Do LinkedIn Endorsements Violate Legal Ethics? · Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites

UnderABA Model Rule 7.1, a lawyer is not to make any false or misleading claims about his or her services. If a lawyer permits an endorsement to remain on the lawyer’s LinkedIn profile that the lawyer knows to be misleading, even if someone else posted the endorsement, that would seem to be a problem under Rule 7.1.

Read entire Ambrogi article by clicking link below:

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Chief Judge Puts Pro Bono Disclosure Requirement in Place–NYLJ

ALBANY – Beginning today, New York lawyers must disclose on their biennial registration forms how many pro bono hours they provided and how much they made in financial donations to pro bono programs during the previous two years.

The new reporting requirements of Part 118 and Rule 6.1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct were approved by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and the presiding justices of the Appellate Division’s four departments on April 23.

Lippman’s “Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services” recommended increasing the voluntary pro bono goal for lawyers in the state to 50 hours a year from 20 (NYLJ, Dec. 7, 2012). That proposal is also being implemented today.

Read entire news article here.

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Wisconsin Lawyer: Technology: Top 16 Security Tips for Smartphones:

 

SHARON D. NELSON & JOHN W. SIMEK

 

The age of the pocket computer is upon us. Smartphones are no more than small computers that happen to make phone calls. According to a Nielsen report, more than 50 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the United States now own a smartphone. Lawyers are at the forefront of this technology wave, with 89 percent of them owning smartphones. Smartphones are extremely powerful devices, capable of storing contacts, calendar entries, email communications, electronic files, voice messages, and a host of additional confidential client information. As an attorney, you have an ethical obligation to protect the client data that is stored on your smartphone. Here are some security tips for protecting the data and some easy measures to take to avoid compromising data.

 

Get all sixteen (16) security tips in the complete article by clicking on this link.

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Should judges disclose Facebook friends? ‘Context is significant,’ ABA ethics opinion says – ABA Journal

Read entire ABA Journal analysis here.

Judges who participate in social networking sites must heed the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct, cautions Formal Opinion 462 (PDF). That means the judges should avoid contacts that would undermine their independence, integrity, or impartiality, or that would create an appearance of impropriety.

The Feb. 21 opinion by the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility acknowledges that “judicious use” of electronic social media–referred to as “ESM”–can be a valuable tool for public outreach. “When used with proper care, judges’ use of ESM does not necessarily compromise their duties under the Model Code any more than use of traditional and less public forms of social connection such as U.S. Mail, telephone, email or texting,” according to the opinion

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New York City Bar Association – Formal Opinion 2013-01: Duties to Prospective Clients After Beauty Contests and Other Preliminary Meetings

Formal Opinion 2103-1

TOPIC: Duties to Prospective Clients

DIGEST: Rule 1.18 codifies the established principle that New York lawyers owe duties to prospective clients even when no lawyer-client relationship ensues. These duties are determined by the nature of the information received from the prospective client and may restrict the lawyer‟s ability to use or reveal the information or to represent adverse parties in the same or a substantially related matter. While these duties may be significant, they are less restrictive than the comparable duties owed to former and current clients and permit the use of ethical screens to take on adverse representations.

 

The Ethics of Cloud Computing for Lawyers | Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division

Nicole Black has looked into the ethics of cloud computing extensively, both for her ABA book about cloud computingand for purposes of articles that she has written such as this recent one for the ABA’s GPSolo ezine: The Ethics of Cloud Computing for Lawyers. The general standard is that lawyers must take reasonable steps to ensure that confidential client data is secure when stored with a particular vendor.

For more information, thanks to Nicole, take a look at this handy chart from the ABA which  summarizes the various decisions from the different jurisdictions on this issue.

 

 

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Court Upholds Bloomberg Plan for Indigent Defense Conflict Counsel-NYLJ

 

Matter of the New York County Lawyers’ Association v. Bloomberg, 155,

Read entire NYLJ article by Joel Stashenko here.

View this document on Scribd

The majority of the 4-3 court said the plan introduced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2008 and modified in 2010 satisfies the requirements of County Law §722 for a so-called “combination plan” in which the city assigns to institutional providers the cases of poor defendants where primary legal services providers have a conflict of interest.

Further, Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick (See Profile), writing for the majority inMatter of the New York County Lawyers’ Association v. Bloomberg, 155, said city’s ability to do so is not contingent on the approval of local bar associations.

IN THE MATTER OF KINDLON–Decided September 27, 2012.

Respondent’s misconduct arose out of his representation of a criminal defendant. During a recess in the trial and while the prosecutor was outside the courtroom, respondent viewed, handled and photographed a document that was on the prosecution’s table. Respondent did not seek, nor was he ever granted, permission by the prosecutor to examine, handle or photograph the document.

Read full text of decision here.

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Ethics Advisory Panel Finds Judges Can Use Special License Plates-NYLJ

Read entire NYLJ article by John Caher

A judicial ethics panel has concluded that there is nothing illegal or unethical about judges displaying license plates identifying their office, but whether use of the plates are appropriate or advisable is a matter still under study by the Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics last week issued Opinion 12-141 in response to an inquiry on whether it is ethically acceptable for a judge to have a specialty license plate that identifies his or her occupation. It noted that in a prior opinion (see 07-213) the committee advised that judges can display a license plate that identifies him or her as a member of a judge’s association.

 

Lippman Unveils Rule Detailing Bar Admission Pro Bono Mandate- NYLJ

Read entire NYLJ report by Joel Stashenko & Christine Simmons

Details of the new 50-hour pro bono requirement for applicants to the New York bar were unveiled yesterday by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman.

Specifics of the program announced in May were eagerly awaited by law schools, public interest groups, bar associations and other members of the bar. They were announced by Lippman at a press conference at New York University School of Law.

The first-in-the-nation requirement will take effect immediately for first- and second-year law students, who will have up to 34 months to fulfill the mandate. Current third-years are exempt.

Read the new rule on pro bono practice.

 

 

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