Spotlight on Ethics: Suzanne Burke Spencer

August 2025

When CLA Ethics Committee Chair Suzanne Burke Spencer talks about ethics in law, her passion is immediately evident.

“I find it fascinating,” she said. “Lawyers are one of the few professions that have rules that govern our behavior … we have such important jobs, and we have to make sure that lawyers won’t abuse their power over others.”

While she may not have planned on a career representing clients who have been wronged by law firms, she gravitated naturally toward this work.

“Like most people, I wanted to save the world,” she joked about her time in law school. “I was very interested in the environment and politics, and when I was in law school, I took an ethics class that was one of my favorite classes, which is somewhat unusual.”

After law school, Suzanne contributed to a publication on legal ethics, and the deeper she dove into the research, the more her interest grew. Her curiosity eventually led her into an area of focus that would later define her career.

Over the years, she has worked in both large and small law firms, but ethics law has remained a constant focus. In 2014, she became a partner at her current firm, where she now focuses exclusively on legal ethics.

Suzanne speaks just as enthusiastically about her colleagues on CLA’s ethics committee. She describes the group with clear admiration:

“[CLA has] an amazing collection of ethics lawyers … we have some of the best ethical minds in the state on our committee,” she said. “They’re such a bright, wonderful group of people, and I’ve learned so much from them.”  

Since its founding in 2019, CLA’s ethics committee has tackled some of the biggest ethical questions lawyers face every day, from questions of malpractice and conflicts of interest to systemic abuse of power.

Like its State Bar counterpart, COPRAC, the committee reviews emerging ethical challenges and provides feedback on proposed opinions and legislation. The group’s diverse perspectives are one of its greatest strengths.

“We have some lawyers like myself who represent former clients and some who represent law firms, and that’s invaluable,” said Suzanne. “You really can’t be siloed in this area.”

The ethics committee has curated dozens of resources, articles, and formal opinions for CLA members, and Suzanne encourages members to reach out with any questions they may have. By submitting questions, members help shape the committee’s future opinions and resources.