May a Lawyer Surreptitiously Track Emails Sent to Opposing Counsel?
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 …
LSBA Codes Committee Declines to Recommend Rule Regarding Marijuana-Related Legal Advice
In May 2016, Louisiana became the twenty-fifth state to adopt legislation permitting the cultivation, distribution, and use of medical marijuana. LSU and Southern University are gearing up their grow houses …
October 2016 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 October 2016. Louisiana Supreme Court …
Lawyer Disciplined for Sex With Corporation
The Supreme Court of Kansas indefinitely suspended Kansas City lawyer Allison L. Bergman in part for having sex with a corporate client. See In re Allison L. Bergman, No. 115,448 (Oct. 28, …
A Call for Streamlining Lawyer Advertising Regulations
The Virginia State Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Ethics has released for public comment proposed amendments to its state’s lawyer advertising rules. See Va. Bar Assoc. Standing Cmte. on Legal …
May a Lawyer Use a Competitor’s Name as a Google AdWord?
The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas recently opined that a lawyer may use the name of a competing lawyer as a Google AdWord to generate favorable …
Ethics Opinion Advises Judges to Avoid LinkedIn
May a judge accept LinkedIn connection requests from lawyers who appear in the judge’s court? No, according to a recent Massachusetts judicial ethics opinion. See Ma. Court System, CJE Op. No. …
May a Law Firm Designate a Nonequity Partner as a “Partner”?
Although the term “partner” typically denotes a person sharing in the ownership of a business enterprise, some law firms designate nonowner-lawyers as “partners,” “income partners,” or “nonequity partners.” Such designations …
Rules Prohibit Lying to Opposing Counsel
On September 16, 2016, the Supreme Court of Iowa suspended Des Moines lawyer Kathryn Barnhill for lying to her opponent about whether she had sent a partial fee refund to …
The Duty of Technological Competence
In 2012, the ABA adopted an amendment to ABA Model Rule of Professional Responsibility 1.1, comment 8, providing that “a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its …