Are the Bars Out of Touch on Ethics?

Blogger Stuart Levine of the always first rate Tax and Business Law Blog has a provocative post on the  Maryland Disciplinary Committee’s Mechanical Ethics.  In the post, Levine offers several examples of how the Maryland committee ignores technologic developments that facilitate the practice of law and “regularly disregards the economic consequences of its decisions.”

Levine agreed with our post here
that the committee’s position on networking groups erects a barrier to
potential new entrants to the legal market.  And he faults the
committee’s approach to paperless offices where the committee “blandly”
expressed a lack of confidence in such cost-effective systems rather
than taking on the more difficult – and useful – task of setting forth
standards for attorneys who seek to implement paperless offices.
Finally, Levine critiques the committee for refusing to address the
substantive issues raised in a solo’s request to partner with a
financial services plan and instead dismissed it, stating:

“we [do not] engage in written debates with inquirers over
our interpretations of the rules, trying to justify our opinions to the
inquirer. “

As Levine asks, why not?

State bars and disciplinary committees take actions that impact
lawyers’ practices every day.  Is it too much to ask for a rationale
explanation of the their policies?  And is it too much for the bar to
realize – as Levine points out – that the law is a dynamic process and
ethics committees must recognize and accomodate the realities of change.