Legal Ethics Forum: Ethics

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Ethics Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Ethics

Legal Ethics Forum

Covering Legal Ethics

Post Frequency: 11.2/day

Last Entry: August 14, 2020 at 13:23:48

Legal ethics odds and ends (August 3, 2010)

Posted on August 03, 2010
In Australia, two sets of regulators want to regulate lawyers who act as migration agents. From ALM, a biglaw firm drafted a pre-nup; the spouse seeking to evade the pre-nup survived a summary judgment motion; and now the firm is...

[Post by Mitchell Simon] New Hampshire is now posting discipline decisions

Posted on August 03, 2010
[Post by Mitchell Simon] A number of states have begun posting lawyer discipline decisions on their regulatory board?s websites.New Hampshire has just taken that step. While allowing greater access to these decisions should help the public better understand the process...

Andrew Bluestone on New York's client protection fund

Posted on August 03, 2010
At New York Attorney Malpractice Blog, Bluestone looks at statistics for the New York fund, in light of the economic downturn.

NYT: Mail-room mix-up in capital defense case may terminate appellate options

Posted on August 03, 2010
Adam Liptak has the story. (another h/t to Indiana Law Blog, which covers a lot more than Indiana law.)

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

"Former Assistant US Attorney Practiced on Suspended Law License"

Posted on August 03, 2010
Story here. (h/t: Indiana Law Blog)

What should one say about Fifth Circuit judges' ties to the oil industry?

Posted on August 02, 2010
Overlawyered linked to an op-ed by Joel Cohen and Katherine Helm and an ALM news story discussing ties between the oil industry and judges on the Fifth Circuit -- ties that were discussed in a report issued by the Alliance...

Light blogging for two weeks

Posted on August 02, 2010
I'll probably blog lightly for the next two weeks, as I'll be vacationing.

legal ethics items (August 2, 2010)

Posted on August 02, 2010
From Lancaster Online, here's a news account of a study of whether donating to a judicial campaign appears to affect the rulng. (Mostly not, but perception issues remain.) From ALM, Judge Sharon Keller has asked that her "public warning" be...

"[T]he prosecutor said she did not want a juror who worked in the legal profession"

Posted on August 02, 2010
After striking two African-American potential jurors, a prosecutor justified her decision as to one by noting that the stricken juror was a legal assistant. The California Court of Appeal was satisfied and so the prosecutor survived the Batson challenge...

Bill Henderson on US News rankings and what Stanford would have to do to be No. 1

Posted on August 02, 2010
As usual, Bill Henderson blends hard data and sound insights, this time to post at Empirical Legal Studies and Legal Profession Blog about some of the absurdities of the US News& World Report rankings. For grist, Bill uses a recent...

Legal ethics round-up (August 1, 2010)

Posted on August 01, 2010
At Huffington Post, Human Rights First notes the 8th anniversary of the principal "torture memo." Michigan will require lawyers to use the phrase "advertising material" when they publish advertising material. The Ninth Circuit, in Hebbe v. Pliler, rules that a...

Legal ethics round-up (July 31, 2010)

Posted on July 31, 2010
The LA Times reports that the lawyer who represented the city of Bell, and who had a hand in approving huge salaries for city officials, has been sacked as city attorney by another California city, Downey. There are no allegations...

Congress Goes After Rangel, Waters and Other Examples of Individual Corruption

Posted on July 31, 2010
Meanwhile systemic corruption is ignored. In my 2009 book on government ethics, http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Law/FederalPractice/?view=usa&ci=9780195378719 I make the distinction between personal corruption and systemic corruption. Government ethics rules are obsessed with the former (personal conflicts of interest from employment and investments, financial...

Legal ethics odds and ends (July 30, 2010)

Posted on July 30, 2010
White Collar Crime Prof Blog reports on a Seventh Circuit decision strongly admonishing a prosecutor for contriving to get some hearsay to the jury. The Economist looks at the globalization of law, and at potential impediments. In Preston v. Mariner....

Political Theatre and the Trial of Congressman Rangel

Posted on July 30, 2010
If display of scripture were allowed in public buildings, this would be my choice for inscription above the door of the House Ethics Committee: ?And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the...

Who gets to enter the profession?

Posted on July 30, 2010
Via Tax Prof Blog, the ABA comments on the effects of the USN&WR rankings (and, as best I can tell, throws up its hands in quiet resignation at the inevitability that those rankings will continue to reign). The ABA committee...

