LER No. 61 - Ethics of Jailhouse & Opioid Lawyers, $18,500/Hour Fee Reduced, NJ to Reinstate Post-Disbarment, Columbia Law Prof Files Complaint After Firm Drops Rep, YouTubing Judges & More (10.21.24)
The Legal Ethics Roundup - your Monday morning tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson
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Hello from Washington D.C., where I delivered remarks Wednesday at the Embassy of Australia as part of the 75th anniversary celebration for the Australian-American Fulbright Commission. During 2019, I held the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. Read more my embassy speech here, and read on below for last week’s news in lawyer and judicial ethics.
Highlights from Last Week - Top Ten Headlines
#1 The Ethics of Jailhouse Lawyering. From NPR: “Tyler Walton is managing attorney at the Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative. Walton said giving people tools to understand the law is ‘the right thing to do. … What we see is that jailhouse lawyers who often have developed these legal skills over decades, helping their community — as soon as they get out, they can be at threat for prosecution if they do the same work they were doing while they were on the inside,’” Walton said. Listen and read more here.
#2 The Ethics of Corporate Lawyers and the Opioid Crisis. From the Financial Times: “In the midst of the US opioid epidemic, junior attorney Elise Maizel experienced a sudden crisis of conscience. … Maizel came from south-west Virginia, a rural area that had been ravaged by addiction. As a corporate lawyer, she wondered what accountability her profession owed when the likes of McKinsey, drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies eventually paid billions in settlements over business practices that had contributed to tens of thousands of deaths and even more shattered lives. Maizel later left Big Law and is now a law professor at Michigan State University. In a recent paper, she asks: ‘[I]s there something about corporate lawyers and corporate lawyering in particular that helped to create and perpetuate the opioid crisis?’. She went on to explain why the answer, for her, is ‘yes’. The paper describes how norms of American legal practice, particularly the principle of ‘zealous advocacy’ had been, in her view, corrupted to empower lawyers to both actively participate in wrongdoing and then most of the time escape sanction.” Read more here. And download the paper here.
#3 NJ Allows Reinstatement After Disbarment, Reversing Long-Standing Precedent. From the Morristown Minute: “In a historic shift in policy, the New Jersey Supreme Court has revised its stance on disbarment, offering disbarred attorneys a route to reinstatement after a minimum of five years. This marks the first significant change in the state's approach to disbarment for knowing misappropriation of client funds since 1979. The decision stems from the recommendations of a Special Committee formed following the 2022 Supreme Court opinion in the case of ‘In the Matter of Dionne Larrel Wade.’ This case reexamined the consequences for attorneys who misappropriate funds, raising crucial questions about their potential rehabilitation and subsequent return to legal practice.” Read more here.
#4 Columbia Law Prof Files Ethics Complaint After Firm Drops Her Over Israel-Gaza Comments. From Reuters: “A U.S. employment law firm is defending its decision to stop representing a Columbia University law professor under fire for comments she made about pro-Israel student protesters, citing its policy to steer clear of employee speech cases related to the war in Gaza. Columbia Law School professor Katherine Franke said Wednesday that she had filed an ethics complaint against New York-based Outten & Golden, citing professional conduct rules requiring attorneys to ‘act with loyalty’ to an active client. The firm said it considered its ethics obligations in dropping Franke's case and did not base its decision on her or Columbia's views. … ‘Law firms have a lot of latitude to withdraw from representation, but they need to do it in a way that does not have material adverse effects on the client's interests,’ said Leslie Levin, a legal ethics expert at the University of Connecticut's law school. ‘Disciplinary authorities do not tend to get involved in these sorts of matters.’” Read more here.
#5 The Ethics of YouTubing Judges. From the Detroit Free Press: “Judge Kenneth King sat on the bench in his 36th District courtroom opening his birthday packages while his court livestream displayed his bounty: a plaque engraved with the scales of justice and a pair of Michigan State University Spartan socks. … That type of adoration and attention for King and his livestreamed proceedings is not new. Even before he went viral this summer after he ordered a sleepy teen on a field trip handcuffed, the engaging and sometimes fiery judge already had garnered the viewership of thousands online who voraciously digest his daily appearances on the bench. … King is the subject of a federal lawsuit and just completed weeks of mandated training at least in part for his use of YouTube in the court. But when it comes to garnering an online audience, he’s not alone. Other Michigan judges have gone viral, and have gained fame and online community followings … raising questions about the potential impact on the administration of justice. David Sachar, the director of the Center for Judicial Ethics for the National Center for State Courts, said it’s less about the medium and more about the communication. He frequently sees judges run up against long-standing norms when they take to social media.” Read more here.
#6 Judge Reduces $18,500/Hour Fee Award. From the ABA Journal: “A federal judge has slashed a $185 million fee that she initially awarded to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, an amount that translated to about $18,500 per hour for its work in an insurance class action lawsuit. U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Kathryn C. Davis had initially awarded Quinn Emanuel 5% of a $3.7 billion judgment for about 10,000 hours of work. In an Oct. 10 opinion, she reduced the law firm’s claimed hours by 15% and reduced the award to 2.5% of the recovery, amounting to $92.4 million.” Read more here.
#7 NH Supreme Court Justice Indicted. From the Associated Press: “A justice on New Hampshire’s highest court has been charged for allegedly trying to interfere with a criminal investigation into her husband, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced Wednesday. State Supreme Court Associate Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi was indicted by a Merrimack County grand jury for two felonies and five misdemeanors, Formella said in a statement. Marconi has been on administrative leave since July.” Read more here.
#8 More Conflicts May Further Delay Dan Markel Murder Proceedings. From the Tallahassee Journal: “Charlie Adelson’s appellate lawyer asked that his case go back to the lower court so he can raise the same conflict of interest claim that unexpectedly short circuited his mother’s murder trial — and presumably seek a new trial.” Read more here.
#9 Lawyer Ads Questioned as Deceptive Case Updates. From Law360: “A California attorney has launched a proposed class action against appellate case management company Record Press in California federal court alleging that the New York-based company sends lawyers spam emails that deceptively appear to be important updates about ongoing litigation.” Read more here.
#10 More Regulations for Utah Sandbox Nonlawyer Ownership and Investment. From the ABA Journal: “A controversial decision allowing nonlegal entities to own or invest in Utah law firms will be subject to additional regulations, the Utah Supreme Court decided last month.” Read more here.
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