New Ethics Opinion Permits Payments to Fact Witnesses
On April 15, 2021, the Maine Professional Ethics Committee issued an advisory opinion on whether a lawyer may pay “a non-expert witness for time spent testifying at a deposition or …
New Louisiana Law Regulating Advertising is Now Effective. Or Is It?
On January 1, 2021, an act regulating Louisiana lawyer advertising became law. See La. Rev. Stat. Section 37:223. The new law provides that any lawyer advertisement that includes the monetary …
Sloppy Arbitration Clauses are Unenforceable
On December 21, 2020, the Supreme Court of New Jersey refused to enforce a lawyer-client arbitration clause because the lawyer failed give the client an “explanation of the advantages or …
Must Louisiana Lawyers Have or Report Malpractice Coverage?
On October 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of West Virginia suspended a lawyer for failing to report to the state bar whether he was covered by at least $100,000 in …
Are Unusual Contingency Fee Agreements Lawyer-Client Business Transactions?
Yes, according to a recent decision by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. See Weiner, Weiss & Madison, APC v. Fox, No. 19-30688 (5th Cir. Aug. 21, 2020). …
Financial Assistance to Clients in a Time of COVID
New York, like most states, prohibits a lawyer from providing financial assistance to a client to cover day-to-day living expenses.1 On April 24, 2020, the New York City Bar urged …
What Are The Differences Between the ABA Model Rules and the Louisiana Rules?
In this 45-minute video, Professor Dane S. Ciolino of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and the Louisiana Legal Ethics site discusses the principal differences between the ABA …
The Ethical Pitfalls of “Reply to All”
Embarrassment is often a person’s first reaction after hitting “reply to all” when sending an email that required only a “reply.”1 If the email was inappropriate, the sender suffers, at …
Is it Worse to Call Opposing Counsel a “Slut” or a “Slug”?
An odd question, but one that a New York court recently considered in a lawyer disciplinary proceeding. See In re Eliot Bloom, No. 2017-11411 (N.Y. App. Div. Dec. 18 2019).1 …
Is Sexting “Sex”?
No, according to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. See Lawyer Disciplinary Board v. Sayre, No. 18-0617 (W. Va. Oct. 24, 2019).1 ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct …