Ethics Publication

In July of 2018, after receiving a report on the legal market landscape, the Board of Trustees of the State Bar of California convened a task force to review issues of access to legal services through innovation (ATILS). After more than a year of study, consultation, public input and debate, the ATILS Task Force presented its Final Report and Recommendations to the Board of Trustees. Read more

Although the Covid-19 pandemic is having a significant effect on how lawyers will be practicing over the next few weeks or months (e.g., from home rather than office), it is important to appreciate that the Rules of Professional Conduct (the “Rules”) and the duties they set forth are not suspended. Read more

January 2020 By Karen M. Goodman We love to feel wanted. Nothing is better than getting that phone call from a prospective client asking you to represent him, his family and his numerous entities in defending a breach of fiduciary duty case. You are envisioning days of depositions (with all of those billable hours) and looking forward to a high profile trial where your client’s good faith attempts to “help” the plaintiff can be vindicated in spite of the numerous… Read more

A comprehensive set of new Rules of Professional Conduct was approved by the California Supreme Court last year and went into effect on November 1, 2018. The new rules can be found on the State Bar’s website under Current Rules of Professional Conduct. Read more

In a traditional transaction, California lawyers receive U.S. dollars in exchange for providing legal services. But it is not unheard of to see transactions where lawyers are compensated in different ways. Most typically, alternate payments come through the provision of goods. But, of course, there are other options. And perhaps the most recent trend is toward the use of cryptocurrency. Read more

In November 2016, California legalized marijuana for recreational use. The new law created tremendous business opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors and others – including attorneys, many of whom jumped into a new practice area of advising operators, growers, distributors, dispensaries and other participants in the cannabis marketplace. Read more

August 2019 By Neil J Wertlieb Neil J Wertlieb is an experienced transactional lawyer, educator and ethicist, who provides expert witness services in disputes involving business transactions and corporate governance, and in cases involving attorney malpractice and attorney ethics. He is a Founding Member and Co-Chair of the California Lawyers Association Ethics Committee. The views expressed herein are his own. For additional information, please visit www.WertliebLaw.com. Lawyers must be able to identify who is, and who is not, their client… Read more

The California Lawyers Association has created a new advisory group to help ensure CLA members stay up-to-date with their ethical obligations. Read more

Have you heard? A comprehensive set of new Rules of Professional Conduct were approved by the California Supreme Court last year. The new Rules represent the first comprehensive rewrite of the Rules of Professional Conduct in almost 30 years. Read more

New Rules of Professional Conduct have been approved by the California Supreme Court. On May 10, 2018, the court approved sixty-nine of the seventy proposed new and amended Rules of Professional Conduct that had been submitted to the court by the California State Bar in March 2017. Read more