Legal Profession Blog: Academic

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Academic 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

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

CNN Story on Attorney Advertising Changes in Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, etc.

Posted on October 27, 2008
Here is a link to an interesting CNN.com story on attorney advertising and new bar regulations, in Louisiana and other states. "The rules prevent Louisiana lawyers from promising 'results' or referring to 'past successes.' They also can't use nicknames or...

When Judges Feud

Posted on October 27, 2008
A rather unusual order was entered in the Michigan Supreme Court appointing a district court chief judge. The unusual part is a dissent that notes that another candidate for the position had withdrawn from consideration and stating that the Chief...

No Conversion Found

Posted on October 27, 2008
An Illinois hearing board has filed a report recommending the dismissal of all disciplinary charges against an attorney alleged to have converted client funds. The board found the lawyer credible and rejected the testimony of the client: Respondent earned all...

Hodge Podge Records

Posted on October 27, 2008
The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the Chancery Court to suspend an attorney for six months. The attorney had served as public guardian for Davidson County, reviewing hundreds of cases involving conservatorships and guardianships. The disciplinary charges involved...

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

Conditional Admission

Posted on October 27, 2008
The Louisiana Supreme Court has entered three orders (linked here, here and here) granting conditional admission to practice law. In each matter, the attorney is now subject to a five year term of conditional admission that requires continuing cooperation with...

Scrivener's Error Corrected

Posted on October 27, 2008
An opinion of the South Carolina Supreme Court was reissued when the sanctioned attorney discovered a scrivener's error while preparing a petition for reinstatement. The court had imposed a two year suspension retroactive to an interim suspension based on the...

Threatening To the Public Interest

Posted on October 27, 2008
The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department suspended an attorney on an interim basis in the face of allegations of misappropriation and failure to cooperate in the ongoing bar investigation. The court found that: The Committee has...

Who Said It?

Posted on October 27, 2008
The Georgia Supreme Court imposed a public reprimand and a one month suspension in a case where the attorney and his former law partner represented a corporation and a director in state court and in a federal bankruptcy case. The...

Easy Links to Early Voter Deadlines, Rules and Sites in Your State

Posted on October 24, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress I made a pitch earlier this week for taking advantage of early voting opportunities in the many states that allow it, if only to avoid the diabolic Diebold fate of Homer Simpson seen here. The site...

Like Diamonds and Discarded Plastics: Second Circuit Refuses to De-Publish Sanctions Order After Parties Propose Settlement

Posted on October 24, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress An interesting story is on Law360.com here (for full article, free trial reg. req'd -- or Download sanctions.doc). It is entitled A Blot on Careers: Sanctions Can Haunt Lawyers. In it, author Sara Stefanini reports on...

Disbarred For, Inter Alia, Disinterest

Posted on October 24, 2008
An attorney convicted of intentional disobedience of a court order of protection "by leaving a series of letters, cash and gifts at a woman's residence" was placed on probation and later charged with violation of the probation conditions. He failed...

New Edition Announced For Crystal's PR Casebook

Posted on October 23, 2008
Just out by Aspen Publishers is the problems casebook by Nathan Crystal of the University of South Carolina, entitled Professional Responsibility: Problems of Practice and the Profession, Fourth Edition, 2008. Its link here. Here is part of the blurb: "this...

Escrow Account Used To Launder Criminal Proceeds

Posted on October 23, 2008
The Georgia Supreme Court disbarred a lawyer convicted of three federal felony offenses involving money laundering and conducting transactions over $10,000 in criminally derived property. The convictions arose from his dealings with a former bankruptcy client who was unable to...

The Cost Of Misconduct

Posted on October 23, 2008
The Virginia Bar Council has voted in favor of an increase in the administrative charge imposed as part of the costs of a disciplinary prosecution or reinstatement proceeding. The state bar web page reports: The assessment changes are: subcommittee cases:...

