LER No. 73 (First Monday Edition) - Headlines, Recommended Reading, Ethics Trivia, Events, Jobs & More (02.03.25)
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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Happy First Monday!
On the first Monday of each month, you get a longer version of the Roundup with recent headlines plus reading recommendations, job postings, events, and other features. It was another week filled with legal ethics news, so let’s dive right into the headlines.
Highlights from Last Week - Top Ten Headlines
#1 Book Talk for “Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe” Canceled Then Reinstated After Public Outcry. From the University of North Carolina Press Blog: “This past week, Eric Muller, author of Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe: Complicity and Conscience in America’s World War II Concentration Camps, faced an abrupt cancellation of a scheduled talk at a US Attorney’s Office, where he was set to speak on the role of lawyers in Nazi Germany. His lecture was reinstated after public outcry. The increasing silencing of scholars—through travel bans, canceled talks, or broader efforts to suppress critical perspectives—requires collective attention. Censorship, whether direct or indirect, has no place in a society committed to intellectual inquiry. Scholars and writers play a vital role in examining and questioning the world around us, and efforts to silence or exclude critical perspectives undermines that mission.” Read more here. And revisit LER No. 10 to learn more about Muller’s important book.
#2 European Court of Human Rights Creates Ethics Council for Judge. From the European Court of Human Rights Blog: “It was announced today that the European Court of Human Rights will create an Ethics Council to advise the Court's President on questions of judicial ethics. The Court explains this as another step in showing its commitment to judicial ethics.” Read more here.
#3 Justice Connection Launched to Support DOJ Employees Facing Professional and Ethical Crises. From the New York Times: “As President Trump aims to radically reshape and reduce the federal work force, a new organization is forming that aims to support Justice Department employees who say they are facing professional and ethical crises in dealing with the administration’s orders. The group, Justice Connection, is led by Stacey Young, a career federal litigator who stepped down last week as part of a wave of resignations and firings at the Justice Department after Mr. Trump’s return to power. For now, the group will focus on the department — but there are plans to replicate the model across other federal agencies.” Read more here (gift link).
#4 NC Judicial Speech Ethics. From the News & Observer: “State Supreme Court candidate Allison Riggs has made clear her stance on the months long legal battle over her apparent narrow November win against GOP candidate Jefferson Griffin. ‘Judge Griffin’s determination to waste taxpayer dollars in a baseless attempt to overturn his electoral loss won’t change my commitment to the people who elected me to this office,’ Riggs, the Democratic incumbent, said in a statement last week. Griffin, on the other hand, hasn’t made any public comments on the case. … NC GOP spokesperson Matt Mercer said Griffin is following Canon 3 of the code, which says judges shouldn’t speak publicly on the merits of any pending case in the course of their official duties. But Canon 3 doesn’t seem to apply here, said Charles Geyh, a professor at the Indiana University law school and expert in judicial ethics. … Wake Forest University law professor Ellen Murphy said assuming Griffin’s interpretation of Canon 3 did apply, speaking out to educate the public on the increasingly complex case is still acceptable.” Read more here.
#5 “More Judicial Gifts, More Judicial Ethics Problems.” From Fix the Court: “The numbers bear out that this is an issue for Democratic and Republican appointees alike. As the judiciary posts more financial disclosures in its online database, we’re learning more about the expensive, unnecessary and often unusual gifts that lower court judges have recently received, underscoring the need for Congress to pass a third branch gift ban. The gifts … include an expensive boat trip, cash, jewelry, clothing, tickets to concerts and sporting events, vacation home and hotel stays and custom skis — i.e., freebies judges should not be accepting in general and especially amid growing public concern over judicial ethics. Of the 54 gifts accepted by presidential appointees, 27 were taken by Republican appointees, and 27 were taken by Democratic appointees.” Read more here.
#6 “Judges Without JDs.” From the ABA Journal: “As of 2022, more than half of the states allow nonlawyers to serve as judges in lower-level local courts, according to the National Center for State Courts. Depending upon the state, the positions non lawyer can fill include justices of the peace, magistrates, municipal judges or probate judges. … Nonlawyer judges tend to serve in rural areas, although not exclusively.” Read more here. (And for more on legal needs in rural areas, check out the “Recommended Reading” section below.)
#7 AI and Legal Ethics - Protecting Client Data & More. You get an article and a podcast for #7. First, from The Tech-Savvy Lawyer: “Attention tech-savvy lawyers! Apple's recent iOS and macOS updates have automatically enabled Apple Intelligence, raising significant concerns about client confidentiality and data privacy.” Read more here. Second, from The Lawyerist Podcast: “In this conversation, Hillary Gerzhoy discusses the intersection of legal ethics and artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal profession. She highlights the risks associated with incorporating AI into legal practices, emphasizing the importance of confidentiality and the distinction between open and closed AI systems.” Listen here.
