LER No. 66 - Ex-Judge Suspended from Practice, Thanksgiving Rec's, Ethics Opinions (Not) Muzzling Lawyers & Judges, PA Lawyer Texting Ban Challenged, Future SCOTUS Ethics Reforms & More (11.25.24)
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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Aloha from Maui where I’m grateful to be enjoying a bit of a pre-Thanksgiving holiday. I hope this week provides you time to rest and reflect. If you’re looking for some legal ethics-related Thanksgiving suggestions, revisit last year’s LER which includes a few gratitude resources, a brief history recognizing the complicated past of the holiday, and even a legal ethics-themed movie recommendation about a lawyer trying to make partner - A Family Thanksgiving. Now, let’s dive into the latest headlines.
Highlights from Last Week - Top Ten Headlines
#1 “Can Settlement Agreements Muzzle Lawyers About Public Case Information?” From the Louisiana Legal Ethics Blog: “The short answer is no. The North Carolina State Bar recently tackled this issue and made it clear that settlement agreements can’t restrict lawyers from discussing information that’s already public – doing so would violate Rule 5.6 of professional conduct. See NC Formal Ethics Opinion 2023-2.” Read more here.
#2 CA Advisory Opinion on Judges and Election Criticism. From the California Courts Newsroom: “A California judicial ethics committee on Tuesday issued a formal opinion with guidance for judges responding to public criticism during a judicial election or recall campaign. The guidance was issued by the California Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions (CJEO)—a body which is appointed and authorized by, but works independently of, the California Supreme Court. In CJEO Formal Opinion 2024-027, the committee analyzes the 2020 amendment to canon 3B(9) of the Code of Judicial Ethics, which permits, in connection with a judicial election or recall campaign, any judge to make a public comment about a pending proceeding, subject to certain restrictions.” Read more here.
#3 “We Should Criticize The Judiciary. It’s How We Hold The Institution Accountable.” From Aliza Shatzman (Legal Accountability Project) in Above the Law: “The federal judiciary deserves significant scrutiny — far more than meager attempts by some in the Congress and the media. Yet the judiciary refuses to recognize the scope of abusive conduct in their ranks, refuses to engage with lawmakers or law clerk advocates, refuses to release any data, and refuses to enact meaningful reforms in the wake of high-profile scandals and sustained criticism. I do not think the judiciary is beyond repair. But they must admit there are problems, and implement solutions. I have a few ideas.” Read more here.
#4 Federal Judge-Shopping Reforms Paused. From Bloomberg Law: “Federal judicial officials have signaled they won’t move forward with an effort to curb judge-shopping, following blowback from Republicans who will soon control the White House and Congress, according to a member of Congress and another person familiar with the matter. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Wednesday in a hallway interview he had received ‘some pretty firm confirmations’ from the Administrative Office of the US Courts that it doesn’t intend to move forward with a rule requiring trial courts to randomly assign certain cases. A second person familiar with the matter said they had also heard from the AO that no future action on random case assignment would be pursued.” Read more here.
#5 “Soft Law” and Lawyers as Ethical Gatekeepers. From the Global Legal Post: “Soft law guidance, particularly when devised by lawyers themselves, could help ensure more ethical legal practice according to a new report published by the International Bar Association (IBA). The report – The Role of Lawyers as Ethical Gatekeepers and Related Issues – was produced following a roundtable convened by think tank Chatham House, co-hosted by senior IBA officers and members with support from the IBA's Legal Policy & Research Unit.” Read more here.
#6 PA Client Solicitation Texting Ban Challenged. From Law360: “Pennsylvania's statewide ban on the use of text messages to solicit potential legal clients would cause irreparable harm to a company that specializes in digital marketing technology by preventing it from raising revenue while fighting the rule, according to a recent motion filed in Pittsburgh federal court.” Read more here.
#7 FL Bar Okays Judges to Create Nonprofits for Improving Access to Justice. From the Florida Bar News: “Can a judge create a nonprofit organization devoted to the improvement of the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice and serve as a board member of that organization? Yes, according to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, as long as the organization is non-partisan. But there are, however, limitations.” Read more here.
#8 GA Judge Removed from Bench and Suspended from Law Practice. From the Associated Press: “A former Georgia appeals court judge who was removed from the bench in 2023 for ethical misconduct has been suspended from practicing law until August 2025. The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday decided that Christian Coomer should have his law license suspended for two years for exploiting a vulnerable client when Coomer was a private lawyer.” Read more here.
#9 TX Lawyer Defamation Claim Against GA Secretary of State over 2020 Election Dismissed. From Law360: “A Georgia federal judge on Friday tossed a defamation suit in which a Texas attorney sued Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on allegations he suggested she presented ‘doctored’ evidence to state senators in the aftermath of the 2020 election, finding the statements were ‘substantially true or are hyperbole.’” Read more here.
#10 The Future of Supreme Court Reform. From Gabe Roth at Fix the Court: “In the aftermath of the 2024 election, it’s important to assess where the organization stands, where the court reform movement as a whole stands and what opportunities for reform exist in the short, medium and long term. For some background, Fix the Court celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this month. In that time, and in alignment with our ‘fixes,’ the Supreme Court adopted an ethics code and began live-streaming its oral arguments. The public can now read every SCOTUS filing for free on the Court’s website. All of the justices and lower court judges are posting their financial disclosures and stock transactions in a public online database. Some justices are explaining their recusals, while others are striving to speak before more ideologically heterogeneous audiences. The SCOTUS term limits debate is no longer theoretical, as members of Congress have introduced bills that would, in various ways, curb life tenure. None of this was true in 2014.” Read more here.
Where’s the Rest of the Roundup?
Revisit the “Welcome Back Edition” for an explanation about the new format. And keep an eye out for next month’s “First Monday Edition” with reading recommendations, analysis, reforms watch, jobs, events, and much more.
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