Legal Profession Blogtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-5174562008-09-04T20:15:18ZA Member of the Law Professor Blogs NetworkTypePad497100http://www.feedburner.com"Impending Financial Doom"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-551462302008-09-04T16:15:18-04:002008-09-04T23:20:21ZThe North Dakota Supreme Court issued a bar discipline opinion yesterday suspending a lawyer for six months. The lawyer (McCray) had accepted employment with a California corporation that performed credit repair services for its clients. The corporation had sought a...Legal ProfessionOverdraft Notice Draws Scrutinytag:typepad.com,2003:post-551389622008-09-04T14:05:26-04:002008-09-04T23:26:35ZThe Maryland Court of Appeals declined to impose a 60-day suspension sought by Bar Counsel and imposed reprimand in a matter where the attorney had used an escrow account for personal reasons but had not misused client funds. The lawyer...Legal ProfessionA Sanction Less than Disbarmenttag:typepad.com,2003:post-551338202008-09-04T13:00:55-04:002008-09-04T17:01:23ZThe New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department suspended an attorney for three years for misconduct in several matters. The attorney had had a number of prior brushes with the disciplinary system over the course of a 55...Legal ProfessionTrust Account Misuse And Other Misconduct Merits Suspensiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-551281482008-09-04T11:30:06-04:002008-09-04T15:32:33ZAn attorney was indefinitely suspended for at least one year by the Minnesota Supreme Court for misconduct that included a conflict of interest and misuse of his client trust account to shield his assets from the Internal Revenue Service. The...Legal ProfessionToo Late To Suetag:typepad.com,2003:post-551248902008-09-04T10:05:05-04:002008-09-04T14:05:35ZThe District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a legal malpractice action, concluding that the suit was initiated well after the three-year statute of limitations had expired. The lawyer had filed suit in federal court alleging denial...Legal ProfessionAppearance of Improprietytag:typepad.com,2003:post-551226022008-09-04T09:12:51-04:002008-09-04T13:19:34ZThe New York Commission on Judicial Discipline accepted the resignation of a town court justicein the face of charges (linked to the page of the commission's report) of presiding in a number of matters despite a personal connection to a...Legal ProfessionWell Over The Linetag:typepad.com,2003:post-550866862008-09-03T15:39:45-04:002008-09-03T19:54:56ZAlso from the September 2008 online edition of the California Bar Journal: In [a] drunk driving case, Kopp represented a defendant, Christopher Jauregui, who was on probation in a felony robbery case. Jauregui was arrested for driving under the influence,...Legal ProfessionResignation Revoked, Disbarment Imposedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-550863362008-09-03T14:38:57-04:002008-09-03T18:40:05ZThe California Bar Journal reports that a lawyer who had resigned with no charges pending was summarily disbarred when he pled guilty to a crime shortly thereafter: In May 2002, Galaz resigned from the State Bar with no charges pending....Legal ProfessionConversion Charge Sustainedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-550704902008-09-03T10:16:52-04:002008-09-03T14:17:19ZThe Illinois Review Board overturned a hearing panel's recommendation to dismiss all charges against a former Jenner & Block lawyer who later left active law practice to become an agent for athletes, writers and directors. The board concluded that the...Legal ProfessionDuty To Supervisetag:typepad.com,2003:post-550687542008-09-03T09:38:21-04:002008-09-03T21:13:52ZThe Maryland Court of Appeals has indefinitely suspended the two managing partners of a Pennsylvania based law firm for failing to supervise a junior attorney assigned to an overwhelming number of cases involving automoblie warranty and "lemon law" issues. The...Legal ProfessionAll's Well That Endstag:typepad.com,2003:post-550259162008-09-02T14:46:04-04:002008-09-02T23:40:07ZLast October, I posted (and criticized) a decision of the D.C. Court of Appeals that had remanded to the Board on Professional Responsibility a disbarment recommendation based on the disbarment of the lawyer in Maryland. I felt that the court...Legal ProfessionStatute Of Reposetag:typepad.com,2003:post-550139962008-09-02T10:44:04-04:002008-09-02T15:08:18ZThe North Carolina Court of Appeal today held that a claim of legal malpractice was barred by the statute of repose against a lawyer who had dismissed his client's accident claim and concealed the dismisal through a series of false...Legal ProfessionInsider Trading On Client Confidences Chargedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-550099402008-09-02T09:13:59-04:002008-09-03T13:45:38ZThe Illinois ARDC has filed a complaint alleging that an attorney had received confidential information from a client of his law firm, used that information to purchase stock and made false statements to conceal the conduct. The complaint alleges: 7....Legal ProfessionIf Yale is #1 in U.S. News, Is It the Best Law School?