#8 “Navigating the Ethical Tightrope: Trends in Lawyer Misconduct and Discipline.” From Louisiana Legal Ethics: “The Louisiana lawyer discipline system has seen notable trends in the sanctions imposed on attorneys for misconduct over the past decade. Admonitions and probations have risen significantly, reflecting an increasing focus on addressing minor to moderate ethical breaches through corrective measures rather than punitive actions. For example, admonitions peaked at 51 in 2023, while probations surged to 69 in the same year. These trends suggest a deliberate effort to rehabilitate lawyers and guide them back onto the right path without ending their careers. At the other end of the spectrum, disbarments and permanent disbarments have remained relatively stable, underscoring the profession’s zero-tolerance approach to severe violations.” Read more here.
#9 Financial Hardship and the Ethics of Withdrawal. From the ABA Journal: “Recent Idaho public defender pay rate changes led to many counsel heading for the exits, and the Idaho State Bar issued a formal ethics opinion over concerns about defendants being left without attorneys. The opinion recognizes financial hardships can cause conflicts in legal representation but notes that counsel cannot leave a case without the court’s approval.” Read more here.
#10 “How to Solve Unmet Legal Needs and Restore Public Trust – A Justice Blueprint.” Special thanks to Colin Levy for sharing space at his blog, where he published a post from me last week: “We need a plan to make legal help available to all, one that leverages ethical innovation and technology, along with regulatory reform and education. This effort must be coordinated among wide-ranging stakeholders, including attorneys, advocacy groups, bar authorities, courts, law schools, the legal tech industry, legal service providers, legislators, policy makers, regulatory authorities, and research centers.” Read more here and check out posts from others including Dan Rodriguez (Northwestern), Anna Lozynski (former General Counsel of L'Oréal), and many more here.
Recommended Reading
The first recommendation on this list is the review of a book jam-packed with content from legal ethicists, including yours truly. The second recommendation is an article by two of my casebook co-authors who collaborated on a project of their own. The final set of recommendations all center around the theme of rural lawyering.
Recommendation #1: “New Kid No Longer: Tracing Legal Ethics’ Growth and Charting Its Future” by Amy Salyzyn (University of Ottawa) in JOTWELL, reviewing the book Leading Works in Legal Ethics edited by Julian Webb (Melbourne) featuring chapters from Rob Atkinson (Florida State), Hugh Breakey (Griffith), Tim Dare (Auckland), Iris Van Domselaar (Amsterdam), Tigran Eldred (New England), Allen Hutchinson (Osgoode Hall), Richard Moorhead (Exeter), Reid Mortensen (Southern Queensland), Justine Rogers (UNSW Sydney), Becky Roiphe (New York), Steven Vaughan (Monash), and Brad Wendel (Cornell) along with a chapter from Russ Pearce (Fordham) and me. Here’s an overview from Salyzyn’s review:
New kid on the block. Legal ethics, as a scholarly discipline, has long been referenced in relation its youth—and, fair enough, given its relatively recent emergence in the United States in 1970s and even later arrival in other countries. But another story about legal ethics also exists. This is a discipline that has, over the last several decades, clearly come of age. We now have an extensive body of scholarship full of rich, diverse writings and lively conversations. While the full breadth of legal ethics is beyond any one book, we are fortunate to get a captivating snapshot of the field in the recently published Leading Works in Legal Ethics. … Informative, inspiring and ambitious, Leading Works is a landmark work in legal ethics. The care and effort put in by Webb, as editor, and the chapter authors shines through. The wide-ranging and thought-provoking territory that the book covers make it an invaluable resource to both newcomers and established contributors to the field alike.
Read the full review here. And you can download the chapter from Russ and me here — “Not the End of Lawyers, But a Beginning—The Place of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Legal Ethics.”
Recommendation #2: “Replacing this Old House: Certifying and Regulating New Legal Services Providers” by Bruce Green (Fordham) and Ellen Murphy (Wake Forest). From the abstract:
This Article comprehensively examines the decisions that state courts must make, and have made to date, when they certify and regulate new categories of legal services providers: those individuals other than lawyers who are authorized to provide discrete legal services that the laws governing the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) generally reserve to lawyers.
