ABA Issues New Formal Opinion on Changing Law Firms
I want to quit my law firm and take clients with me. What ethical considerations are there in doing so? There are few direct answers in the Louisiana Rules of …
May a Louisiana Lawyer Assist a Client with Marijuana Distribution ?
Probably not, but the answer is uncertain. More than thirty-three jurisdictions in the United States permit some type of marijuana sale and use. See Governing.com List of State Marijuana Laws …
May a Lawyer Incentivize Favorable Online Reviews?
Online legal directories (such as Avvo) permit clients to review and rate their lawyers. Likewise, innumerable social-media sites (like Facebook, YouTube, and others) allow users to “connect” with lawyers and …
Tennessee Supreme Court Rejects Ethics Opinion on Prosecutors’ Brady Obligation
On August 23, 2019, the Tennessee Supreme Court declared that “the ethical obligations” of prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence under Rule 3.8(d) of Tennessee’s Rules of Professional Conduct are “coextensive …
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on Obligations of Prosecutors in Misdemeanor Cases
In May 2019, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued a formal opinion on the “Obligations of Proscutors in Negotiating Plea Bargains for Misdemeanor Offenses.” See ABA …
New York Bar Revises Social Media Guidelines
The New York State Bar Association has been at the forefront of providing useful ethics advice to the bar regarding lawyer social media use. 1 On May 31, 2019, the …
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on “Fee Division with Client’s Prior Counsel”
On June 18, 2019, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 487 to address the division of a fee when one lawyer replaces another in …
ABA Formal Opinion Prohibits Judges from Declining to Perform Same-Sex Marriages
On February 14, 2019, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 485 providing that a judge “may not decline to perform marriages of same-sex couples …
Crowdfunding Legal Expenses: Ethical Considerations
In late November 2018, porn star Stormy Daniels claimed that her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, initiated a “crowdfunding campaign without her knowledge” in order to fund her defamation litigation against President …
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on Lawyer Fee Financing
On November 27, 2018, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued a formal ethics opinion on A Lawyer’s Obligations When Clients Use Companies or Brokers to Finance the …