Plenty’s been written about the evils of the billable hour; how the billable system measures time rather than value and in so doing contributes to inefficiencies and bill padding. But criticism of value billing is harder to come by, and with the exception of David Giacalone’s writings, you don’t find much negative commentary
Ethics & Malpractice Issues
More Proof That The Bar Associations Don’t Really Care About Access to Law
I always thought that at one of the top priorities of a bar association is to help the public find access to competent representation. Well, access to law is a goal of the New Jersey Bar, but one that’s secondary to other matters like generating revenues or preserving the local bars’ turf. At least, that’s…
Is Conflicting Other Attorneys Out of A Case Unethical?
New Jersey law blog has this post about a New Jersey ethics decision on "lawyer shopping." As the post describes, lawyer shopping is a practice whereby a client (most frequently, a divorce client) will visit and interview several prospective attorneys for the exclusive purpose of potentially conflicting them from representing the spouse in litigation. The…
Huge News for Solos: Wanna Be Bought Out By Skadden? Now you can!
Last week, Larry Bodine posted here on a New Jersey ethics ruling that allows a law firm to own another law firm as a wholly-owned subsidiary. I haven’t had time to read the decision closely or focus on the implications, which I believe are mixed, but here is Larry’s view on what the decision could…
Clients As Pals: Almost As Bad as the Client from Hell
Talk to any solo, and invariably, he or she will share a story of a client from hell. You know who I’m talking about: the one who won’t pay the bills, who calls at all hours, who wonders why a 20 page motion took 10 hours to draft or who complains about how lawyers…
Watch What You Wish For…
In response to posts criticizing the Nevada Bar’s heavy handed approach to an attorney who advertises himself as “The Heavy Hitter,” (see here, here and here), Jon Stein of The Practice blog endorses increased regulation. Jon, who is a personal injury attorney himself believes that undignified advertising gives the professsion a black…
More Bar Silliness: Heavy Hitter is Misleading
A Nevada attorney, Glen Lerner, is challenging an ethics decision that prohibits him from calling himself “The Heavy Hitter,” according to this article, Lawyer to Sue Over Heavy Hitter Name. What’s even sillier than the title “Heavy Hitter” is the bar’s reason for banning it: the bar believes that Lerner’s use of the term…
Ethics in Chat Rooms
Jon Stein posts a link to an article concerning the ethics of trolling for clients in online chat rooms under California law. As you might expect, there are no clear cut answers; basically, you ability to ethically solicit clients in a chatroom depends upon the type of chatroom involved and whether participants have an expectation…
A Culture of Unethical Conduct
This article, Did Barnes Firm Lawyer Tell the Whole Truth?, Michael Beebe, 1/22/06 reports on somewhat deceptive advertising by Thomas Goldstein, a lawyer with Cellino and Barnes, who advertised that he was uniquely qualified to handle Vioxx cases in light of his status as a former physician. Trouble was, the ads didn’t explain why…
Is A Civil Suit Preferable to Bar Regulation?
This article from AP, Lawyers Can Be Sued for False Advertising (1/11/06)
reports on a recent ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, holding that the state’s consumer protection act applies to lawyers. Thus, plaintiffs can bring civil actions against attorneys for false or deceptive advertising.
Frankly, I don’t have a problem with this ruling. In…