Solo and Small Firm
The Practitioner Spring 2015, Volume 21, Issue 1
Content
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Taming the Ms Word® Tiger?
- Are Your Clients Complying With Fatca?
- California Mandates Paid Sick Leave For All Employees
- Father's Custodial Rights
- Letter From the Chair
- Letter From the Editor
- New Year's Resolutions to Improve Law Firm Cash Flow
- Table of Contents
- Minimizing Risk As You Hang Your Shingle
Minimizing Risk As You Hang Your Shingle
By Megan Zavieh
Megan Zavieh focuses her practice on attorney ethics, representing attorneys facing state bar disciplinary action and providing guidance to practicing attorneys on questions of legal ethics. She has been representing attorneys facing disciplinary action before the California State Bar since 2009 and is admitted to practice in California, Georgia, New York and New Jersey, as well as in Federal District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. She blogs at CaliforniaStateBarDefense.com and is a contributor at Lawyerist.com and AttorneyatWork. com.
There is no such thing as discipline-proofing a law practice. Every year in California, thousands of complaints are filed against lawyers in the state (over 16,000 in 20131). Some of those will be dismissed at the initial stages, but hundreds2 result in actual discipline. While you cannot completely insulate yourself from the possibility of a complaint and eventual sanction, there are steps you can take when setting out to hang your shingle which will help protect you from many mistakes that can lead to discipline.