Creative Litigation Financing: Structure Matters
The Wall Street Journal has called litigation financing the “new hot law job.” See Sara Randazzo, The New Hot Law Job: Litigation Finance (July 5, 2018). Others have extolled its virtues, including …
New ABA Opinion Gets it Wrong on a Lawyer’s Duty to Admit Malpractice
Recognizing that “[e]ven the best lawyers may err,” the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued a formal opinion addressing when a lawyer must inform a client …
Yet Another Ethics Opinion Dings Avvo Advisor Lawyer Referrals
In April 2018, the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission issued an advisory opinion finding that Avvo Advisor’s lawyer-referral service and its “marketing fee” for that service violates “several Indiana ethics …
New Advisory Opinion Prohibits Use of Undisclosed “Web Bugs”
A “web bug” or “tracking bug” is a tag that an email sender can include in a message that will report back to the sender about the recipient’s handling of …
Bartering with Clients
A lawyer may trade legal services for something other than money. However, before bartering with a client, the lawyer must assure compliance with the rules of professional conduct. A recent …
Even Absent Conflicts, Joint Representation Presents Perils Worthy of Disclosure
A lawyer undertaking to represent two or more clients in a single matter must, of course, clear conflicts. Indeed, Rule 1.7 prohibits a joint representation if the jointly-represented clients are …
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on “Generally Known” Exception to Using Former-Client Information
Both the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the corresponding Louisiana Rules broadly prohibit a lawyer from revealing former-client confidences. A lawyer may do so rarely and then only …
Avvo Advisor’s Lawyer Referral Service Takes Another Hit
On September 27, 2017, Utah joined the growing list of states1 condemning Avvo Advisor’s lawyer-referral service. The Utah Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee concluded that Avvo Advisor’s service “violates Rule 5.4’s …
Yet Another State Condems Avvo Advisor Lawyer Referrals
On August 8, 2017, the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics joined New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania and said “no” to Avvo Advisor, a pay-for-service lawyer …
A Lawyer May Pay “Reasonable Compensation” to a Fact Witness for Preparation Time
On May 22, 2017, the West Virginia Lawyer Disciplinary Board issued an advisory opinion as to “whether fact witnesses can be compensated for lost time spent testifying and/or preparing to …