Crusading Spirit

A Colorado Hearing Committee has ordered the dismissal of ethics charges against an attorney in connection with his handling of an immigration matter.

The hearing committee concluded that evidence that the attorney's legal advice was incorrect did not establish an ethical violation:

We wish to stress that the legal strategy Respondent undertook would not be appropriate under all circumstances. Not all clients want their lawyer to pursue strategies that have a low probability of yielding relief...we must not quell the crusading spirit of lawyers like Respondent who attempt to rectify injustices they perceive in our legal system. Legal challenges to ingrained assumptions and entrenched practices may initially appear foolhardy, yet ultimately bring about valuable changes in the law.

The hearing board found that the attorney had a good-faith basis for his theories and acted with the client's informed consent. (Mike Frisch)