Questions tagged [professional-ethics]
The professional-ethics tag has no usage guidance.
58
questions
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91 views
How can a US lawyer ethically work in the cannabis industry?
I live in California and I have seen ads for "cannabis attorneys" who specialise in helping the "legal" (under state law) cannabis industry/business (they often have names and ...
3
votes
3answers
140 views
Does putting a dollar in a lawyer's pocket entitle you to attorney client privilege (like Saul Goodman from breaking bad)
Breaking Bad Season 2 Episode 8, Saul Goodman tells Walt and Jesse (who just kidnapped him) to put a dollar in his pocket so they'll have attorney-client privilege.
first things first you're gonna ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Standards for legal professionals responding promptly to clients?
As an example, The Rules of Professional Conduct for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania state:
1.4 Communication
(a) A lawyer shall:
...
(4) A lawyer should promptly respond to or acknowledge client ...
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votes
1answer
59 views
Developing similar apps, games, etc. on Google Play Store or App Store
I am planning to develop similar apps, games, etc., which may free or non-free, on Google Play Store or App Store and to earn money with methods such as ads, sale on same stores, etc.
To be clearer I'...
6
votes
3answers
118 views
How does lawyers' duty of fidelity to court work?
Rules of conduct and client care for lawyers say in Chapter 13:
The overriding duty of a lawyer acting in litigation is to the court
concerned. Subject to this, the lawyer has a duty to act in the ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
“Does not put forward a case inconsistent with the confession” of guilt
In New Zealand, duties of defence lawyers require them to "not put forward a case inconsistent with the confession" if the defendant confesses his/her guilt to them (13.13.2(a)).
What ...
2
votes
1answer
30 views
Can a lawyer be charged with Custodial interference pursuant to ARS 13-1302?
The law is stated here
If a lawyer or a nonlawyer provides legal advice to family member, advocating they take a child out of state, without filing an order of protection, an emergency order, petition ...
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0answers
49 views
Special treatment for LE family member?
Is preferential treatment illegal? If LE can employ a judgement call into decision making, are there established limits?
3
votes
2answers
207 views
Lawyer knows trial is hopeless but tells client they can win
(Hypothetical)
Rob is charged with a crime. His lawyer, upon receiving discovery, realises that they are very unlikely to win the trial if they plead not guilty, that the best course of action for Rob ...
0
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0answers
16 views
Collecting consent for online surveys in the UK
Where/what are the laws pertinent to collecting consent from participants before they can participate in an online user study?
The most official ting I've found so far is this gov.uk guidance, but it ...
1
vote
3answers
170 views
How friendly are learned friends supposed to be during court breaks?
In a courtroom, just when everyone arrives before the hearing, how common or expected is it for the opposing lawyers to shake hands (covid aside) and have small talk pretending (or really being) ...
2
votes
1answer
74 views
Besides politics, is there a reason that William Barr has not faced any disciplinary action?
For reference, my background is a professional engineer and within this field we're beholden to a code of ethics that obligates certain duties paramount regardless of the law. Periodically, the ...
2
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2answers
59 views
Is there a difference in a lawyer's culpability between “negative” and “positve”malpractice?
By "negative" malpractice, I mean sins of omission, such as missing a deadline, or omitting a key document from a filing.
By "positive" malpractice, I mean a sin of commission, ...
0
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2answers
74 views
23&me used in criminal investigations?
...Ok not literally.
But 23 & me analyses your DNA and can tell you roughly where your genetics are from and in particular, could point towards a particular race of person.
We know that DNA ...
1
vote
1answer
76 views
Is it an ethics violation for an attorney in one state to send a confidential email to their client, an unlicensed attorney& the opposing counsel?
If the content of this email specifically shows the licensed lawyer telling the unlicensed lawyer that "obtaining [the father's] past employment files for child support purposes is an option.&...
0
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0answers
41 views
Am I obligated to chase after someone to pay them? [duplicate]
We hired a tree removal service to remove some trees from our property. The bill was paid for by the solar company that installed our solar service. The solar company sent us a check for the tree ...
3
votes
1answer
86 views
In Washington state must a doctor report things that happened in the past?
