A threat is leverage you could use to get what you want. Dictionary.com puts a slightly discordant, even evil ring on the word:1. a declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, injury, etc., in retaliation for, or conditionally upon, some action or course; menace: He confessed under the threat of imprisonment.2. an indication or warning of probable trouble: The threat of a storm was in the air.3. a person or thing that threatens. It’s easy to take an ultra-cautious – paranoid? — approach and advise that lawyers should never threaten anyone for any reason. But threats have a
Continue Reading A Primer on Threats: When the Ends Don't Justify the Means
Supreme clarity in general and for Rule 60(c)(6)
Even if you don’t agree with its rulings, you gotta hand it to our current Arizona Supreme Court for generally producing clear, well-written and succinct opinions.(I hope the fractured, SCOTUS-esq State v. Jean was an anomaly.)I can think of several opinions off the top of my head from other decades that still perplex me. (Did anyone else have a problem with Markowitz v. Arizona Parks Board? No? Maybe it was just me.)I’m a big fan of clarity. Don’t make me guess the import or holding of an opinion. Obtuseness helps no one and muddies the water. Disavowing prior cases? Tell me. Clarifying a
Continue Reading Supreme clarity in general and for Rule 60(c)(6)
Should Arizona adopt the controversial model anti-bias ethical rule?
Should Arizona adopt the controversial “anti-bias” rule that is now part of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct?As a lawyer whose practice focuses on professional responsibility (and who knows a thing or two about legal ethics), I think we should. As a lawyer who happens to be a woman – who has seen bias and prejudice in action in the legal profession – I think we should.Regardless whether you agree with me, you should review rule-change petition R-17-0032, which proposes that Arizona adopt the new Model Rule 8.4 provision. Comments on the petition are due May 21,
Continue Reading Should Arizona adopt the controversial model anti-bias ethical rule?
Should Arizona adopt the controversial model anti-bias ethical rule?
Should Arizona adopt the controversial “anti-bias” rule that is now part of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct?As a lawyer whose practice focuses on professional responsibility (and who knows a thing or two about legal ethics), I think we should. As a lawyer who happens to be a woman – who has seen bias and prejudice in action in the legal profession – I think we should.Regardless whether you agree with me, you should review rule-change petition R-17-0032, which proposes that Arizona adopt the new Model Rule 8.4 provision. Comments on the petition are due May 21,
Continue Reading Should Arizona adopt the controversial model anti-bias ethical rule?
Yep, the confidentiality rule means what it says
Every so often, a court decision or ethics opinion comes along and I think, “Yes, we absolutely needed that.” The American Bar Association issued such an ethics opinion this week.ABA Op. 480 doesn’t break new ground but instead drives home the point that – even in this age of social media and socially acceptable oversharing – ABA Model Rule 1.6 means exactly what it says.Here’s the conclusion from Op. 480:Lawyers who blog or engage in other public commentary may not reveal information relating to a representation that is protected by Rule 1.6(a), including information contained in a public record, unless disclosure is
Continue Reading Yep, the confidentiality rule means what it says
Yep, the confidentiality rule means what it says
Every so often, a court decision or ethics opinion comes along and I think, “Yes, we absolutely needed that.” The American Bar Association issued such an ethics opinion this week.ABA Op. 480 doesn’t break new ground but instead drives home the point that – even in this age of social media and socially acceptable oversharing – ABA Model Rule 1.6 means exactly what it says.Here’s the conclusion from Op. 480:Lawyers who blog or engage in other public commentary may not reveal information relating to a representation that is protected by Rule 1.6(a), including information contained in a public record,
Continue Reading Yep, the confidentiality rule means what it says
Contingency Fees in Arizona: Paper is Worth its Weight in Gold
Legal Ethics
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Contingency Fees in Arizona: Paper is Worth its Weight in GoldFebruary 28, 2018
Practice Area: Legal Ethics
Attention Arizona attorneys: to receive compensation for your contingent fee work, make sure your fee agreement is in writing and signed by the client – or, you might not get paid at all. This is the message from the Arizona Court of Appeals, announced through Levine v. Haralson, Miller, Pitt, Feldman & McAnally, P.L.C., 2018 WL 543052 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2018). The Levine case involved a dispute over attorneys’ fees between the law firm Haralson, Miller, Pitt, Feldman &
Continue Reading Contingency Fees in Arizona: Paper is Worth its Weight in Gold
Trump administration's change on pot policy shows why we need to amend ER 1.2(d)
If you’re an Arizona lawyer and you represent clients in the medical-marijuana industry — or you take medical marijuana yourself — these recent headlines should have caught your attention:
- Trump Administration Takes Step That Could Threaten Marijuana Legalization Movement
- New US pot rule sparks latest clash over states’ rights
- Prosecutors in pot-friendly states will decide on crackdown
Because, if you’re an Arizona lawyer, and you represent clients in the medical-marijuana industry — or you take medical marijuana yourself — you already should know the inherent ethical and legal problems.Let’s review:
- We have a state law authorizing medical marijuana. Other states
Continue Reading Trump administration's change on pot policy shows why we need to amend ER 1.2(d)
Trump administration's change on pot policy shows why we need to amend ER 1.2(d)
If you’re an Arizona lawyer and you represent clients in the medical-marijuana industry — or you take medical marijuana yourself — these recent headlines should have caught your attention:
- Trump Administration Takes Step That Could Threaten Marijuana Legalization Movement
- New US pot rule sparks latest clash over states’ rights
- Prosecutors in pot-friendly states will decide on crackdown
Because, if you’re an Arizona lawyer, and you represent clients in the medical-marijuana industry — or you take medical marijuana yourself — you already should know the inherent ethical and legal problems.Let’s review:
- We have a state law authorizing medical marijuana. Other states also
Continue Reading Trump administration's change on pot policy shows why we need to amend ER 1.2(d)
Ethical fee sharing
Let’s say you’re a sole practitioner who has a contingency-fee case that takes a really weird turn. You realize you’re in over your head and don’t know how to handle such a weird-turn case. So, you ask another sole practitioner — one who knows how to handle really-weird-turn cases — to work with you. You two agree that you will share any recovery. But wait — do you know how to ethically share the fee? And do you know how important it is to follow the rules?