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-550001022008-09-02T01:28:03-04:002008-09-02T18:45:59Z[by Bill Henderson, crossposted to ELS Blog] In a provocative post entitled "Is the End Near for Yale's Dominance", Brian Leiter reports one insider's assessment that Yale may lose three or four additional faculty members. If that happens, surely Harvard,...Legal ProfessionLinks to Maps and Storm Trackers for Gustav and Hannatag:typepad.com,2003:post-549302462008-08-30T23:58:55-04:002008-08-31T05:06:10ZPosted by Alan Childress So far I have found some useful links for storm information and various storm tracking tools and maps. Such trackers include 5-day models, computer models, interactive maps, and blogs. News stories are at Nola.com which is...Legal ProfessionAdmittedly This Never Happened To Metag:typepad.com,2003:post-549066342008-08-30T01:26:37-04:002008-08-30T05:27:19ZCould not resist -- the joke ipsa loquitur and is quite a coincidence. Apologies to coeditors for posting commentary, but seriously it is perfect except for the mustache and hat. [Alan Childress]Legal ProfessionAn Empty Threat?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-549003202008-08-29T21:28:20-04:002008-08-30T01:35:28ZThe Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion yesterday that upheld a criminal conviction but remanded the case to a new judge for sentencing. The defendant was charged with a number of violent offenses. His lawyer moved to withdraw prior to...Legal ProfessionIn Search Of The Perfect Lawntag:typepad.com,2003:post-548914942008-08-29T16:23:10-04:002008-08-29T20:55:43ZAnother interesting bar discipline decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court deals with the impact of mental health issues in determining an appropriate sanction. The attorney had submitted 34 false travel vouchers to his law firm, obtaining slightly under $70,000. His...Legal ProfessionHeavier Discipline Imposedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-548905662008-08-29T16:01:16-04:002008-08-29T20:02:05ZThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the recommendation of its Disciplinary Board for a year and a day suspension and imposed a three-year suspension in a case involving misconduct both related to and outside the practice of law. Both the proposed...Legal ProfessionTo Teach, To Judgetag:typepad.com,2003:post-548868662008-08-29T14:19:32-04:002008-08-29T18:22:47ZA judicial ethics opinion from the State of Washington Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee considers the ethical implications when a judicial officer teaches a class at a sports club outside of work hours (ok if not undignified) and teaching a law...Legal ProfessionDeath, Taxes And The Liability That Survivestag:typepad.com,2003:post-548794022008-08-29T11:37:08-04:002008-08-29T16:21:18ZThe Kansas Court of Appeals issued an interesting opinion today concerning issues relating to attorney liability to the estate of a deceased client. The client had retained counsel to draft a living trust. After the client died, nearly half of...Legal ProfessionPremature Claim Of Conflicttag:typepad.com,2003:post-548784542008-08-29T11:16:57-04:002008-08-29T15:17:36ZThe North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the convictions of a husband and wife for the exploitation of the wife's vulnerable parents. The court rejected a claim of error based the admission of videotaped statements of both parents when they were...Legal ProfessionReprimanded And Cautionedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-548764542008-08-29T10:31:04-04:002008-08-29T14:36:28ZAn Arkansas attorney was reprimanded and cautioned (both in the same order) for misconduct in connection with a divorce (the reprimand) and an untimely response to the bar investigation (the caution). The putative client never met with the lawyer; she...Legal ProfessionDo You Have A Place To Stay for Evacuated Students From Tulane, Loyola, Dillard & Xavier?