Published On - March 29, 2022

Nathan M. Crystal Tidbits of ethics

Improper Threats

Putting aside the strategic wisdom and efficacy of a threat, when is a threat unethical? The Indiana Supreme Court’s recent decision in In re Stout, (No. 20S-DI-719 (Ind. Feb. 3, 2022) provides a good starting point for answering the question.  Stout represented the respondent to a petition for a...
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Published On - May 22, 2020

Nathan Crystal and Francesca Giannoni-Crystal Covid-19 resources, Tidbits of ethics

Some ethical, malpractice and professional implications of Covid19 crisis for lawyers. Part IV: financial instability during or after the pandemic

This is the fourth of a series of blogs dealing with possible ethics and malpractice implications of Covid19 (see here, here, and here for the previous blogs).  This pandemic is potentially triggering an increased exposure to ethics complaints and malpractice. Here we deal with financial instabilit...
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Published On - May 7, 2020

Nathan Crystal and Francesca Giannoni-Crystal Covid-19 resources, Tidbits of ethics

Some ethical (and malpractice) implications of Covid19 crisis for lawyers. Part III: Family obligations during the pandemic

It is common knowledge that the practice of law is not the profession that you choose if you want to have a good work/life balance.  In a program organized by the ABA, What Women Want: Strategies for Law Practice Leaders (now on demand on the ABA website), the speakers reported a statistic: At law ...
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Published On - April 28, 2020

Nathan Crystal and Francesca Giannoni-Crystal Tidbits of ethics

Some ethical (and malpractice) implications of the Covid19 crisis for lawyers. Part II: physical and/or mental illness during the pandemic

This is the second blog a series dedicated to the ethical and malpractice implications of the covid19 crisis for lawyers. In the first blog we dealt with some of the ethical and malpractice issues deriving from working from home under the duties of confidentiality, competence, and supervision. We de...
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Published On - April 25, 2020

Nathan Crystal and Francesca Giannoni-Crystal Tidbits of ethics

Some ethical (and malpractice) implications of Covid19 crisis for lawyers. Part I: Working from home: confidentiality, competence, and supervision

The implications of the covid19 crisis are already imposing. It is expected that the situation will get worst before getting better. Law firms are no exception. Working under the lockdown is certainly causing disruption to the usual way in which lawyers practice law; it also has ethical implications...
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Published On - November 11, 2016

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

How ethical is participating in fixed-fee referral services like Avvo in light of SC, Ohio, and Pennsylvania ethics opinions

In Ethics Advisory Opinion 16-06, the SC Ethics Advisory Committee opined that lawyers cannot ethically participate into fixed-fee legal referral services like Avvo. The Committee had been asked to opine on whether an arrangement in which an attorney participates in an internet advertising directory...
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Published On - April 29, 2016

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

Second Circuit holds it is not unconstitutional to require non-resident attorneys to maintain a physical office in NY to practice law in NY

On April 22, 2016 the Second Circuit ruled that it is not unconstitutional to require non-resident attorneys to maintain a physical office in New York in order to practice law in that state’s courts. Schoenefeld v. State of New York, Docket No. 11‐4283‐cv. Plaintiff Ekaterina Schoenefeld, a c...
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Published On - March 10, 2016

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

Dealing with foreign counsel and foreign privilege: Don’t forget that foreign in-house counsel generally do not enjoy the privilege

Documents and other data containing client information are transferred daily across international borders. In-house counsel and outside counsel based in the United States who deal regularly with foreign in house counsel need to be aware of two important aspects of such international communications. ...
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Published On - December 9, 2014

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

What effect does a client’s failure to pursue an appeal in an underlying action have on his or her ability to maintain a legal malpractice lawsuit?

In Grace v. Law, 2014 WL 5325363 (N.Y. Oct. 21, 2014) the New York Court of Appeals decided an important issue of first impression: “What effect does a client’s failure to pursue an appeal in an underlying action have on his or her ability to maintain a legal malpractice lawsuit?” The Court he...
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Published On - November 13, 2014

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

NY Ethics opinion outlines factors for choice of ethics rules when lawyers are admitted in several jurisdictions. Opinion 1027 (10/16/2014)

An attorney admitted in New York and the District of Columbia with offices in both the jurisdictions, dealing with transactional work asked the Committee which “confidentiality, conflicts of interest” and other rules of ethics should govern his conduct. The relevant Rule of the New York Rules of...
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Published On - October 8, 2014

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

Work Product Protection for Expert Witness’ work – court held that allowing opponent to see Expert’s Drafts to Evaluate Counsel’s Involvement in the Expert’s Report, Frustrates Foundation of revisions to F.R.Civ.P. 26

On August 25, 2014, In U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Newell, Case No. 12 C 6763, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117734, at *9 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 25, 2014) plaintiff moved to compel defendants’ expert drafts report based on the argument that they could not benefit from work product protection of...
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Published On - September 22, 2014

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

Judge turns down as inequitable disqualification motion filed on the verge of trial for facts known long time before – Reeves v. The Town of Cottageville, 2:12-cv-02765-DCN (D.S.C.)

Motions to disqualify opposing counsel for conflicts of interest occur often in litigation.  Responses to such motion usually focus on the merits of the conflict allegations.  However, it is important to know that the granting or denial of disqualification motions rests with the sound discretion o...
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Published On - July 17, 2014

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

Aggregate settlements (Nonclass)

Aggregate settlements (Nonclass) are agreements involving multiple clients in which the terms of the settlement are interdependent. They involve complex ethical and practical issues. In addition, such cases often involve a large number of claimants and substantial amounts of money. Ethics advice is...
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Published On - June 24, 2014

fgiannoni Tidbits of ethics

Why ADR

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) refers to various procedures other than litigation for resolving disputes. ADR comes in a wide variety of forms and procedures. The most common forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation, but there are many others such as med-arb, summary jury trials, mini-trials...
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