dkluft

dkluft, 3 days ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I get in trouble if my client is hired to verbally attack counsel outside the courthouse?

I guess we’ll find out. A defendant in the E.D. Michigan Flint Water Cases hired a PR firm to conduct a deceptive PR campaign to disrupt the proceedings including hiring a truck to circle the courthouse blaring attacks on opposing counsel. The Court found the PR firm’s CA attorney was involved with the campaign and referred her to the CA bar.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidkluft_flint-water-cass-activity-7196841822239739905-Wry9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

#lawfedi

dkluft, 4 days ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Do I have standing to seek an injunction against the unauthorized practice of law?

Yes. Per M.G.L. 221, 46B, standing to petition to enjoin the unauthorized practice of law in MA belongs to the AG, a DA, a bar assoc., or any “three or more members of the bar.” The three-members clause appears to have been used most recently in 1938 in an attempt to enjoin a legal advice-themed radio show: “Court of Common Troubles” (299 Mass. 286).

https://lnkd.in/eVAh5aTB

#lawfedi

dkluft, 11 days ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Don’t use your client’s confidential information for your true crime novel

A WI lawyer’s client was convicted of murder. He wrote to her in jail offering to forgive a $19k bill if she waived attorney client privilege so he could publish book about the case. He threatened to sue her grandparents if she didn’t sign. She didn’t sign. The lawyer self-published the book, chock full of client confidential information. License revoked.

https://lnkd.in/e5t5zfdA #lawfedi

dkluft, 19 days ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can inhouse corporate counsel represent the corporation’s customers?

An inhouse lawyer for a tax consulting company wanted to represent the company’s clients in tax proceedings. The OH Bd. Of Prof. Conduct opines that this is a bad idea because the lawyer’s duty to one client will be limited by the duty to the other, i.e., a conflict of interest; & because a non-law firm corps can’t practice law.

https://lnkd.in/e7jffuGR

#lawfedi

dkluft, 25 days ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Is it possible to violate trust account rules even if I never use the account for client funds?

Yes. A CA attorney never deposited client funds in his trust account but did use it for personal funds. CA rule 1.15 states that personal funds “shall not be deposited” in trust accounts. The lawyer argued he didn’t really violate 1.15 since he never commingled his funds with client funds. The Court disagreed & publicly reprimanded him.

https://lnkd.in/ejA2Sjvj

#lawfedi

dkluft, 1 month ago to Law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Your desk drawer is not an IOLTA account

A VA lawyer kept unearned client funds in his desk drawer until earning them instead of depositing them into a trust account, and then deposited them directly into his operating account. Meanwhile, he kept personal funds in his trust account. Public reprimand for violations of Rule 1.15.

https://lnkd.in/eTWgZjtG
#lawfedi #law

dkluft, 1 month ago to random

One of my favorite legal building exteriors in Boston, the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) headquarters located on Winter Place, an early 19th century alley that also was home to the ancient Locke-Ober restaurant from 1832 -2012 (the remnants of their old hanging sign is in the foreground). The MCLE building strangely juts out into the middle of the alley, leaving only a tiny alley for pedestrians to squeak through on the side.

dkluft, 2 months ago to Law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If I’m not practicing law, can I still use “J.D.” on business cards?

The NY Bar opines that a lawyer working in a nonlegal capacity may list her “J.D.” degree on a business card or letterhead if she ensures no one is misled into believing she is acting in a legal capacity. The opinion cites an earlier NY opinion with a similar conclusion about “Esq.” Lawyers subject to other jurisdictions should check with those other jurisdictions.

https://lnkd.in/eEw2mDBA
#law #lawfedi

dkluft, 2 months ago to Law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I charge my client for responding to my client’s disciplinary complaint?

Please don’t. A VA lawyer responded to the VA bar after a client filed an ethics complaint against him. The lawyer sent his client a $1,890 bill for this time, then filed suit against the client for the unpaid bill. The VA Bar ethics hotline told him this was not OK, but apparently could not cite a specific case in VA. Well, now they can. Public reprimand.

https://lnkd.in/e9JKdXqu

#law #lawfedi

dkluft, 2 months ago to Law

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Is it unethical to get too busy?

Maybe. CO Bar Opinion 146 opines that a lawyer has a duty to maintain an appropriate workload. Being too busy can lead to violations of the duties of competence, diligence and communication, and create conflicts of interest because your work for client A keeps you from working on client B’s matter. Supervisors also have a duty to make sure their subordinates don’t get overloaded.

https://lnkd.in/eUDNd2nJ #lawfedi #law #lawyers #legal

dkluft, 2 months ago to random

I'm thinking of changing Mastodon servers because I feel a little isolated where I am. Does anyone who follows me for legal ethics stuff have a suggestion of the right server for me?

(If the answer is - it's not the server, it's you, that's fine. I'm trying to learn).

dkluft, 2 months ago to ChatGPT

Admitting you have a problem is the first step ...
#legalethics #chatgpt #ai

dkluft, 2 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If you represent both perpetrator & victim, you probably have a conflict

A NJ attorney represented Client A in dozens of criminal matters. When Client A was allegedly assaulted by her boyfriend, Client B, the attorney entered an appearance for Client B. When Client B allegedly assaulted Client A again in a different town, the attorney appeared for Client A and asked that charges be dismissed. No informed consent from either client. Public reprimand.

https://lnkd.in/eJbV_fw9

dkluft, 3 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit Presidents Day Edition: Was Attorney Abraham Lincoln ever professionally disciplined?

