Top Ten Developments in Louisiana Legal Ethics in 2018
If a Louisiana lawyer were were to read just one post on this blog all year, this should be it. Here are the top seven1 developments in Louisiana legal ethics …
Malpractice Insurer Provides Helpful Advice on Responding to Lawyer Disciplinary Complaints
CNA, the leading malpractice insurer for Louisiana lawyers, recently distributed to its insureds helpful advice as to how they should handle complaints from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. See CNA, Professional …
What Practice Area Has the Most Legal Malpractice Claims?
According to a recent report by legal-malpractice insurer CNA, the answer is: family law. See CNA, Professional Counsel (April 2018). According to this insurer, “claim frequency in the family law area …
Louisiana Legal Ethics Book: Revised 2017 Edition Now Available at Amazon
Thousands of complaints are lodged against Louisiana lawyers every year—many due to innocent mistakes about the rules of conduct. Even simple questions can be troubling: When may I shred my closed …
“Best Practices” for Effective Electronic Communication
The Florida State Bar Association has published a short guide for lawyers who use electronic means of communication–namely, all lawyers. See The Florida Bar Best Practices for Effective Electronic Communication …
Does an Affirmative Duty to Avoid Negligent Destruction of Evidence Exist in Louisiana?
As noted in a previous post, Louisiana requires parties involved in litigation to avoid the intentional destruction of evidence for the purpose of depriving an opposing party of its use. While it …
Should Your Law Firm Do an Ethics Audit?
At least one bar association thinks so. The Washington State Bar recently posted a “Self-Audit Checklist” that has a lawyer/self-auditor consider questions such as the following: Client Relations. Does your firm have …
New 2015 Edition of Louisiana Legal Ethics Book Now Available at Amazon.com
More than 2,900 complaints were filed against Louisiana lawyers in 2014. Many of these complaints were caused by simple mistakes and innocent misunderstandings about what the rules of conduct require. If …
Top Ten National Legal Ethics Stories of 2014
In its annual post, Legal Ethics Forum has collected the top ten legal ethics stories of 2014. Among the ten are the following: Waivers of ineffective assistance of counsel held unethical. DAs …
Two Things Louisiana Lawyers Should Do Before Year End
With 31 days until year end (and 24 shopping days until Christmas), Louisiana lawyers should think about at least these two things. 1. Get Your 2014 Continuing Legal Education Louisiana …