Starbucks, but also affirmed the reduction of the $250,000 award for future suffering. The evidence: Plaintiff was injured when, after ordering...

Nice Work If You Can Get It

Posted on June 05, 2008
The web page of the Hawai'i Supreme Court has an announcement advertising the position of Chief Disciplinary Counsel. The position requires that the person appointed either be a member of the state bar or eligible to get admitted. (Mike Frisch)

Fee Misconduct Leads To Lengthy Suspension

Posted on June 05, 2008
The Oregon Supreme Court ordered a two-year suspension of an attorney based on findings of misconduct in two of three charged matters. The attorney had charged a fee for representation in a social security matter where court approval of the...

No Cause Of Action

Posted on June 05, 2008
In a case where an estate had sued former attorneys under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act ("ADTPA") based on a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court dismissal...

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Hold The Phone

Posted on June 05, 2008
The New York Court of Appeals removed a Niagara Falls city court judge from office for misconduct in presiding over domestic violence court cases. On the day in question, he had a docket of 70 scheduled hearings. He handled the...

A 40 Hour Day

Posted on June 04, 2008
The Illinois ARDC has filed a complaint alleging dishonest billing practices against an attorney who represented indigent respondents in juvenile justice and child protection matters. For the first half of 2006, the accused allegedly sought payments totaling $350,000, claiming he...

Fifth Circuit Allows Some Sanctions Even Though Parties' Settlement 'Precluded' Them (And The Court Now Publicly Releases Oral Arguments)

Posted on June 04, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress Here is a useful summary from yesterday's Fifth Circuit Civil News Daily Update, written by its editor Bob McKnight who allowed me to quote it in full: Fleming & Associates v. Newby & Tittle Defendants, No....

Coming Soon ... to China: A New ABA-Accredited Law School

Posted on June 03, 2008
[by Bill Henderson] This post is about new ABA-approved law schools. Some will struggle mightily and worsen the economic prospects of local lawyers. Others may transform the U.S. legal profession. Let's start with the former. There is a story in...

Don't Get This Lawyer Angry Or His Shirt Rips (Or She Buys Louis Vuitton)

Posted on June 03, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress Thanks to lawyers-in-media follower Dean Kelly Lynn Anders at Washburn, we have these two sighting updates, one I am less interested in than the other. Can you guess which? First, Kelly writes "Remember Miranda?" and she...

No Disbarment Recommended For Dishonest Billing

Posted on June 03, 2008
An Illinois Hearing Board has recommended a 21 month suspension of an attorney who, in representing a client in a hazardous waste mater, made a series of false statements to his client and others to generate more fees for himself...

Under The Influence

Posted on June 03, 2008
The Illinois ARDC has filed charges against an attorney for three alleged instances of criminal conduct. Two matters involved charges of driving under the influence of alcohol; it is alleged that the attorney's blood alcohol level in one matter was...

Summary Contempts Lead To Judicial Censure

Posted on June 03, 2008
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct imposed censure on a family court judge for misconduct that involved holding litigants in summary contempt "in contravention of statutory requirements." In each of three matters, the judge "acknowledged that she was...

Malpractice Claim Not Dismissed

Posted on June 03, 2008
The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department affirmed a trial court order refusing to dismiss a legal malpractice claim in a case arising out of the law firm's preparation of loan closing documents: defendant was obligated not...

Ethics Alert

Posted on June 03, 2008
The California Bar's Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct has recently issued an ethics alert on a new limited exception to the duty to protect confidences and secrets in circumstances where the client has disclosed information about child abuse...

No Criminal Cases

Posted on June 03, 2008
The Wisconsin Supreme Court imposed a four-month suspension in a case involving four client complaints of neglect. The attorney had a record of prior discipline for similar misconduct. As to sanction: The referee considered Attorney Jones's disciplinary history very serious,...

How About Restitution In Email Snooping Case?

Posted on June 03, 2008
The concurring opinion of Justice Starcher in the West Virginia email snooping case is now posted. The justice would have preferred a remand to explore the issue of restitution: ...the law firm of Offutt Fisher & Nord, suffered a significant...

Paralegal Costs May Be Recovered

Posted on June 02, 2008
The North Dakota Supreme Court held that an award of attorney's fees may properly include the cost of services rendered by paralegals: There is no case law directly addressing this question in North Dakota, though this Court has upheld an...

A Fork In The Road

Posted on June 02, 2008
Here's the eye-catching introduction to an Arizona hearing officer's report in a bar discipline case: "No matter how far you have gone the wrong [road], turn back," is a wonderful old proverb. This Respondent, stubborn cowboy that he is, has...

Photos Of Unclothed Client Lead To Suspension

Posted on June 02, 2008
A three-year suspension was imposed by the Supreme Court of Georgia in a matter where the attorney had been appointed to represent a 17 year old and, when she was bonded out, met her at the jail, drove her to...

Written Permission Required

Posted on June 02, 2008
The South Carolina Supreme Court imposed public reprimand on a former County Magistrate and Municipal Court Judge as a result of an Alford plea to two criminal offenses: In early January 2007, respondent was arrested and charged with two crimes:...

One Client Too Many

Posted on June 02, 2008
The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a public reprimand to an attorney who was retained to defend a domestic assault criminal matter. He thereafter represented both the victim and the accused in a civil matter involving a stop payment order...

New Ethics Journal Edition Out

Posted on June 02, 2008
The Spring 2008 edition of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics is now available. Included are articles and a transcript of the Journal's 2007 symposium on corporate counsel. The articles are authored by Sarah Helene Duggin, Sung Hui Kim and...

Breach Of Fiduciary Duty

Posted on June 02, 2008
The California Bar Journal reports a recent bar discipline case involving a conflict of interest and breach of fiduciary duty to a two-month old child that the attorney had been appointed to represent: [The attorney] was appointed by the juvenile...

In The Public Interest

Posted on June 01, 2008
The California Bar Journal reports a proposal to provide web access to disciplinary charges. The post notes that such information is public, but is hard to find and can only be obtained at a charge of 50 cents a page...

Anonymous Help OK

Posted on May 31, 2008
A Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee opinion from Florida opines that a judge may make a financial contribution to defray the expenses of the campaign of a child for student government office at a state university. However, any such contribution must...

Abandonment Of Practice Leads To Permanent Disbarment

Posted on May 30, 2008
The Louisiana Supreme Court permanently disbarred an attorney who had abandoned his law practice and moved out of state, leaving in his wake 19 client complaints that primarily involved taking fees and rendering no services. The attorney also had failed...

Mississippi Rule Change

Posted on May 30, 2008
The Mississippi Supreme Court has amended its rules of bar discipline relating to a reveresed criminal conviction. Previously, an attorney was immediately reinstated upon reversal. Now, such an attorney may seek reinstatement. In a nice turn of phrase, the court's...

Chicago CLE June 13 on Ethics for Government Lawyers

Posted on May 30, 2008
Celebrate Friday the 13th, June 2008, in Chicago with nearly 4 hours of MCLE ethics credit taught in skit-and-discussion format, by the Illinois State Bar. It is Ethical Considerations for Government Lawyers: "The program will consist of various scenarios, portrayed...

Home Alone

Posted on May 30, 2008
The Illinois ARDC has filed charges against a bar member as a result of a criminal conviction. It is alleged that the lawyer left a seven year old child home alone and went on a shoplifting spree at Kohl's Department...

Perils Of Partnership

Posted on May 30, 2008
An Arizona bar discipline case that involved charges against a lawyer who had gone into practice with a classmate at the College of Law at Arizona State University may serve as a cautionary tale. The two partners had been friends...

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