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Ethics

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PI Lawyer Who Settled Case After Client Died Faces Ethics Charge

Here’s some risk management advice for personal injury lawyers: think twice before making a demand for future pain and suffering on behalf of a client who died 10 months ago. You might wind up having to face the State Bar on disciplinary charges. That’s what happened to an attorney in Illinois, … Read More +

categories: Ethics, Risk Management

The Danger of Keeping Clients in the Dark

The most frequent complaint clients have about their lawyer is not lack of competence or losing at trial. It’s poor communication. “[F]ailure to keep a client adequately informed is far and above the number one complaint clients have,” says Lawyers Mutual claims attorney Will Graebe. &ldqu… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Risk Management, Ethics

Ethical Consequences of Counterfeit Check Scams

  How to spot a counterfeit check, and what should you do if you think you’ve been scammed? That question is at the heart of a recent NC State Bar ethics ruling, which suggests you start by using the smell test, followed by due diligence. 2021 Formal Ethics Opinion 2 discusses a lawyer’s pro… Read More +

categories: Fraud, Ethics, Risk Management, Risk Management, Ethics, Bucket-Risk Management

NC Issues Ethics Guidance on Communicating with Judges

Is it okay for a lawyer to text or email a judge and request a continuance because of a family emergency? What if the lawyer also notifies all the other judges in his district, not just the one presiding over the case? Is the ex parte problem cured if the lawyer also copies opposing counsel on the message? Th… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Risk Management

Two Ethics Opinions on Wire Fraud Are Must-Reads

  In light of the NC State Bar’s crackdown against lawyers who don’t take adequate protection to prevent wire fraud, attorneys should pay attention to two ethics opinions. The State Bar issued a notice of Heightened Discipline in the Fall 2021 issue of the State Bar Journal. In its notice, th… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Risk Management, Ethics, Risk Management, Ethics

Law Lessons from Shoeless Joe’s Last Ballgame

Law Lessons from Shoeless Joe’s Last Ballgame Read More +

categories: Ethics, Risk Management

2021 NC Formal Ethics Opinion 1

  An opinion that addresses ethical pitfalls in contemporaneous residential real estate closings has been issued by the NC State Bar. In 2021 Formal Ethics Opinion 1, approved at the State Bar Council’s quarterly meeting in April, the State Bar Council discusses conflicts of interest, communication… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Practice of Law, Ethics

Lawyer Suspended for Fictional Billing

A Massachusetts lawyer who billed her clients for hundreds of “fictional hours” and inflated final invoices by more than $200,000 has been suspended from practice. The attorney added around 450 bogus hours to client bills in the year 2015. She didn’t keep contemporaneous billing records. She … Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Practice of Law, Ethics

State Bar Addresses Ethical Duties in Wire Fraud Scenarios

  A new State Bar ethics opinion addresses a lawyer’s professional duties in the event of a fraudulent wire transfer in a real property transaction. The opinion is NC 2020 FEO 5, approved by the State Bar on January 15. It is mandatory reading for lawyers who practice real estate and other areas o… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Risk Management, Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Risk Management

Bar Grievances Declined in 2020

  The NC State Bar opened 927 new grievance files against attorneys in 2020, down from the 1,258 files opened in 2019. Over the course of the year, the Grievance Committee considered 763 grievances and dismissed 538 of them (73 percent). Eleven files were dismissed and retained because the respondent law… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Practice of Law, Ethics

PI Lawyer Charged with Staging Auto Accidents

Here’s a cautionary tale for PI lawyers: it’s a terrible idea – not to mention a crime – to stage motor vehicle accidents in order to file phony insurance claims. Just ask the New Orleans attorney who has been indicted on federal charges of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud. He… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Risk Management

Practice Points with Mark Scruggs: The Trustee’s Duty of Neutrality

Do you ever serve as trustee of a client’s trust? Read More +

categories: Substantive Law, Ethics, Risk Management, Client Relations, Estate Planning, Substantive

Lawyer Accused of Bullying

Lawyer’s Conduct at Deposition Leads To Ethics Complaint Here’s a lesson from Risk Management 101: being polite and professional isn’t just a nice idea – it might keep you from getting reported to the bar.  A corollary: avoid the urge to threaten to have opposing counsel’s… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Practice of Law, Ethics

Practice Points with Mark Scruggs: What Should I Tell My Client about Social Media?

Social media, clients and ethics Read More +

categories: Ethics, Technology, Client Relations

Lawyer Disciplined for Lying to Get a Deadline Extended

Here’s a Risk Management 101 lesson: don’t lie that you’re seriously ill in order to get a discovery deadline extended. It could lead to a suspension of your law license. That’s the possible penalty an Illinois lawyer is facing after he made false statements to opposing counsel about… Read More +

categories: Ethics, Ethics, Bucket-Practice of Law, Ethics
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Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company
1001 Winstead Drive, Suite 285

Cary, NC 27513

919.677.8900
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Latest Alerts

Supreme Court Amends the North Carolina Business Court Rules 

The Supreme Court of North Carolina has adopted amendments to the North Carolina Business Court Rules. The Supreme Court’s order amending the rules was adopted on 15 June 2022 and is effective on 1 July 2022.   Among other things, the Supreme Court’s order amends the rules related to formatting, sealed documents and protective orders, hearings and conduct, motions and briefs, and pretrial hearings. All interested persons are encouraged to read the Supreme Court’s order in its entirety.  

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US Supreme Court Permits States to Seek Reimbursement from Settlement Payments for Future Medical Care

On June 6, 2022, the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in Gallardo v. Marstiller, Sec’y of the Fla. Agency for Health Care, 2022 U.S. Lexis 2683, and held that the Medicaid Act permits States to seek reimbursement from settlement payments allocated for future medical care. The full opinion can be read here. 

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