President’s Message: February 28, 2022

In The Lost Lawyer, a book first published in 1993, Anthony Kronman described an idealized figure, the lawyer statesman. Such an individual is “possessed of great practical wisdom and exceptional persuasive powers, devoted to the public good but keenly aware of the limitations of human beings and their political arrangements.” That is, the lawyer-statesman is distinguished from other lawyers by “extraordinary devotion” to the public good, and “wisdom in deliberating about it.” Although Kronman bemoaned that such an ideal had become increasingly rare, there were and are people who exemplify it. Read More

President’s Message: February 22, 2022

In Hamilton, King George asks in song, “What Comes Next?” It is a question that leaders interested in the continuity and longevity of their organizations address. In our profession, the answer to that question will be shaped, at least in part, by who is entering it. Read More

“But It’s a Public Record!”

By Timothy Casey

This issue of Ethics in Brief covers an attorney’s duty of confidentiality and a commonly held misconception regarding a “public records” exception to the duty of confidentiality. The misconception may stem from a conflation of the ethical duty of confidentiality with the evidentiary rule about the attorney-client privilege. In sum, there is no public records exception to the duty of confidentiality, although information revealed in a public record may not be privileged. Read More

President’s Message: February 14, 2022

Happy Valentine’s Day. Today is a holiday when people traditionally express their love through greetings, gifts, and, importantly, sharing their time together. When periodically thinking about that concept in terms of our legal community, several different things have come to mind. But one consistently pops up: Tom Homann dinners. Read More