Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Is anybody actually steering the ship at your law firm? Many smaller firms I visit across the country seem to have this in common: a passive practice management style, defined by reactive decision-making. Typically in these ...

Staff members do a tremendous amount of work for your firm, and they interact directly with clients in numerous ways. And by the way, Model Rule 5.3: Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants is in play. So you will be on the hook for any ...

A shocking number of ethics complaints stem from a very simple problem: lawyers not communicating with their clients. Clients pay for our time and effort, and they deserve to hear from us. Plus, our ethical obligations require that we be in ...

The most important ABA Model Rule governing professional conduct in the area of legal marketing is Rule 7.1, which covers communications concerning a lawyer's services. All states have adopted this rule, worded exactly the same or very close to ...

The legal profession constantly struggles to set advertising policies that strike the balance between consumer protection and access to justice.

Tell the truth. You’re always on the lookout for a few really good marketing ideas. We all are. Even the world’s busiest lawyers are interested in the possibility of new (better!) clients. Because it is just so hard to go out looking for ...

Many firms use cloud computing services for remote access to data, email filtering, contacts and calendars, system backups and other hosted IT functions. In particular, lawyers are finding that cloud transfer and storage services (like Box, ...

Recently, New York became the first state to require that law students perform 50 hours of pro bono work before they can be admitted to the bar. Plenty of bloggers have already chimed in on whether this is a good or bad idea. There’s little that ...

While some people are “lawyering up,” lawyers are labeling up. Advertisements, as well as brochures and emails, often seem to be screaming out at even the most sophisticated audience: “Lawyer Advertisement!” “Advertising Material!” “This is an ...

One of the benefits of being a lawyer with a laptop, tablet or smartphone is that you really can work anywhere with access to Wi-Fi and your files. But the question of security must be addressed. How can you protect yourself and your clients ...