Continue Reading Ethical fee sharing
Ethical fee sharing
Let’s say you’re a sole practitioner who has a contingency-fee case that takes a really weird turn. You realize you’re in over your head and don’t know how to handle such a weird-turn case. So, you ask another sole practitioner — one who knows how to handle really-weird-turn cases — to work with you. You two agree that you will share any recovery. But wait — do you know how to ethically share the fee? And do you know how important it is to follow the rules? The ethical rule governing how
Continue Reading Ethical fee sharing
Let's allocate just one of our MCLE hours to mental health and substance abuse disorders. For the sake of the profession.
How many times have you heard about lawyers having high rates of depression and addiction? Probably too many times.The New York Times recently published an article titled “The Lawyer, the Addict” in which the ex-wife of a man identified only as “Peter” – a patent lawyer with a high-powered Silicon Valley-based law firm – wrote about how he had died of a systemic bacterial infection common to intravenous drug users. Her article details her attempt to figure out how she “and everyone else in his world” had missed Peter’s rampant drug abuse.The article seemed to spread like wildfire.
Continue Reading Let's allocate just one of our MCLE hours to mental health and substance abuse disorders. For the sake of the profession.
Let's allocate just one of our MCLE hours to mental health and substance abuse disorders. For the sake of the profession.
How many times have you heard about lawyers having high rates of depression and addiction? Probably too many times.The New York Times recently published an article titled “The Lawyer, the Addict” in which the ex-wife of a man identified only as “Peter” – a patent lawyer with a high-powered Silicon Valley-based law firm – wrote about how he had died of a systemic bacterial infection common to intravenous drug users. Her article details her attempt to figure out how she “and everyone else in his world” had missed Peter’s rampant drug abuse.The article seemed to spread like wildfire. Days
Continue Reading Let's allocate just one of our MCLE hours to mental health and substance abuse disorders. For the sake of the profession.
Blogging Ethics, Redux
In my earlier blog post about blogging, I addressed the first big potential minefield for lawyer-bloggers: whether your blog constitutes advertising. Now let’s move to the even stickier issue: if you blog, take care not to run afoul of ER 1.6.Your clients are a rich source of blog material, aren’t they? You could write about that complicated child-support petition you filed for your new family law client. You could write about gotten an acquittal for that high-profile business executive against DUI charges. You could post that appellate brief you wrote for your corporate client in which you are challenging
Continue Reading Blogging Ethics, Redux
Blogging Ethics, Redux
In my earlier blog post about blogging, I addressed the first big potential minefield for lawyer-bloggers: whether your blog constitutes advertising. Now let’s move to the even stickier issue: if you blog, take care not to run afoul of ER 1.6.Your clients are a rich source of blog material, aren’t they? You could write about that complicated child-support petition you filed for your new family law client. You could write about gotten an acquittal for that high-profile business executive against DUI charges. You could post that appellate brief you wrote for your corporate client in which you are challenging
Continue Reading Blogging Ethics, Redux
Blogging Ethics
Thinking about starting a legal blog? Maybe you already have one. If you’re an Arizona lawyer, you’ve got some potential ethical minefields to navigate when blogging.A big one: lawyer advertising. If your blog is considered advertising, you need to pay attention to the advertising rules.Think about your existing or planned blog in two steps. First: Is it advertising? Second: If yes, what advertising requirements do you need to follow?Is your blog an advertisement?Here’s a personal example. I maintain two blogs: one at halfsheetpan.wordpress.com and one on my website, ethicsatlaw.com.On halfsheetpan.wordpress.com, I write about cooking and baking. My “about” blurb says this:I’m a
Continue Reading Blogging Ethics