David Giacalone has a great post at f/k/a that should serve as a reminder to unscrupulous, unethical or merely careless or inept attorneys that even if the Bar can’t – or won’t penalize you for your actions, The World Wide Web Is Watching, nonetheless. David describes a couple of situations where lawyers’ errors – such as sloppy briefs or failing to adequately research a response to a complaint – are reported in the media and live on long after the matter has faded away.
I certainly don’t have a problem with “e-shaming” as David calls it, if the end result is to disseminate to the public information about an attorney who’s truly a threat to clients. Thus, it’s ironic that heavily guarded bar proceedings, which might contain information about wrong-doing attorneys are less accessible than web-based news items about, for example, an attorney mishap in the courtroom which may have been nothing more than a one time occurrence or more unfairly, a judge having a bad “err” day.
To the extent that e-shaming can alert other members of the bar or the public at large to truly outrageous conduct by an attorney, I’m all for it. But I worry that e-shaming can also magnify the impact of a stupid mistake or a momentary lack of judgment and potentially doom an otherwise promising legal career. As e-shaming grows more pervasive, perhaps we’ll come up with a system to e-lucidate the real e-vils from the silly errors that simply make us real lawyers, not bad actors.
Related posts:
- Are You Your Bloggers’ Keeper? Ethics Issues & and Lawyers’ Professional Obligations Related to Lawyers’ Marketing Non-Legal Services on Line: An Interview with Brian Tannebaum, Miami Florida Criminal Defense &
- What David Swanner’s Giving Away, and Not Just for Holiday Gifts
- Some Solo Nostalgia
- NY Attorney Disciplinary Records Now Onlin!
- Even the Best Lawyers Have Bad Days – But They Know How To Cover When They Do
