Ethics

Duped Lawyer Deserves Lesser Penalty, Court Says

A lawyer was duped when he recommended bar admission for a man who falsely claimed to have a California law license, according to Massachusetts’ highest court. Former prosecutor Evan M. Slavitt thought the man he was recommending had obtained a California law license after falsely claiming to be a lawyer…

May 4, 2007 5:14 PM CDT

SEC Ignores Lawyers’ Role in Some Cases

A legal opinion that a newly issued stock can be traded right away may be an essential part of “pump and dump” fraud, in which scam artists sell stock in new, worthless companies. Yet the Securities and Exchange Commission apparently is not targeting lawyers who issue such opinions unless they…

May 4, 2007 2:05 PM CDT

Lawyer Fined for Angry Response to Process Server

A New Jersey judge has sanctioned a lawyer $403 for an “unlawyerlike” response to a process server who carried notice of a malpractice lawsuit. The server claims lawyer Robert Conroy threw the document at him and threatened arrest for trespassing in his Bridgewater, N.J., law office, according to the New…

May 4, 2007 12:52 PM CDT

Judge Faces Ethics Charges for Angry Opinion

A Florida judge is facing ethics charges for writing an opinion that allegedly disparaged the integrity of another member of the bench. The charges stem from a concurring opinion written by appeals Judge Michael Allen of Tallahassee upholding the bribery conviction of Florida politician W.D. Childers, according to the News-Press.…

May 3, 2007 8:19 PM CDT

Paralegal Calls for Mandatory Ethics CLE

There is a “glaring education gap” for one group in the legal profession: paralegals. That’s the conclusion of a commentary appearing in the New Jersey Law Journal. Author Cindy Lopez, a paralegal and founder of NJParalegal.com, says attorneys should be required to make sure their paralegals receive ongoing ethics training.…

May 3, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Bars Warn of Outsourcing Ethics Traps

Three recent ethics opinions provide some guidance for lawyers who outsource work overseas. If a client has a reasonable expectation that a retained attorney will be handling a legal matter, the attorney has a duty to disclose that the work will be outsourced, according to an opinion (PDF) by a…

May 3, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

Lawyers Admit to Inflating Bills

More than half the lawyers responding to a survey admit they sometimes do unnecessary work to hike their billable hours. Two-thirds of the lawyers surveyed also say they have specific knowledge of bill padding—that is, billing a client for work not performed, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog reports. The…

May 1, 2007 7:58 PM CDT

Attorney Convicted in Stock Price Scheme

An Atlanta attorney has been found guilty of securities fraud. Attorney Ulysses Thomas Ware was accused of issuing press releases to increase the price of stock before selling it at a profit, the New York Law Journal reports. A federal jury in the Southern District of New York found Ware…

May 1, 2007 1:32 PM CDT

LA Firm May be Liable for Cash Grab

A Los Angeles law firm may be held liable for the conduct of one of its partners who removed bags of cash from a client’s condo, a California appeals court has ruled. A receiver for a bankrupt company claims lawyer Robert Shapiro wanted the cash to secure his fee and…

May 1, 2007 1:14 PM CDT

A Warning to Collaborators

Colorado bar ethics panel takes aim at a growing ADR practice

May 1, 2007 10:47 AM CDT

Choosing Up Sides

States are split on whether attorneys may take part in online legal-match services

May 1, 2007 9:22 AM CDT

Firm Sued Over Forging of Judge’s Signature

A lawyer from a well-known Denver firm has been suspended and faces potential disciplinary action for admittedly forging a federal judge’s signature on a document in order to remove a lien and help a client get a loan, reports the Rocky Mountain News. Funds from the loan were to be…

Apr 27, 2007 6:49 PM CDT

Judge Sanctioned for Sarcastic Remarks

A Los Angeles judge been publicly admonished for treating an attorney in a “belittling, rude and sarcastic manner” and for abusing his authority, the Los Angeles Times reports. The opinion (PDF) by the California Commission on Judicial Performance says conduct rules require judges to be patient, dignified and courteous to…

Apr 27, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

Davis Polk Not Liable for Malpractice

New York’s highest court has ordered a real-estate investment company to pay the $1.4 million outstanding balance of a “success fee” charged by Davis Polk & Wardwell. The New York Court of Appeals (PDF) said the law firm did not commit malpractice in its representation of AmBase Corp. in a…

Apr 27, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

Calif. Judge Removed Over Sentencing Issues

A Monterey County judge reportedly was removed from the bench this week becuse of sentencing improprieties. They included increasing sentences for probation violators without giving them due process, joking with defendants about their sentences and penalizing defendants whose lawyers were late to court, according to the AP. A three-judge panel…

Apr 26, 2007 9:22 PM CDT