Category: Legal Ethics

By Richard Hendlin

This Ethics in Brief will review California Rules of Professional Conduct [CRPC] Rule 5-100 which makes it improper for a California lawyer to “threaten to present criminal, administrative, or disciplinary charges to obtain an advantage in a civil dispute.” (CRPC 5-100(A).) The term “administrative charges” means the filing or lodging of a complaint with federal, state, or local governmental entity which may order or recommend the loss or suspension of a license. (CRPC 5-100(B).) A “civil dispute” includes “an administrative proceeding of a quasi-civil nature pending before a federal, state, or local governmental entity,” including administrative hearings for professional licenses. (CRPC 5-100(C).) Read More

By Jennifer Gilman

I, like millions of others, have a Facebook account.  I’m responsible with it, as all attorneys should be, and always make sure it passes the “eyebrow test.”  That is, I review all messages before posting to be sure that if my boss, my parents, my rabbi, a judge, the State Bar, my frenemy, and my ex-boyfriend all read the post, none of them would raise an eyebrow. Read More

By Charles Berwanger

You have done your conflict check and are now ready to undertake the representation of a client. For ethical and practical reasons, that representation should be embodied in a written agreement that identifies the undertaking, the terms of the relationship, and all the other facets involved in representing your client. Read More