Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Maybe you're due for a little spring makeover? For this Friday Five+ installment, we asked our practice management dream team for their best tips on tidying up your office systems. Heidi Alexander, Dustin Cole, Sharon Nelson, Nora Regis, Deborah ...

I can appreciate a well-crafted cocktail. But when I am in a situation where such beverages are being served, I never get involved in a conversation about someone’s legal problems. And I strongly encourage you to do the same. Here's a short ...

In the past, “outsourcing” brought to mind images of large offices filled with workers on telephones, most likely overseas, fielding customer service center phone calls. That it is not what I have in mind when I suggest using outsourcing in your ...

I work with a lot of solo lawyers, both in my client base (unfortunately, ethics cases arise more frequently in solo practice), and in my network of professional colleagues. My colleagues in the ethics defense bar are frequently solos, and I ...

It is drilled into us during ethics classes, studying for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, and in continuing legal education courses: When a client requests it, you must hand over “the file.” But have you ever stopped to ...

What do lawyers fear most about technology? What should they fear? For this All Hallows' Eve edition of Friday 5+ Tech Tips, we asked the practice management experts for their best — or is it worst? — legal tech horror stories. Here are chosen ...

Every few years, state ethics officials issue a questionable decision in the legal marketing ethics area. The ones that make you scratch your head and think, “Really? What planet do they live on?” In Florida, for example, officials thought a ...

Stop buying into the Superman complex and consider the ramifications of not taking care of yourself.

It's a win-win. The best strategies for keeping your startup on the straight and narrow, ethics-wise, are often the same strategies that help your practice grow. Mark Bassingthwaighte, risk advisor for malpractice insurance carrier ALPS, ...

Suffering through a disciplinary proceeding is bad enough, but when it’s done and the sanction has been issued, the experience isn't over. You must report the sanction anywhere else you are admitted to practice. Who Must You Tell? ...