Legal Ethics
We all want to reduce our risk for legal malpractice.
Here you can find our thoughts on attorney-client privilege, existing client communication and your duties with potential clients.
We also discuss your emerging responsibilities in regards to online privacy and security.
Need more ideas? Join other innovative lawyers in the Lawyerist LAB.
Social Media and Jurors
Social media is a great source of information for lawyers investigating potential jurors. How can lawyers use it without crossing ethical lines? Social media also gives jurors an outlet to violate court instructions, and lawyers monitor their online postings to make sure they do not jeopardize the judicial process.
Government Spying on Privileged Communications
The government admits it is spying on all of our phone calls and many people's internet usage. Are your client communications still privileged when the government is watching?
Much Ado About LinkedIn Endorsements
Whether you’re unconvinced that LinkedIn is useful for anything, if you maintain a profile there, you should spend a minute or three understanding the potential consequences of approving endorsements. But that’s about all the time you need to spend. Not too long ago, Bob Ambrogi asked: Do LinkedIn Endorsements Violate Legal Ethics? Bob does a [...]
Your Firm is Not Prepared for Your Death
Lawyers, especially solos and small firm lawyers, need a plan in the event of their death. After hearing a recent panel discussion on the subject, I look at some ideas for planning for the death of a solo or small firm lawyer.
Social Media, Judges, and Lawyers
Judges and lawyers are both on social media, so how much can a lawyer interact with a judge online without crossing ethical boundaries?
Social Media – Ethics Versus Zealous Advocacy
Social media and legal ethics. Attorneys accessing social media must know the ethical rules governing their conduct.
Weekend Reading: “On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession”
I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the profession that you are about to enter is one of the most unhappy and unhealthy on the face of the earth — and, in the view of many, one of the most unethical. The good news is that you can join this [...]
Don’t Be Facebook Friends with Clients — the Ethical Perspective
Ethics of why attorneys should not be Facebook friends with their clients and how they can navigate social media ethically.
Are Billable Hours Eroding Trust Between Lawyers and Clients?
Billable hours are again being scrutinized as a result of alleged overbilling by a large law firm. Is hourly billing eroding the trust between lawyers and clients?
Advising Clients and Their Spouses: An Issue of Privilege
The loss of the attorney client privilege could hurt your client and place you on the hook for malpractice, unless you handle it the right way.
My Client Will Die
A trial attorney struggles to prepare to mediate a medical malpractice case knowing that, no matter what he does, he won't change the outcome: his client will die.
Billing To Avoid Ethics Complaints
The best defense when questioned about your billing is solid documentation. It may even prevent charges against you.
“[A] private-market auction for seats at a public hearing of the country’s highest court”
Law professor Dale Carpenter (from whom I took an excellent class on sexual orientation and the law), writing at Volokh Conspiracy about “The Real Standing Problem in the Marriage Cases“: As 7 a.m. approached and the lawyers arrived to take their pre-paid places in line, something else happened. They started inviting their friends to join [...]
5 Disbarred Politicians
1. James Alexander James Alexander practiced law in America before the United States. Like most statesmen of the time, he put in time as everything from a surveyor to Major General in the Continental Army to member of the New York Colonial Assembly. Alexander also started a newspaper opposed to New York governor William Crosby, [...]
Cloud Computing: Who Owns the Servers That Will House Your Law Firm’s Data?
Lawyers seeking to use cloud computing in their law practices must research their cloud provider's relationship with the facility housing the cloud servers
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