Ethics & Malpractice Issues

According to this article, A New Trend Among Firms:  Comparative Advertising, Leigh Jones, NLJ (5/4/05), large firms are taking off the kid gloves when it comes to marketing, including Oblon, Spivak’s ads that proclaim superiority over other biglaw competitors that are identified by name in the ad.  That’s funny, because over at Legal Underground, Evan…

Here’s a bit of sad piece from AP (4/8/05)  on Lawyer Refuses to Apologize to Judge, Goes  to Jail.  Though details of the incident are sketchy, the article brought this question to my mind:  would you apologize when you don’t believe you were wrong to save your legal career? According to the article, an Ohio…

In light of the proposed bankruptcy legislation that would make credit counseling a mandatory prerequisite to a bankruptcy filing, a few of my solo colleagues have considered offering debt reduction services as part of their practice.  For those considering this option, be sure to read David Giacalone’s post about what can go wrong with debt…

Here’s a story, Plan for Supermarket Legal Advice (BBC, 3/20/05) about a proposal that will shake up the legal profession in England and Wales by allowing commercial businesses to own and run law firms.   The intent of the proposal, known as the Tesco law, is to make legal services “a better deal for consumers.”  Under…

Here’s another outrageous story of judicial heavyhandedness.  This story,  Attorneys Sanctioned for Representing Client’s Challenges of Judicial Ethics (Empire Journal 2/14/05).  According to the article, the New York Appellate Division, First Department sanctioned two New York attorneys (to the tune of $2000 and $250 respectively) for “frivolous conduct” when they argued that a judge who…

Randy Cohen’s Ethics Column addresses the question of whether an unmarried lawyer should wear a wedding band to impress a jury.  The lawyer’s colleagues advised that he would have better appeal with a wedding band.  So the lawyer wondered whether this was deceiptful – or a simple cosmetic measure no different from wearing glasses to…

After last year’s Staten Island Ferry crash, lawyer ads targeting potential clients proliferated in the local news media within hours.  Though banning newspaper ads would likely violate the First Amendment, New York is now considering a more narrow ban on targeted solicitations mailed to potential plaintiffs within thirty days of an incident as reported in…