Sort of. Lincoln once won a case so easily he didn’t think he deserved the fee. He forced co-counsel to make a refund. Co-counsel jokingly complained to Judge David Davis, who conducted a moot disciplinary hearing over dinner found Lincoln guilty of “impoverishing the bar.” Lincoln paid his “fine” in part by telling jokes until after midnight.

https://lnkd.in/ei79nffE

dkluft, 3 months ago to random

#legalethics creativity deficit alert: Apparently, it's very hard for legal ethicists to write an article about Rule 5.7 without using the expression "Wearing two hats."

We are not quite up to the absurd level that trademark lawyers will go to insert "What's in a name?" or "A rose by any other name..." into every blog post title, but I think we can do better! Someone get a pun dictionary and get to work.

dkluft, 3 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can in-house counsel sign a non-compete agreement?

An IL inhouse counsel was asked to sign a employment agreement that included non-compete provisions. The IL State Bar opined this was an impermissible restriction on the right to practice, in violation of IL Rule 5.6. The opinion suggests including a “savings” clause acknowledging the primacy of the ethics rules. (Note that MA has an identical Rule 5.6).

https://lnkd.in/eS5ysm_W

dkluft, 3 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: What is horseshedding?

Black’s Law Dictionary defines horseshedding as coaching a witness to give favorable testimony. The term purportedly derives from James Fenimore Cooper’s 1850 novel, The Ways of the Hour. It refers to lawyers in White Plains, New York who went to the carriage sheds near the courthouse to rehearse witnesses before trial. Synonyms are “sandpapering” & “woodshedding.”

https://lnkd.in/erSd8r-J

Illustration from the 1896 edition of The Ways of the Hour

dkluft, 3 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can a prosecutor imply that a criminal defendant goes to gay bars in the hopes that the jury is homophobic?

No. If you answered “yes,” welcome to 1982, when a MA prosecutor cross-examining a murder defendant asked the defendant knew of a gay bar called “Skippers,” even though he had no hard evidence the defendant had been there. Flashforward to 2024: the SJC found this was improper but didn’t order a new trial for other reasons.

https://lnkd.in/eA22eh_j

dkluft, 3 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If a judge finds a police witness not credible, does the prosecutor have to disclose that finding in other cases?

Yes. The MA Sup. Judicial Ct. held that a judicial finding of adverse credibility against a police witness is exculpatory evidence and must be disclosed. Putting such a police witness on the stand without disclosing the adverse finding is a violation of Mass. R. Prof. C. 3.8(g) (prosecutor cannot avoid unfavorable evidence).

https://lnkd.in/ebB24EHt

dkluft, 3 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can a prosecutor tell the jury that the defendant is NOT presumed innocent?

No. During closing arguments, a MN prosecutor argued that the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore the defendant “no longer has that presumption of innocence.” Although the defendant did not object, he appealed and the MN Supreme Ct. ordered a new trial, holding that this prosecutorial error deprived the defendant of his right to a fair trial.

https://lnkd.in/epaF7WT5

dkluft, 3 months ago to animals

Happy #Caturday from Derry Girl, who is busy identifying potential new scratching posts. #catsofmastodon #cats

dkluft, 4 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Your secret 75% contingency fee is unreasonable

A GA lawyer representing a client in a credit reporting matter received a $7,000 settlement offer. He didn’t tell the client about this amount; only that she would receive $1,500, which she accepted (thinking this was 2/3 of the total). When the client found out about the actual total, she met with the attorney and asked for her file. He said “I’m through with it” and walked away. One-year susp.

https://lnkd.in/gZmA3Fwz

dkluft, 4 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Read your own fee agreement

A LA lawyer was disciplined for a
provision in his fee agreement that passed overhead costs to clients in
violation of LA rules. The lawyer’s defense was “I don’t know how it slipped
in. Maybe … a new person .. at the office [] started doing that.” 3 yr susp.
for this & other misconduct.

https://lnkd.in/evNFwy7w

dkluft, 4 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Don’t pose as someone else for an in-house counsel job interview

A MA lawyer applied for a job at a hotel company. In order to beef up his chances, he submitted the credentials of a better-qualified lawyer who happened to have the same name. The hotel company figured out something was wrong when checking his references. The lawyer made misrepresentations to bar counsel as well, and eventually resigned.

https://lnkd.in/ggk4-bRv

dkluft, 4 months ago to random

#LegalEthics Tidbit: When half the firm quits, take their pictures and bios off the website

In 2021, 3 lawyers quit a 5-lawyer firm in MA, but the managing partner kept their photos & bios up through August 2022, ignoring requests to take them down. The website also continued to advertise the firm’s Boston office months after it had been evicted. The managing partner eventually abandoned the practice and took hundreds of thousands in client funds. Disbarred.

https://lnkd.in/d5aYZQjP