Ethics & Malpractice Issues

Post updated April 20, 2022 – As of April 2022, many states have eliminated the prohibition on trade names.  See here. There are plenty of reasons for a law firm to use a trade name.  Trade names can communicate your firm’s concentration or what’s unique about your practice more effectively and directly than a surname.…

I’ve often wondered whether a firm that lacked competency in certain practice areas could nonetheless, advertise these capabilities “on spec,” figuring that it could either refer the work out or hire a temporary lawyer to handle these matters if they came through the door. I’ve seen this tactic used occasionally by the #Altlaw law firms…

Solo and small firm lawyers account for roughly sixty-five percent of all attorneys. Unfortunately, as I’ve written before , solos and smalls are grossly underrepresented in the Reinvent Law space – even though solos and smalls have traditionally been (and in my view, still are) the driving force of innovation in the legal profession. Still, not…

These days, most consumers who decline to purchase a pair of shoes or jeans or car insurance from an online site are accustomed to discovering that jilted object of their interest is stalking them around the internet, turning up everywhere in the form of  “retargeting ads.” While many consumers find these ads downright annoying, for…

Like many other bloggers, I too am a frequent recipient of offers of dubious gifts like guest posts, info-graphics or paid back-links. Usually, I simply hit delete. But this most recent proposal that came through my inbox merits a shout out because it involves a company called SpeakeasyMarketingInc.com that works for lawyers – and engages…

Above the Law columnist Elie Mystal asks: should nasty commenting trigger an ethics probe? Absolutely not.  Moreover, as a vocal blogger often critical of ethics regulators and a practicing attorney dependent upon my law license for my livelihood, the fact that a law professor, of all people, would pursue this kind of action against a…

At some time or another, law firms of all sizes have outsourced legal support services such as legal research and writing, e-discovery or document review.  There’s no question that law firms can bill clients for legal support services and even charge a markup, at least under ABA Ethics Opinion 08-451 and the majority of jurisdictions.…

Call it the fantasy lawyering league. Just as sports aficionados rely on past seasons’ statistics to put together a fantasy football team, soon, consumers now have ready access to lawyers’ track records at their fingertips courtesy of big data — and can draft a dream team lawyer based on objective facts rather than subjective referrals…