Misdemeanor Conviction Does Not Preclude Bar Admission

Posted on October 23, 2008
The Louisiana Supreme Court ordered the admission to practice of an applicant with a misdemeanor criminal conviction. The Board of Bar Examiners had opposed, but the court had granted, permission for the applicant to sit for the bar examination. After...

No False Light Tort

Posted on October 23, 2008
The Florida Supreme Court declined to recognize the tort of "false light invasion of privacy" in a lawsuit brought against Jews for Jesus by a plaintiff who had sued based on the allegedly false assertion (made in a newsletter by...

"Very, Very Fair"

Posted on October 23, 2008
The proposed removal of a town court justice was adopted today by the New York Court of Appeals. The misconduct involved presiding over or intervening in matters involving relatives and otherwise presiding over matters where his interests required recusal...

A Moment Of Pride

Posted on October 23, 2008
When the D.C. Court of Appeals recently amended its rules of disciplinary procedure, one of the best reforms was the removal of a role for the Board on Professional Responsibility from unconcontested reciprocal discipline matters. In the past, all such...

The Futility Of Remands

Posted on October 23, 2008
As a D.C. bar prosecutor and now interested observer of bar discipline, I have never seen a situation where a remand from the D. C. Court of Appeals to the Board on Professional Responsibility served any purpose other than delay....

Musings by Real Students on the MPRE

Posted on October 22, 2008
This is a follow-up to our April posts here and here on the statistical info behind passing the MPRE (minimum passing score, average score, standard deviation, etc.) and Jeff's own musings about coming out of ethical hiatus to take the...

Judges In Trouble

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Tennessee Court of the Judiciary reprimanded a judge who had refused to make findings of fact in a case that had delayed the right of a litigant to pursue an appeal. In another matter, the judge had recused himself...

Less Clear

Posted on October 22, 2008
In an opinion issued today, the Indiana Supreme Court held that the reformation of trust provisions in two wills to comport with the testators' intent to avoid adverse income tax consequences had been proper. The suit had been filed by...

Why Early Voting Is Not A Luxury, But An Ethical Duty for Citizens

Posted on October 22, 2008
Posted by Alan Childress Voting "the day of" is a scarce resource in many precincts, especially those with long lines and for voters whose jobs or responsibilities make it hard or impossible to wait more than a half hour. So...

Dismissal Affirmed

Posted on October 22, 2008
An order granting summary judgment to the defendats in a legal malpractice case was affirmed by the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department. The plaintiff had alleged negligence in the prosecution of a workers compensation claim...

Close Enough To Disbar

Posted on October 21, 2008
The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department disbarred an attorney who practiced in Michigan. The attorney had been disbarred in Michigan as a result of a plea of no contest to one felony count of driving while...

Labels Are Dispositive

Posted on October 21, 2008
The Vermont Professional Responsibility Board has admonished an unnamed deputy state's attorney for making a frivolous statement to a court in violation of Rule 3.1. The issue before the court relating to the timing of a request to the police...

Recorded Calls Resolve Credibility Dispute

Posted on October 21, 2008
A lawyer retained to pursue a habeas corpus petition onbehalf of an incarcerated client was suspended on consent for five years. The attorney and client had spoken on the telephone twice. In the first conversation, the lawyer told the client...

Inflated Bills Lead To Suspension

Posted on October 20, 2008
An Arizona hearing officer has recommended a six-month suspension, followed by probation for two years, in two matters involving fees for legal services. In one, the lawyer falsely advised a mediator that his firm had incurred over $200,000 in fees...

Compelling Mitigation

Posted on October 20, 2008
The South Carolina Supreme Court rejected an appeal for a harsher sanction by Disciplinary Counsel and imposed an indefinite suspension in a case involving three client matters. The attorney had been in partnership with her husband, who was placed on...

Ranting , Raving And Bar Admission

Posted on October 20, 2008
The full Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the denial of admission to a bar applicant. The "most troubling" incident in his background related to his efforts to collect a debt: According to the complaint submitted by the attorney, Desy worked...

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...