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-548206982008-08-28T15:14:00-04:002008-08-28T19:17:25ZPosted by Alan Childress Plus UNO, SUNO, and even the University of Phoenix I guess. Tulane, Loyola, and Xavier have already announced closing today or noon tomorrow, with likely resumption of classes on Thursday Sept 4. So if you are...Legal ProfessionComputer Fraud Conviction Leads To Reciprocal Disbarmenttag:typepad.com,2003:post-548095002008-08-28T11:38:58-04:002008-08-28T15:39:50ZThe New York Appellate Division for the Third Judicial Department imposed reciprocal disbarment based on the permanent disbarment of the attorney in Louisiana. The attorney had been found to have engaged in a number of acts of misconduct, but the...Legal ProfessionInterview Notes Not Subject To Grand Jury Subpoenatag:typepad.com,2003:post-548083862008-08-28T11:09:05-04:002008-08-28T15:09:35ZThe Supreme Court of Missouri recently issued an opinion regarding a grand jury subpoena for the transcript of a witness interview conducted by a criminal defense attorney of his client's son. The court held as follows: Overview: A grand jury...Legal ProfessionIndirect Thank You Notes Not Impropertag:typepad.com,2003:post-548074422008-08-28T10:49:20-04:002008-08-28T14:49:57ZThe Louisiana Supreme Court recently issued amendments to its Code of Judicial Conduct and the commentary to the code. The code revision deals with the retention of usused contributions. The commentary addition deals with the issue of "thank you" notes...Legal ProfessionFacebook Meets Martindale-Hubbelltag:typepad.com,2003:post-547811742008-08-27T19:37:23-04:002008-08-27T23:37:45ZMeredith Miller (Touro) has a neat website called The Slippery Slope, and she let us know that she has posted a podcast with Mark Britton, the CEO of a startup company called Avvo that assists consumers in selecting lawyers. Kind...Legal ProfessionDotted Lines Do Not Make Me Feel So Comfytag:typepad.com,2003:post-547737762008-08-27T16:42:00-04:002008-08-27T20:54:11ZEven though I know the dotted line is not an actual projection but simply represents a collection of other lines from models all over the place--an average--I do feel like taking a holiday trip for the long weekend. Hopefully it...Legal ProfessionResignation Rescindedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-547568262008-08-27T11:16:44-04:002008-08-27T15:17:17ZThe New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct recently issued a press release concerning a village court judge who had agreed to resign but then apparently had buyer's remorse and rescinded the resignation. The commission's decision accepting the resignation, with...Legal ProfessionIs Asset-Transfer to Jenkens & Gilchrist Law Firm a Non-Refundable Retainer?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-547558122008-08-27T10:49:03-04:002008-08-27T18:38:59ZPosted by Alan Childress Although the case wound up being more about procedure than the underlying matter of receiving an asset from a client and how that is characterized, this Fifth Circuit decision released yesterday may involve substantive and fiduciary...Legal ProfessionLawyer/Longshoreman Indefinitely Suspendedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-547555482008-08-27T10:46:34-04:002008-08-27T14:47:04ZA rather interesting and unusual bar discipline case is summarized on the web page of Massachusetts Bar Counsel: The respondent was a longshoreman, and he was also a practicing attorney admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth on...Legal ProfessionBribery Conviction Leads To Ethics Chargestag:typepad.com,2003:post-547500682008-08-27T08:51:20-04:002008-08-27T12:52:17ZThe Illinois ARDC has filed a complaint alleging ethics violations in a case arising out of the attorney's federal bribery conviction. The complaint alleges: Respondent represented individuals and entities in matters relating to the Illinois Department of Revenue (hereinafter "Department")....Legal ProfessionThe Empirics and Ethics of USNWR Gamingtag:typepad.com,2003:post-547044082008-08-26T15:01:00-04:002008-08-26T19:14:04ZPosted by Bill Henderson and Jeff Lipshaw The Wall Street Journal article on gaming the USNWR this morning prompts us to a joint posting of something we've been discussing with each over the summer. We see this particular exercise -...Legal ProfessionLineman! Lineman!