Are Washington state's mandated reporting requirements triggered if a doctor discovers that their adult patient had been abused in the past? What if there are no longer any 'protected populations' at ...
0
votes
2answers
104 views
Examples of Unethical Experimental Studies
I am teaching ethics in a statistics class. I am looking for examples when deceptive statistical evidence was caught or attempted to be used.
For example, is there an example of a party who had ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
Can a person secure an entity's former employee to act as an expert witness against them?
In federal court, is there any ethical or evidentiary rule that prohibits a person from using that entity's former employee as an expert witness against them?
For context, I would like to use a ...
1
vote
1answer
117 views
Job interview presentation about patented work by previous employer
In the interview process of some tech companies there is a time slot allocated for a presentation to the members of the team, which is expected to be about a topic you have directly worked on.
Some ...
22
votes
1answer
6k views
A sitting judge is claiming to represent a client against me. Should I file a bar complaint?
We recently had to fire an employee for cause. After we sent an email to the former employee asking for a password to an account that belonged to the business, we received a reply from a person who ...
1
vote
1answer
52 views
What role, if any, would unethical behavior play in a malpractice case?
My understanding, as a layman, is that a lawyer need not obtain the "best" or optimal result for a client, only a "reasonable" result. In academic terms, a lawyer need not earn an "A." A "C" is ...
2
votes
1answer
91 views
Why are lawyer referral fees considered “unethical?”
According to this article the Avvo lawyer referral program was ruled unethical.
the Avvo website offers an impermissible referral service, in violation of Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(c) and 7.3(...
0
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1answer
57 views
Ethics question when a possible crime is involved in litigation
The simple background is that someone has misspent some money that they weren't really authorized for. We are gearing up and may soon be plaintiffs and this person will become a defendant.
The ...
0
votes
1answer
57 views
Canadian Lawyer Ethics
In Canada/Ontario, lawyers are bound by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Is there some specific statute/law/code that one can cite that prevents lawyers from harassing clients of the other party in ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
What bar ethics restrictions are there on lawyers commenting on current legal cases?
In the United States, what bar ethics restrictions are there on lawyers publicly commenting on ongoing legal cases in which they represent no parties? Since different state bars might have different ...
0
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1answer
168 views
Cross examination ethics
Due to an ongoing case, I was wondering the following.
Can any complaint be made if a barrister suggests something plainly absurd (e.g. the witness made it up when there is CCTV evidence) and also ...
1
vote
2answers
96 views
Is it possible to request a copy of my client file from the public defender and district attorney office?
I have a disposition hearing for a new case and I would like to present evidence, particularly from conversations between my public defender and my doctor and the DA and my doctor, from an old case. ...
2
votes
2answers
72 views
AR Code § 21-8-402 (2018)
I am concerned the wording that appears in 21-8-402 5.B.vii may be too vague.
Included below for your convenience.
(vii)
(a) Anything with a value of one hundred dollars ($100) or less.
(...
0
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0answers
51 views
Ex-parte communication between a Judge and Prosecutor - ethical breach or canon violation?
I was the defendant in a case and had the strange feeling that the Judge and Prosecutor were very friendly.
After the hearing and verdict (not in my favor) I found online, that while the case was ...
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0answers
45 views
Does a GP sending patient info to a hospital without asking for consent violate medical ethics?
So, let’s say that you went to a General Practitioner (GP) about some pain, got some tests done, and they told you that you were fine; all the tests came back normal.
Then, some time later, they look ...
-3
votes
1answer
83 views
what if two words in a law or act are being used but are contradictory? [closed]
specifically within the adam walsh act, in florida, it allows the ICAC to enact "proactive investigations" and this is how they avoid being pursued for entrapment.
Blacks law definitions
What is ...
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0answers
58 views
A company finds out that it has made a material decision based on incorrect personal data, what should it do?
A company terminates an employee based on what it believes to be a record of the actions of person gained from log files.
Months later the company finds out that this information is not correct.
...
8
votes
6answers
702 views
Can a lawyer subject the court to a (temporarily) ruse for a legitimate purpose?
This question is about the legality of a possible defence tactic that might be used in a criminal trial. It is a variation on things you see in lawyer movies fairly commonly. Suppose that a criminal ...
