The Ethics of Lateral Moves

Attorneys are on the move. Today’s lawyers rarely stay at the same firm for the duration of their career.  Rather, it has become commonplace for associates, partners, of counsel, shareholders, members and any other type of attorney to move at least once before settling on a long-term professional home.  Some attorneys leave for money. Some for opportunity or geography. Some leave for personal reasons. Some attorneys may switch firms in the hope that they can transfer business to firms better suited to their particular practice …

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Employer Liability for Conduct of Non-Employees

Part of running a successful professional practice involves fostering a work environment that is free from harassment. Federal law protects employees from harassment in the workplace, which becomes unlawful where the conduct is so pervasive as to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Many employers train employees about the consequences of harassment and have policies to handle employees who violate the rules. However, managing the conduct of employees is not necessarily sufficient to prevent liability.

In a …

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High Times: Marijuana in Today’s Workplace

America’s evolving perception of marijuana use is impacting the office setting. While the use of marijuana in the US is illegal under federal law, a state may pass laws permitting recreational or medical use so long as it maintains a proper regulatory system. Does this present a conflict amongst the courts and a headache for employers? You bet. Today, twenty-one states and DC permit the use of medical marijuana, and four more states have medical marijuana legislation pending. Given these developments and others on …

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The Target Data Breach Litigation Begins

In November 2013, in the midst of the holiday shopping season, hackers targeted Target Corporation with one of the largest security breaches of its kind. The hackers installed malware on the company’s security and payment systems to steal credit card information.  The result impacted over 100 million customers. Given the magnitude of the breach, it may be surprising to learn that Target had prepared for an attack.  It invested over $1.5 million in malware detection software in 2013 alone and hired a leading security firm …

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Avoiding Legal Costs of Unpaid Internships

Summer is almost here – the sun, vacations, Coronas, and lawsuits arising from unpaid internships. We’ve previously warned of these risks here and here. Yet, the suits that some call the “new slip and fall case” are more frequent than ever. It seems that every week brings news of another lawsuit filed by unpaid interns. So, another reminder is warranted. Employers must beware of these risks and take precaution to ensure that they are not the next victim of an FLSA class-action claim.

Recently, …

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Faulty Engagement Letters Is #1 Cause of Claims

Seriously; you still don’t require that your clients execute an engagement letter? Apparently not. Professional Liability Matters routinely warns of the risks of representing a client without a clear engagement letter. In addition to laying out the objectives of the representation, well-crafted engagement letters help to reduce the likelihood of claims from dissatisfied clients. It would seem obvious, then, that attorneys would require clients to sign an engagement letter as a prerequisite to any attorney-client relationship. However, in a recent national legal malpractice conference held …

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Work-Product Doctrine Tested in Pennsylvania

Attorneys must communicate with expert witnesses to define the scope of the engagement, to prepare for trial, and to evaluate the evidence. Depending on the jurisdiction, some or all of that communication may be protected from disclosure pursuant to the attorney work-product doctrine.  In Barrick v. Holy Spirit Hospital, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court considered the extent of the privilege in this context and reached a bright-line rule in favor of non-disclosure.

Barrick involved a personal injury lawsuit relating to a defective chair that collapsed …

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A Case of Black Robe Disease

Judges are bound by a code of conduct in the jurisdiction where the judge sits. Like the code governing attorneys, judicial codes vary somewhat from state to state. There are ramifications for judges who break this code, some can be very severe. In the more common scenario, a judge may face criticism for conduct that may be perceived as an inappropriate use of the bench also known as “black robe disease,” when a judge lets her authority over the court go to …

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NCAA Sports Probe Triggers Ethics Complaint

The NCAA has established strict rules to regulate the activities of student-athlete representatives, aka “boosters.”  If a booster violates collegiate rules, the NCAA can take action to hold an athlete ineligible from competition or impose other sanctions upon the school.  In a recent unexpected development, the NCAA was put on the defensive when its investigation of the University of Miami football program revealed that one of its own attorneys may have violated Florida’s ethics rules.

This story begins with a former Miami booster …

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Failure to Disclose Health Condition is Grounds for Malpractice

Attorneys have an ethical duty to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of the representation.  The rules of professional conduct generally require a lawyer to provide the client with sufficient information to participate intelligently in decisions concerning the objectives of the representation.  Fulfilling this ethical obligation, however, may sometimes require the attorney to inform the client about personal matters that may affect the attorney’s ability to represent the client’s interest. For example, an attorney may be obligated to disclose her own health condition …

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