ethics

1 Hour MCLE; 1 Legal Ethics The Britney Spears saga contained a bunch of ethics issues. Was the matter “Toxic” for lawyers?Maybe not, but it certainly was a “Circus”. Hearing this program once might not be enough - you may ask the CLE Performer, Stuart Teicher to “hit you one more time.” Come explore the attorney ethics issues in the Britney Spears conservatorship matter.  Topics include: Confidentiality,   Trial Publicity. Rule 3.6 Clients with Diminished Capacity, Rule 1.14 Register Here… Read more

This training explores some of the more common, repeating examples of prosecutorial error that occur in California felony jury trials. Specific case examples illustrate best practices to avoid these errors and address the intersection with instructional error and ineffective assistance of counsel. The goal is to develop a broader understanding of how to approach related issues during trial.   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 real estate, it’s location, location, location. In negotiation, it’s reputation, reputation, reputation. A trustworthy reputation – once lost – can be difficult, if not impossible, to regain.  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

A well-worn adage, variously attributed to Abraham Lincoln or Benjamin Franklin, holds that any person – including a lawyer – who represents himself has a fool for a client. And if those two luminaries were alive today in an age where many legislative frameworks as well as contract clauses provide for attorney fee awards to a prevailing party, they might have further observed that this same fool attorney would not get paid. That is because there is a well-settled rule that a lawyer who is appearing on his or her own behalf and is the prevailing party in a lawsuit may not be awarded attorney fees. Read more

The ABA recently provided some ethics guidance that every lawyer needs to understand. Opinion 491 that impacts a lawyer’s responsibility to discover their client’s corrupt practices. Read more

The California Rules of Professional Conduct require informed written consent from an affected client under a number of different circumstances involving conflicts of interest. For example, Rule 1.7 requires informed written consent from each client if a lawyer were to represent a client in a matter directly adverse to another current client or whenever there is a significant risk that the lawyer’s representation would be materially limited by the lawyer’s responsibilities or relationships to others or the lawyer’s own interests. Read more

You’ve heard all the stereotypes about New Jersey? Well, some are true, and some not so much. But you might be surprised by how the myths, realities, and Hollywood fictions about the Garden State teach valuable ethics lessons to lawyers. Read more