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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

Disbarment For Multiple Thefts

Posted on November 28, 2008
An attorney who had defaulted on charges of theft of entrusted funds was disbarred by the North Dakota Supreme Court. The court described the charges as follows: The Petition alleges Sletten was the attorney for Anita Hopkins, an elderly widow....

Accountant License Suspension

Posted on November 28, 2008
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a three year license suspension of an accountant convicted of a felony theft offense and false concealment of the conviction in an application for license renewal: Based on the petitioner's larceny conviction and his...

"Stubborn Litigiousness"

Posted on November 28, 2008
A law firm that had consisted of two equal partners ended in bad feelings and litigation. Among the claims that each had brought against the other were charges of "stubborn litigiousness." The Georgia Supreme Court held that the trial court...

Be Thankful for Lawyers on this Thanksgiving Day

Posted on November 27, 2008
Not only did lawyers (well, only Abe Lincoln of the Illinois Bar) invent some important patents, but a lawyer invented that canned congealed cranberry sauce that you will eat today. It's delicious, plus it is fun to try to get...

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Judicial Rudeness

Posted on November 26, 2008
The California Commission on Judicial Performance recently admonished a superior court judge for an array of improper conduct that included advancing a trial date without notice, unwarranted removal of a public defender from a pending case and a series of...

Malpractice Claim Timely Filed

Posted on November 26, 2008
In a malpractice claim by a criminal defendant against his former public defender, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed a decision below that had dismissed the case on statute of limitations grounds. The defendant had pleaded guilty to an offense...

Rehearing Denied

Posted on November 26, 2008
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals filed an opinion denying the petition for rehearing of a lawyer who had been suspended earlier this year. The court found no merit to the petition, and specifically reaffirmed its decision not to...

Bar Admission For Non-Citizens

Posted on November 26, 2008
Louisiana has amended its bar admission rules to permit resident non-citizens and those in the United States on work visas to seek admission in Louisiana. The new rule also contains a provision for bar admission based on study of law...

No Complainant Necessary

Posted on November 26, 2008
Effective January 1, Maine has amended its bar regulation rules to permit Bar Counsel (the inimitable Scott Davis) to investigate possible misconduct even if no one comes forward to file a complaint against the attorney. As the comment explains, information...

No Cause Of Action For Buyer's Remorse

Posted on November 26, 2008
Attorney approval provisions--which allow either the buyer or seller of real property to rescind the sales contract within a three day period of execution--are common in upstate New York. A husband and wife buyer who had second thoughts instructed their...

Undisclosed Interest

Posted on November 25, 2008
An Illinois hearing board has recommended a six-month suspension of an attorney for conflicts of interest in representing sellers in two real estate transactions where she had an undisclosed romantic relationship with the buyer: At the same time the Respondent...

Affirmed With Harsh Words

Posted on November 25, 2008
In a case that had previously been remanded based on a finding that counsel had violated the "no contact" provision of Rule 4.2, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that the trial court properly had vacated a default: "It would...

Self-Defense Exception To Confidentiality Rule

Posted on November 25, 2008
A decision today from the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department: Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Michael D. Stallman, J.), entered June 28, 2007, which, to the extent appealed from, permitted defendant Sullivan to testify at...

Mitigation Not Established

Posted on November 25, 2008
The Louisiana Supreme Court ordered a two year suspension in a bar discipline matter involving charges of misconduct in two matters. The accused attorney failed to respond to the charges and did not participate in the disciplinary proceeding. The misconduct...

One Charge Proven

Posted on November 25, 2008
An Arizona hearing officer has recommended probation of one year and censure of an attorney in a case where the Bar had filed charges in three matters. Interestingly, one of the charges was resolved by the grant of summary judgment...

Colorado Bar's Legal Ethics CLE (on Dec. 4 or Jan. 8) Emphasizes Leadership Skills

Posted on November 24, 2008
"Tired of the same old lectures on the ethics rules? Looking for a fresh approach to exploring key Rules of Professional Conduct from the perspective of leadership principles and the varying dimensions of individual contribution? ...You can earn [three hours...

Private Discipline

Posted on November 24, 2008
An attorney handling an insurance matter was privately reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court for misuse of process. The lawyer had served a series of subpoenas prior to the institution of litigation and has stipulated that the conduct violated Rule...

No Lesser Sanction

Posted on November 24, 2008
The District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility had recommended reciprocal discipline based on a Florida sanction imposed on Montgomery Blair Sibley. The attorney had been suspended for three years in Florida and must petition for reinstatement...

Breaking News

Posted on November 24, 2008
A hearing committee in the District of Columbia has recommended a 90 day suspension of former White House domestic policy advisor Claude Allen. The hearing committee accepted a stipulation of facts and concluded that the conviction did not involve a....

Sufficient Evidence Of Intent

Posted on November 24, 2008
The New York Court of Appeals held that a former public official had violated the state Public Officers Law by submitting an expert affidavit in litigation: Petitioner worked for the New York State Department of Health (DOH) from 1973 to...

Less Serious Than Alleged

Posted on November 24, 2008
In a case involving ethics charges against an attorney in his capacity as owner of an entity that acted as a title agent for a title insurance company, an Illinois hearing board recommended that most of the charges be dismissed....

Follow Up to Globalization Program - New York Times Piece

Posted on November 23, 2008
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw Unfortunately, my posts from the Harvard Law School Program on the Globalization of the Legal Profession had to end at about 1:00 p.m. I could not stay for the lunch talks by Detlev Vagts, Elena Kagan,...

Online Graduate May Sit For Massachusetts Bar

Posted on November 22, 2008
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has granted permission to a graduate of an online law school, waiving the requirement of graduation from an ABA accredited school. The applicant's qualifications: In July of 2002, Mitchell received his undergraduate degree, a bachelor...

ISI Quiz of Civics, Economics, and U.S. History: Are You Smarter Than A Politician?

Posted on November 22, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress ...And if you are, is it anything to brag about? Yahoo!News reports that elected officials taking a civics exam averaged less than half right, a score five points lower than the performance of the average citizen....

Science Tells Me This Blog Is 83% Masculine

Posted on November 21, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress According to an algorithm used by the site GenderAnalyzer, this blog is likely written by a man or men, to the level of 83% certainty. I plugged in our URL and that is what they say....

Stanford Announces Fellowship In Professional Responsibility and the Legal Profession (Deadline 12/1/08)

Posted on November 21, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress Prof. G. Randall Lee at Widener, on behalf of the AALS Section on Professional Responsibility, forwarded to members this interesting announcement, and has said we could reprint it here at LPB: Stanford Law School?s Center on....

Rightful Discharge

Posted on November 21, 2008
An attorney-shareholder in a law firm organized as a corporation was discharged after acknowledging that he had altered time records in connection with the representation of a firm client. He sued and summary judgment was granted to the defendant-law firm...

Globalization of Law Practice - V

Posted on November 21, 2008
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw The next panel is on Lawyer Qualification and Professional Responsibility in the Global Setting. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns (D. Mass.) is speaking, and talking about the fact that he carries a diplomatic passport. Russia had...

Globalization of Law Practice - IV

Posted on November 21, 2008
Posted by Jeff Lipshaw We're back and in the second panel on the regulatory framework in which the globalized legal profession operates. We are getting background on the WTO and GATS from Todd Nissen, who is the Director, Services Trade...

Permission Granted

Posted on November 21, 2008
The Nebraska Supreme Court issued an opinion today granting a bar applicant permission to sit for the bar examination. The applicant had previously been denied this opportunity in light of issues relating to his mental health and inappropriate behavior: There...

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