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-547022362008-08-26T10:23:02-04:002008-08-26T14:30:05ZWhile football fans contemplate the possible return of Michael Strahan as a result of a recent injury to New York Giants defensive lineman Osi Umenyiori, the New Jersey Appellate Division has remanded Strahan's divorce case for further proceedings. The parties...Legal ProfessionAuthor! Author!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-546982922008-08-26T09:01:33-04:002008-08-26T14:14:56ZIn a 50 page opinion issued today, the Maryland Court of Appeals reversed a trial court determination (affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals) that author Tom Clancy had breached his fidiciary duties in his dealings with his ex-wife. The...Legal ProfessionRankings, Accounting, and Gamingtag:typepad.com,2003:post-546977902008-08-26T08:45:51-04:002008-08-26T12:49:30ZPosted by Jeff Lipshaw Fresh off the front page Wall Street Journal article this morning, friends Larry Ribstein and Nancy Rapoport nail the analogy between law deans gaming the USNWR rankings and accountants massaging the numbers to meet the quarterly...Legal ProfessionWilson on Prosecutorial Ethics: What If The Defendant Seems Innocent But The Boss Says Convict? tag:typepad.com,2003:post-546849662008-08-25T23:21:02-04:002008-08-26T03:21:46ZPosted by Alan Childress Melanie Wilson (Kansas) has published in the Northwestern U Law Review's Colloquy a brief article called Finding a Happy and Ethical Medium Between a Prosecutor Who Believes the Defendant Didn't Do It and the Boss Who...Legal ProfessionCertified Specialists In South Carolinatag:typepad.com,2003:post-546619102008-08-25T13:58:53-04:002008-08-25T17:59:34ZThe South Carolina Supreme Court has announced amendments to its certification of specialty rules. The court has procedures for certification in three practice areas: (1) labor and employment law, (2) estate planning and probate law and (3) tax law. (Mike...Legal ProfessionAttention To Detailtag:typepad.com,2003:post-546454822008-08-25T07:40:12-04:002008-08-25T11:41:08ZA Pennsylvania lawyer was transferred to inactive status during a period of time in which he was not practicing law. He also was admitted in New Jersey and was on retired status there. Notwithstanding these impediments, he began practicing corporate...Legal ProfessionPart Of Nothingtag:typepad.com,2003:post-545872062008-08-23T09:13:10-04:002008-08-24T11:50:52ZA Pennsylvania lawyer (admitted in 1966) was the subject of two suspension orders. The first suspended him for three years; the second for a consecutive two-year term. He failed to make the required notifications of the orders to all his...Legal Profession"Not To Be Taken Lightly"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-545689462008-08-22T16:30:36-04:002008-08-23T12:45:41ZA lawyer prepared a durable power of attorney for a friend's mother at no charge and thereafter notarized the mother's mark on the document even though he had never her and had not witnessed the signature. The friend, as one...Legal ProfessionTragedy Leads To Litigationtag:typepad.com,2003:post-545634542008-08-22T14:15:54-04:002008-08-22T18:21:55ZThe tragic death of a 10 year old child in the crash of a private plane led to a case decided today by the Mississippi Supreme Court. The child lived with her mother in Wichita Falls, Texas. Her schooling and...Legal ProfessionRead The Fine Printtag:typepad.com,2003:post-545630022008-08-22T13:55:38-04:002008-08-22T17:56:12ZGood advice from the La Crosse (Wisconsin) Tribune concerning upcoming judicial election campaign ads: Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson will be up for re-election and likely will face opposition from big-money groups running so-called "issue ads" that actually are de-facto campaign...Legal ProfessionA Serious Crimetag:typepad.com,2003:post-545625162008-08-22T13:46:38-04:002008-08-23T00:19:36ZAn aspect of effective regulation of the legal profession are rules that impose interim suspension pending final disciplinary action when an attorney is convicted of a "serious crime" as that term is defined by the rules of the disciplining tribunal....Legal ProfessionConference Announcement: Using Empirical Data in Jury Trialstag:typepad.com,2003:post-545546262008-08-22T10:42:01-04:002008-08-22T14:48:09ZPosted by Jeff Lipshaw My colleague and suite-mate, Mike Rustad, is co-chairing "Successful Strategies for Jury Trials," a day-long conference to be held at the Suffolk University Law School here in the heart of downtown Boston on Friday, October 24,...Legal Profession