Many lawyers have confronted the irksome practice of opposing counsel sending emails containing half-truths such as...more
10/27/2022
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Email ,
Email Policies ,
Ethical Duties ,
Law Firm Associates ,
Law Firm Partners ,
Law Practice Management ,
Legal Ethics ,
Professional Liability ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
VA Supreme Court
On July 21, 2021, the Supreme Court of Virginia rejected without comment a proposed amendment to Rule 1.8, which governs “prohibited transactions.” Specifically, Rule 1.8(k), as proposed, would have provided that: “A lawyer...more
Can we all agree that it is unfair to provide intentionally a judge with the wrong legal authority? Indeed, the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct mandate that a “lawyer shall not knowingly . . . make a false statement of...more
6/20/2019
/ Attorney Misconduct ,
Clear and Convincing Evidence ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Duty of Candor ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Failure To Disclose ,
False Statements ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Non-Parties ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
VA Supreme Court
Our adversarial legal system contemplates that each party will have the opportunity to fully investigate the facts of a dispute and bring to the attention of the trier of fact those facts most favorable to its position. This...more
6/18/2019
/ Adversary Proceedings ,
Attorney Misconduct ,
Client Services ,
Destruction of Evidence ,
Discovery ,
Evidence ,
Legal Ethics ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
Social Media ,
VA Supreme Court ,
Young Lawyers
I spoke recently on a national teleconference on the topic of “Attorney Professionalism: Translating Philosophy into Daily Practice.” My comments addressed the unremarkable proposition that legal incivility among lawyers is...more
Practitioners before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) must comply with the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct, 37 C.F.R. §§ 11.10, et seq. Within the USPTO, the Office of Enrollment and Discipline is...more
5/1/2019
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Attorney Misconduct ,
Client Services ,
Disqualification ,
False Statements ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventors ,
Legal Ethics ,
Patent Applications ,
Patents ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
Unauthorized Practice of Law ,
USPTO
Pro bono publico or “for the public good” is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. Unlike traditional community service or volunteerism, pro bono service uses the specific skills of...more