Eighth Circuit unhappy with two sets of lawyers feuding over referral fee

Posted on July 30, 2010
In Eng v. Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, the Eighth Circuit expressed its unhappiness over a referral fee arrangement between a Michigan firm that didn't learn and follow Missouri's rules and a Missouri firm whose conduct was inconsistent with the...

The briefing begins on inequitable conduct (Therasense)

Posted on July 29, 2010
Patently-O has the details.

California's rules revision leaps forward; Board approves most new rules, calls for public comment on seven rules

Posted on July 29, 2010
News here. It seems that the Board of Governors did not adopt the mandatory reporting rule. But the vast majority of the new, ABA-based rules were adopted, and I hope that the Supreme Court of California will soon give its...

Indiana - Bloomington announces endowed chair in legal ethics

Posted on July 29, 2010
Indiana University Maurer School of Law Dean Lauren Robel announced today that an entrepreneur with close family ties to Indiana University has endowed a Chair in Legal Ethics at the school in honor of a lawyer through whom he came...

Legal ethics in the news (July 29, 2010)

Posted on July 29, 2010
The State Bar of California named Starr Babcock as its general counsel. (h/t: ALM) As we discussed before, Jim Towery is now the Chief Trial Counsel. Dallas Justice has some skeptical thoughts about the changes to the ethics rules in...

Kenneth Feinberg to Disclose His Compensation

Posted on July 29, 2010
Kenneth Feinberg has announced that he intends to disclose how much he is being paid by BP to administer its $20 billion compensation fund. The announcement appears to be in response to various questions concerning Mr. Feinberg's previous unwillingness to...

Showdown leads to recusal of Chief Judge

Posted on July 29, 2010
Main Justice carries a story you don't see everyday: US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald clashed with Chief Judge James Holderman twice on the same issue and the appellate court bounced the judge from the case.

Lester Brickman, "Anatomy of an Aggregate Settlement: The Triumph of Temptation Over Ethics"

Posted on July 29, 2010
Article here. (h/t: Legal Theory Blog) Abstract: In an aggregate settlement, usually of a mass tort claim, a defendant agrees to pay a specific dollar amount to be divided up by the lawyer among her multiple clients which may number...

Iranian authorities seek to arrest lawyer of woman sentenced to stoning

Posted on July 28, 2010
Story here. (h/t: The Ethical Lawyer)

Movant lacks standing to disqualify opponents' lawyer (Cal. Ct. App.; Great Lakes Construction, Inc. v. Burman)

Posted on July 28, 2010
A California Court of Appeal decision clarifies and narrows standing doctrine for motions to disqualify. Key graf: Attorneys who jointly represent clients in the same action owe a duty of undivided loyalty to each of their clients and are subject...

Lea Vandervelde, "A Singular Conscience: In Re Summers"

Posted on July 28, 2010
Article. Abstract: This article tells the story behind In Re Summers, 325 U.S. 561 (1945) in which Clyde Summers was denied admission to practice law in Illinois based on a finding of unfit character because he elected conscientious objector status...

Legal Ethics items (July 28, 2010)

Posted on July 28, 2010
From ALM, "Courts differ about retroactive effect of [Padilla v. Kentucky]." The majority opinion predicted that there would ultimately be no flood of collateral litigation, but I assume that everyone knew that, at least initially, there would be plenty of...

Legal Ethics Roundup (July 27, 2010)

Posted on July 27, 2010
Holland and Knight survives a DQ motion in the USDC for the S.D. Fla. because, "1) Defendants fail to meet their burden of establishing that an attorney-client relationship existed; 2) Defendants fail to offer any proof in support of their...

Blagojevich closing argument has begun

Posted on July 27, 2010
Sam Adam, Jr., the attorney for Rod Blagojevich had a heated argument with the trial judge about whether Adam could argue in closing that the witnesses not called by the prosecution would have supported Blagojevich's defense. The judge threatened Adam...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

Update on AILF's Legal Action Center Visa Bulletin Litigation (Updated 7/10/07)
The following is the latest update from AILF regarding its pening ...

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center Legislative Forecast
The ILRC Forecast on Immigration ReformJudith Golub, Executive Dir...

The Christian Legal Society and "discrimation": Response to Susan
In response to Susan's post, I'm inclined to think that, yes, the ...

Stacy Scnheider Legal Commentator Apprentice

Catholic Legal Theory and life and death
Tom Berg’s question regarding the propriety or not of capital pu...