Friday, January 3, 2014
Defending An Attorney Gets Lawyer Privately Reprimanded
One thing that you do not often see is a lawyer prosecuted for an alleged ethical violation that occurred in the course of representing an attorney accused of an ethical violation.
It just happened in Kentucky.
The lawyer negotiated a $30,000 settlement with the attorney's former client with a condition that the complainant refuse to voluntarily cooperate with the then-ongoing bar investigation.
The Kentucky Bar got ahold of the settlement agreement and filed charges as a result.
The Kentucky Supreme Court held that the attorney's conduct impeded the bar investigation and imposed a private reprimand against the Unnamed Attorney.
A dissent found an abuse of discetion in the failure to admit into evidence the testimony of a proffered expert witness who played a critical role ("salesman") in the court's adoption of revised rules as part of the "20-20" process. (Mike Frisch)
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2014/01/one-thing-that-you-do-not-often-see-is-a-lawyer-prosecuted-for-an-alleged-ethical-violation-that-occurred-in-the-course-of-re.html
I was not the expert.
The Court missed two points.
The plaintiff's lawyer could have asked for the noncooperation agreement without violating 3.4.
The plaintiff's lawyer had no duty to report unless you think Himmel was correct.
A rules change may be needed.
The
Posted by: Rick Underwood | Jan 4, 2014 5:24:29 PM