By Anne Rudolph Rule 1.15, titled “Safekeeping Funds and Property of Clients and Other Persons” directs in paragraph (a) that all funds received or held by a lawyer or law firm for the benefit...
By Charles Berwanger The reader is asked to picture a fictional settlement conference of a lawsuit. Present is the client representative, defendant Ajax Corporation’s General Counsel, and Ajax’s Defense Counsel. They are in a...
By Michael J. Crowley Blame it on former torts megastar Tom Girardi and his confederates, coupled with his wife, Erika Jayne, star of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Girardi’s alleged theft of millions from...
By Edward McIntyre You’re approached after church one Sunday. “Would you serve on a board the church has established to oversee church finances?” Cornered, you reluctantly agree. “But even though I’m a lawyer, I...
By Katie Parker As noted in a recent Ethics in Brief column (here), an attorney’s persistent lack of civility can have concrete financial consequences. In the case at issue there, the California Court of Appeal affirmed...
By Valerie Silverman Massey Scenario: As a senior or supervising attorney, you are preparing to file a document with a court. A more junior attorney prepares the document using prior office writings/research or conducting...
By David C. Carr Introduction The First Amendment guarantees free speech, which is one of our most cherished freedoms. Yet, as we all know, it is not absolute. Recently, the First Amendment has played...
By Edward McIntyre Macbeth turned to Sara and Duncan “Pete Moore, a friend, and my go-to AI guru, asked if we could meet. Said it was urgent. I told him to come right over....