1
vote
1answer
47 views
What is the scope of Interpreter code of ethics coming into play in future congresional investigations?
It has been in the news lately that the President has had a number of private head ups with Putin. On the news someone suggested (Don't remember if it was a congress person or the newscaster), that ...
3
votes
1answer
193 views
Lawyer forgot to file the paperwork and now has no case: what to do?
A close friend of mine had a legitimate suit against a large business. He was directly harmed, the business was caught and punished (for harming him and many other clients), and my friend joined a ...
3
votes
1answer
46 views
Do threats against an attorney constitue a conflict of interest?
When an attorney is considering handling a case, and receives off-the-record threats against his(/her) life, property, family, professional future, etc., is it ethical for the attorney to simply tell ...
2
votes
2answers
271 views
At what point is a lawyer's actions considered “bad faith” and is there recourse for punishment?
I have been dealing with a lawyer for a payment dispute with an old employer. The lawyer in question has been doing some questionable things and I am not sure which ones would be considered 'over the ...
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vote
3answers
95 views
Must a professional services firm replace a worker at the client's request?
If a taxpayer has particularly bad "personal chemistry" with an auditor of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the IRS will replace the "agent" with another one. Now one can't make this request ...
0
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1answer
205 views
What if a lawyer steals my idea and doesn't do the work?
I'm working on a tech startup that involves a specific industry.
Because the industry is regulated, I decided to get a lawyer to sign off on my system and tell me whether I would need to change ...
2
votes
1answer
214 views
In the US: Would it be illegal (maybe fraud) for a musician to fake their own death?
I heard about someone who had to do with recording a Jerry Garcia solo album but he died right before it came out and this guy made TONS of money off of it. The Beatles also got a lot of attention ...
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2answers
238 views
How do rules of conduct apply when acting in a pro hac vice role in another state?
A lawyer's client sent me a mild threat via text message. I have contacted the attorney on 4 separate occasions requesting an explanation/response from the attorney. They have not responded. Are there ...
0
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2answers
80 views
a non-law firm almost all whose work is by its in-house lawyers
In the United States, a law firm (companies whose remit is to practice law) has various restrictions. For example, in Missouri, if I'm not mistaken, it must be owned by a lawyer and is restricted as ...
2
votes
1answer
153 views
Are Michael Cohen's False Statements About the Law Grounds for Disbarrment?
A recent NPR article revealed that in making a threat of a lawsuit, Michael Cohen materially misrepresented the law in claiming that one cannot rape their spouse. This strikes me, as a layperson, as ...
1
vote
1answer
86 views
What did Learned Hand mean by 'whether the best mood or habit is not that' and 'all specific choices may be momentous'?
Source: The Betrayed Profession (1994), p. 238 Middle.
Judge Learned Hand was certainly right when he evoked
the commandment "Thou shalt not ration justice"; but it is not
quite that easy. ...
1
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2answers
59 views
Why would corporate house counsel be limited by unsupervised discovery?
Source: The Betrayed Profession (1994), p. 11 Middle.
Indeed, even today we have significant areas of law where
lawyers must pledge not to do what their clients would wish
them to do. Judges ...
6
votes
1answer
279 views
What did Flybe actually do wrong?
Read an article recently regarding FlyBe, and their attempt to find out (from a list of unknown user data) who wanted to be contacted in the future with promotions, etc.
They sent an email to this ...
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1answer
141 views
Consulting with two attorneys regarding the same matter
If I have retained attorney A and wish to get a second opinion from attorney B, am I obliged to inform attorney A about B, or vice versa? If I do inform B about A, is B permitted or obliged to contact ...
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votes
3answers
11k views
Judge Judy specific retaliation: technically ethical?
In this clip, Judge Judy Sheindlin directs a defendant to “talk fast.” He responds with, “If you wouldn’t cut me off, I’d be able to talk fast.” Judge Judy, out of disbelief or humor, asks the bailiff ...
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0answers
112 views
What constitutes gross misconduct for teachers in the UK?
I recently heard of a story where an employee at a primary school in England was put on paid suspension. The reason given for this suspension was that she attended a peaceful demonstration against ...
