Ethics

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 +

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 +

  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 +

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 +

  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 +

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

  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 +

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 +

  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 +

  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 +

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 +

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

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 +

Social media, clients and ethics Read More +

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 +