ABA Streamlines Lawyer Advertising Rules
On August 6, 2018, the ABA House of Delegates adopted a resolution from its Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility to amend the lawyer-advertising provisions of the ABA …
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 …
Arizona Becomes Sixth State to Reject ABA’s Model Anti-Discrimination Rule
On August 27, 2018, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected efforts to amend the Arizona Rules of Professional Conducted to “add language adopted by the ABA in Model Rule 8.4 as …
Just Let Her Go
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania suspended a lawyer for five years, with all but one year deferred, for misconduct in connection with a breakup with his girlfriend. See Office of Disciplinary Counsel …
Foot-Dragging Fatal to Motions to Disqualify Counsel
Two cases decided in late August 2018 serve to emphasize that disqualification of opposing counsel, when appropriate, must be sought expeditiously or else it will be waived. The United States …
July 2018 Discipline
These lawyers were the subject of Louisiana Supreme Court disciplinary orders or Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommendations that were made public during the month of July 2018. Louisiana Supreme Court …
LASC Solicits Comments on New Judiciary Commission Rules
The Louisiana Supreme Court has distributed for public comment three proposed revisions to Rule XXIII governing proceedings before the Judiciary Commission. These revisions were recommended to the court by the Judiciary …
Text A Lawyer: Uber for Lawyers?
Like getting a ride via an app? How about getting a lawyer that way? Text A Lawyer hopes to be the Uber of legal service providers. Here’s how it works: …
Court Recognizes “Compassion Fatigue” as Mitigating Factor in Lawyer Discipline
On June 14, 2018, the Supreme Court of Washington considered whether “compassion fatigue” is a proper mitigating factor in lawyer disciplinary proceedings. See In re Waechter, No. 201,645-6 (Wash. Jun. 14, …
May a Lawyer Secretly “Ghostwrite” Court Papers for a Pro Se Litigant?
Yes. Although the issue was unsettled for many years, the prevailing current view is that professional conduct standards do not prohibit a lawyer from preparing documents for a pro se …