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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

Judge Benched Or "Take Care Of My Shortstop"

Posted on July 09, 2010
The Nebraska Supreme Court concluded that suspension of a county judge "would be insufficient to correct the damage wrought by the respondent's behavior" and removed the judge from office. The respondent had served in the judicial office since 1991. The...

This Diamond Ring Doesn't Shine For Me Anymore

Posted on July 08, 2010
The New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department found a triable case in a dispute over the return of a ring given in contemplation of marriage. The court set out the facts: It is undisputed that, on or...

Flat Fees In D.C.

Posted on July 08, 2010
The Legal Ethics Committee of the District of Columbia Bar has issued an opinion explaining the proper handling of flat fees. the opinion considers the impact of a recent opinion of the D.C. Court of Appeals on the subject. The...

Federal Standards of Review, new edition, and Holmes' The Common Law

Posted on July 08, 2010
Posted by Alan Childress Because you cannot spell blogger without either ego or bore, I use this forum to announce June publication, by LexisNexis, of the 4th edition of a book on appellate and federal review which I coauthor with...

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A Will Of Their Own

Posted on July 08, 2010
The North Dakota Supreme Court found that an attorney had not engaged in a conflict of interest but had violated Rule 1.14 and imposed a 90-day suspension. The attorney had drafted a will for a person declared incompetent that benefitted...

Lawyer Gone Wild

Posted on July 08, 2010
The Florida Supreme Court imposed a six-month suspension of an attorney who represented a 17 year-old client who had participated in a wet t-shirt contest during spring break in Daytona Beach. The contest was videotaped without the client's knowledge...

GGU Law Launches Book Review Journal -- Online -- for IP Books; All-Star Reviewers

Posted on July 08, 2010
Posted by Alan Childress I am not sure why the Book Review has become an endangered species, or why some journal issues famously dedicated to Book Reviews have changed formats -- hey, I LIKED that station, why did it go...

No Charity

Posted on July 08, 2010
A recent judicial ethics opinion is summarized on the web page of the Ohio Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of Ohio?s Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline has issued an advisory opinion concerning making a charitable contribution in lieu...

For The Sake Of The Children

Posted on July 07, 2010
The Louisiana Supreme Court imposed a fully deferred suspension of a year and a day in a matter arising out of an attorney's dispute with a public school attended by her child in the 2004-05 academic year. The attorney "repeatedly...

"Essentially Similar"

Posted on July 07, 2010
An attorney's federal conviction for obstruction of justice was similar enough to a state criminal statute to warrant summary disbarment, according to a recent opinion of the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department. The court explained: A...

Dangers Of Expedience

Posted on July 06, 2010
An attorney found to have violated 24 ethics rules stemming from his partnership with a non-lawyer that engaged in the practice of law and fee-splitting with his partner was suspended for three years by the New York Appellate Division for...

Report On Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Failures

Posted on July 06, 2010
The web page of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reports: On May 27, 2010, the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice issued its final report on its inquiry arising out of highly publicized failures in the juvenile...

The Costs Of Alcoholism

Posted on July 06, 2010
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has publicly reprimanded an assistant district attorney for misconduct that was a product of his struggle with alcohol. The court substantially reduced the costs imposed because the attorney had prevailed on a count that, in the...

Suspension After Over Five Decades Of Practice

Posted on July 06, 2010
An attorney who was admitted to practice in 1956 was suspended for six months by the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Deapartment. His only prior discipline was imposed in 1990. The court noted mitigating evidence: Respondent is...

Law School Applicants, Law Students, and Lawyers: You Are Less Anonymous Than You Think You Are

Posted on July 06, 2010
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw Take a look at this post from the Dean of Admissions at the University of Michigan Law School. In a nutshell, an applicant will call the office, act rudely and hence take the view that he...

Big Changes In Arizona Bar Discipline

Posted on July 04, 2010
The Arizona Supreme Court has announced significant changes in its attorney discipline system. The court's announcement highlights the new regime: Utilization of a paid full-time hearing officer, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, to preside over all formal cases; Establishment of an...

California Declares Bar Dues Amnesty

Posted on July 04, 2010
From the web page of the California State Bar: Any attorney suspended for non-payment of State Bar membership fees for 2008 and earlier may take advantage of an amnesty program approved by the board of governors. The offer is good...

The Issue is, What is Chicken?

Posted on July 03, 2010
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw Now that I can print out the New York Times crossword puzzle from the online edition, I don't often venture into town, up here in northern Michigan, for a newspaper. So I kind of lose track...

"Serious Misgivings"

Posted on July 02, 2010
The Iowa Supreme Court has imposed a suspension without possibility of reinstatement for three months in a matter where the attorney had been convicted on plea of guilty to six counts of invasion of privacy-nudity. The conduct involved repeated "peeping...

Failure To Supervise Incarcerated Legal Assistant

Posted on July 02, 2010
The Indiana Supreme Court has imposed a private reprimand (the case is styled "In re Anonymous") in a matter in which the attorney had hired a legal assistant "whose incarceration made it impossible for [the attorney] to ensure that the...

Illegal Fee

Posted on July 02, 2010
From the July 2010 online edition of the California Bar Journal: [An attorney] was suspended for four years, stayed, with an actual two-year suspension and until he proves his rehabilitation, and he was ordered to take the MPRE and comply...

Read Before Signing

Posted on July 01, 2010
The Indiana Supreme Court imposed a public reprimand in a matter in which the attorney had secured a deferred prosecution of a Florida battery charge against his then 19 year old son in 2001. The son was arrested in Indiana...

Impasse At Wisconsin Supreme Court

Posted on July 01, 2010
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has issued opinions concerning allegations that Justice Michael Gableman violated canons of judicial ethics in campaigning for the court. Three justices would dismiss the charges: Three members of the court, Justice Prosser, Justice Roggensack and Justice...

Red and Green Squiggly Line Loops in Microsoft Word

Posted on July 01, 2010
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw Lawyers and law professors do a lot of writing in Word. I like the red squiggly lines, because it's usually a good sign that I've either misspelled something or am using a name or expression that...

It Is, Sir, As I Have Said, A Small College...

Posted on July 01, 2010
The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the grant of summary judgment to the trustees of Dartmouth College in a breach of contact dispute brought by a tenured faculty member in the theatre department. the department had been placed in "receivership"...

Hourly Fees As Life Capital: Not

Posted on July 01, 2010
The Florida Supreme Court rejected a referee's proposed six-month suspension and slammed the attorney with permanent disbarment. The attorney refuses to file and pay income tax on the income generated by his law practice. His view: "his time was his....

Both Sides Now

Posted on June 30, 2010
The North Carolina Supreme Court held that a trial court did not abuse its discretion when it revoked the pro hac vice status of two attorneys in litigation against Abbott Laboratories and a hospital when a child contracted a rare...

Disbarment Proposed For, Among Other Things, Lawyer's Battery Of His Father

Posted on June 30, 2010
The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board has recommended disbarment for misconduct that included the theft by the attorney of a can of gasoline from his elderly father and battery against the father when he tried to prevent the theft. The incident...

Wisconsin Marriage Decision

Posted on June 30, 2010
The Wisconsin Supreme Court held today that a voter and taxpayer has standing to challenge an amendment that provides that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. The court set out the facts: In November 2006, the...

No Deal

Posted on June 30, 2010
From the web page of the Ohio Supreme Court on a recent ethics opinion: Opinion 2010-3 addresses the following question: ?As part of the settlement of a legal malpractice claim, is it proper for a lawyer to require a current...

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