Ethics & Malpractice Issues

In this post at Legal Blogwatch, I highlighted this article, Fantasy Life, Real Law from the ABA Journal (March 2007) on how lawyers are using the virtual community Second Life.  While some lawyers have set up virtual offices on Second Life, others use the site to make connections with real world clients. As I wrote…

My blogging buddy, Chuck Newton recently posted on the latest  brawl between Greatest American Lawyer and his former firm.  Seems that GAL’s firm is suing him a second time, this time for rights to GAL’s blogs, which the firm claims it would have developed itself. Newton doesn’t think the firm’s suit against GAL will fly,…

This week’s ABA e-report (12/8/06) includes this article Bright Line Blunder, about a Virginia Court of Appeals decision to dismiss a litigant’s notice of appeal filed by her attorney during a period of time when his license was suspended and he didn’t even know about it. From the article, these are the relevant facts, which…

Plenty’s been written about the evils of the billable hour; how the billable system measures time rather than value and in so doing contributes to inefficiencies and bill padding.   But criticism of value billing is harder to come by, and with the exception of David Giacalone’s writings, you don’t find much negative commentary about value…

I always thought that at one of the top priorities of a bar association is to help the public find access to competent representation.  Well, access to law is a goal of the New Jersey Bar, but one that’s secondary to other matters like generating revenues or preserving the local bars’ turf.  At least, that’s…

New Jersey law blog has this  post about a New Jersey ethics decision on "lawyer shopping."   As the post describes, lawyer shopping is a practice whereby a client (most frequently, a divorce client) will visit and interview several prospective attorneys for the exclusive purpose of potentially conflicting them from representing the spouse in litigation.  The…

Last week, Larry Bodine posted here on a New Jersey ethics ruling that allows a law firm to own another law firm as a wholly-owned subsidiary.  I haven’t had time to read the decision closely or focus on the implications, which I believe are mixed, but here is Larry’s view on what the decision could…

Talk to any solo, and invariably, he or she will share a story of a client from hell.  You know who I’m talking about:  the one who won’t pay the bills, who calls at all hours, who wonders why a 20 page motion took 10 hours to draft or who complains about how lawyers are…