ethics

California Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4.4, which was added to the most recent rules effective November 1, 2018, provides: Read more

A sound mind is one of the most important tools an attorney has, which is required to properly advocate for clients, manage large workloads, and handle multiple deadlines.  Read more

This article highlights the ethics advisory opinions that were issued during 2023 by the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC), the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (ABA), the San Francisco Bar Association’s Legal Ethics Committee (BASF), the San Diego County Bar Association’s Legal Ethics Committee (SDCBA), and the California Supreme Court’s Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions (CJEO), as well as recent changes in the California Rules of Professional Conduct, the State Bar Act, and other regulatory law pertaining to attorney professional responsibility and judicial ethics.  Read more

On November 23, 2023, the State Bar of California approved guidelines for generative AI use developed by the State Bar’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct. The “Practical Guidance for the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law” (“Guidance”) is based on lawyers’ current professional responsibility obligations, including as set forth in the California Rules of Professional Conduct and State Bar Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 6000-6043). The Guidance addresses issues arising from the use of generative AI and products in which generative AI is a part. These products range from those freely available to custom-built proprietary applications. The manner in which a lawyer’s professional obligations will apply to the use of generative AI depends on many factors, including the type of product being used, the client, matter, practice area and firm size.  Read more

The California Supreme Court recently ordered the approval of new Rule of Professional Conduct 8.3 (Reporting Professional Misconduct), sometimes referred to (perhaps derogatorily) as the “snitch rule,” which went into effect on August 1, 2023. In addition, the California Legislature recently passed, and Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law, state Senate Bill No. 40 (the annual State Bar licensing fee bill), which (among other things) added new Section 6090.8 to the California Business and Professions Code, effective January 1, 2024. Read more

An attorney I met recently lamented that he spends most of his workdays reacting to emails. He starts each day with a long to-do list and feels lucky to finish one or two things under the incessant email barrage. I can relate. Those of us who are on email listservs have no doubt received an email flurry sparked by an interesting (or not so interesting) question or important (or not so important) piece of news and have seen the frantic emails from attorneys begging to be removed from the listserv and pleading with others to not "Reply All."  Read more

On August 1, 2023, new rule 8.3, derisively referred to as “the lawyer rat rule,” became effective in California, requiring lawyers to report other lawyers’ serious misconduct.  Read more

Sometimes, I feel that the expression “less is more” is overused. Usually, I find that less is less and more is more. Circumstances rarely justify a juxtaposition of those words’ meanings. But perhaps we are in one of those unusual times, at least as it concerns the regulation of our profession. Read more

This Ethics Spotlight highlights changes in the California Rules of Professional Conduct during 2022, as well as ethics advisory opinions that were issued during 2022 by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (“ABA”), the Orange County Bar Association’s Professionalism and Ethics Committee (“OCBA”), and the California Supreme Court’s Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions. Read more

In the context of the No-Contact rule, an attorney sending an email or text which includes her client to another attorney may provide implied consent to the receiving attorney to hit the "Reply All" button, thereby permitting the receiving attorney to communicate directly with the represented client on the email chain. Read more