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Ethics 20/20

Non-Lawyer Funding and Ownership…What Say You Solos?

April 9, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Ever since Australia, and now the UK have opened the gates to non-lawyer membership of law firms, the question has been percolating here in the US about whether, and when it can happen here. Currently, the DC Bar, where I practice permits a limited degree of non-lawyer ownership, most likely to accommodate partnerships between law [...]

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Correction – More Time for Comment on ABA Ethics 20/20

December 7, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

In an earlier post, I incorrectly stated that the ABA Ethics 2020 Commission will be closing out the opportunity to comment on the proposed rules. This is incorrect – in fact, the comment period for various proposals will run through February 29, 2012.  Here’s a recent announcement:  At its October 2011 meeting in Denver, Colorado, [...]

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MyShingle Comments on Proposed Model Rule 5.3 and Last Chance to File Comments on ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20!

November 30, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

Below is my final set of comments on the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20′s proposals.  My comments address the Commission’s proposal to subject lawyers to the same level of supervisory oversight for passive cloud services as for human, non-legal service providers. For reasons discussed in this post, I strongly oppose any additional requirements which pose [...]

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Proposed ABA Ethics 20/20 Rules Will Require Lawyers to Oversee and Monitor the Accuracy of LEXIS, Westlaw and Other Computerized Legal Research Services

November 17, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

As lawyers, we’re bound to abide by applicable statutes and precedent — yet most lawyers refuse to heed the law of unintended consequences. That’s the error committed by the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 with its most recent changes lto ABA Model Rule 5.3, Responsibilities Regarding Non Lawyer Assistance.  In its zeal to frustrate lawyers’ [...]

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MyShingle’s Proposed Revisions to Ethics 20/20 Model Rules on Admissions and Model Rule 5.5

October 5, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

Though I started with the best of intentions to track the activities of the ABA Commission on Ethics 2020, I’ve been having some trouble keeping up with the Commission’s relentless pace. This month brings another barrage of proposals on Outsourcing, Client Confidentiality and Technology and Technology and Lawyer Marketing, and Attorney Admissions. I’ve already provided [...]

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They Listened, They Really Listened!

May 3, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

The ABA Ethics 2020 Commission today released several issues papers, including one on lawyer use of technology and client confidentiality. I’ve just skimmed the proposal very quickly, but preliminarily, I was excited to see that the Commission adopted my proposed risk assessment approach to confidentiality. The proposed rule states that lawyers must understand the risks [...]

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ABA’s Issue Paper on Admission by Motion: Impact on Women Lawyers

January 28, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

I’ve been so busy covering the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 initiatives on ethics of lawyer use of social media for marketing and confidentiality concerns regarding lawyer use of technology that I just about overlooked the other initiatives that continue to emerge. For example, on December 2, 2010, the ABA’s released an issues paper on [...]

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MyShingle Weighs in on ABA Ethics Initiative

December 16, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Well, I was an hour or two late, but I got my comments in on the ABA Issues papers on web use and cloud computing. You can read them below. ABA Comments

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Avoid the Client-Portal Potty

December 6, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

What’s not to like about an online client portal?  Setting up a site that enables clients to access their records or check the status of their case 24/7 offers the benefit of convenience and saves costs by eliminating the need for staff to respond to client requests for information. Client portals aren’t pricey either.  Technologies [...]

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Announcing the MyShingle ABA Ethics 20/20 Portal

November 12, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

For the past few months, I’ve been tracking the activity of the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 . Created in 2009, the Commission has been tasked to review the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility and the U.S. system of lawyer regulation in the context of advances in technology and global legal practice developments, and recommend [...]

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