Recommendation #3. Maybe it is just coincidental, but over the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed a lot of focus on rural legal needs. In addition to the ABA Journal article mentioned above (see Headline # 6), I’ve encountered two fascinating scholarly works addressing legal services in rural communities and I’m looking forward to the publication of a third. First, from Elizabeth Chambliss (South Carolina) is her article “Rural Legal Markets.” Second, from Margaret Raymond (Wisconsin) is her article “The Other Half: Challenges of the Part-Time Rural Prosecutor.” Finally, I’m looking forward to the March 2025 release of the book The Rural Lawyer: How to Incentivize Rural Law Practice and Help Small Communities Thrive by Hannah Haksgaard (South Dakota).
Legal Ethics Trivia
From the Texas Center for Legal Ethics, here’s the question of the month: “What restrictions, if any, can law firms impose on lawyers who intend to leave the firm?” Test yourself at this website where you can read a short hypothetical, select an answer, and see your results. So far, only 29% have gotten it right. Will you?
Legal Ethics in Pop Culture
“Which Fictional Lawyers Get the Most Google Traffic?” From the ABA Journal: "When the reckless, self-assured Harvey Specter struts into an office on Suits, are you riveted to the television screen? Do you do a Google search of him to learn more about his character? If the answer is yes, then you are in good company. Specter is the top-searched fictional lawyer … .” Read more here.
Get Hired
Did you miss the 100+ job postings from previous weeks? Find them all here.
Associate Corporate Counsel, Business Conduct & Ethics, Amazon — Arlington, VA. From the posting: “Amazon’s Legal Department is looking for a seasoned attorney with experience in corporate anti-corruption compliance programs to join its Business Conduct & Ethics team. We're looking for someone that can help build and enhance our company-wide compliance program while providing guidance and legal advice to senior leaders across Amazon's offices in the US and Canada. The attorney will also and have some oversight on the global proactive compliance aspects of our entire program.” Learn more and apply here.
Conflicts Attorney, Goodwin LLP — Boston, DC, NYC, Philadelphia. Responsibilities include conflicts clearance review and analysis for firm-wide legal hires and new business. Learn more and apply here.
Deputy Ethics Counsel, Office of Attorney Ethics, Supreme Court of New Jersey — Trenton. From the posting: “When you come to work for the Office of Attorney Ethics, you will join a staff of mission-driven professionals who operate with the highest standards of independence, integrity, fairness and quality service. Our culture is based on our strong belief in the importance of our work to the Supreme Court, the Bar and the public. This position presents a unique opportunity to be responsible for a case from inception to conclusion; Deputy Ethics Counsel investigate matters from the docketing of a grievance, prosecuting appropriate cases from complaint through oral argument before the Supreme Court of New Jersey.” Learn more and apply here.
Executive Director of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics, State Bar of Texas — Austin. From the posting: “The Executive Director is responsible for the professional, administrative, and financial work necessary to support the ongoing operations of the organization and to develop new programming opportunities for education and training in the areas of legal ethics, professionalism, and grievance avoidance. … The Executive Director must be comfortable working with justices of the Supreme Court of Texas, leaders and staff of the State Bar of Texas and others engaged in furthering ethics and professionalism. The individual must be comfortable as a public speaker, presenter, and writer to serve as an ombudsman and advocate for high ethical standards and professionalism for the lawyers of Texas, the State Bar of Texas, and bar-related organizations across the country.” Learn more and apply here.
Legal Conflicts Counsel, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP — Any of the Firms 30+ Offices/Remote. Responsibilities include reviewing conflicts of interest reports daily as part of the firm’s new business intake process, and ethical and business conflicts of interest analysis and resolution, including identifying and resolving conflicts of interest issues relating to existing and potential new business. Learn more and apply here.
Professional Responsibility Attorney, Barnes & Thornburg LLP — Remote. From the posting: “The Professional Responsibility Attorney is a member of the Professional Responsibility Committee and serves with a team of lawyers as in-house legal counsel to the Firm. The Committee’s work centers on legal ethics, professional responsibility and loss prevention.” Learn more and apply here.
Professional Responsibility Counsel, Hall, Render, Killian, Heath — Denver. From the posting: “The Professional Responsibility Counsel at Hall Render is a pivotal role focused on promoting ethical practices within the firm. This position involves developing training programs, advising on ethical issues, and ensuring compliance with professional responsibility rules. The Counsel will also provide expert guidance on conflicts of interest, manage legal matters related to the firm, and stay updated on legal developments in professional responsibility.” Learn more and apply here.
Staff Counsel, Office of Legal Ethics Counsel/Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri — Jefferson City. From the posting: “The primary role of this position is to answer ethics questions with a high degree of communication and professionalism by providing informal advisory opinions about lawyers’ prospective conduct under the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct. This is an excellent opportunity to assist fellow Missouri lawyers. This position may also assist in the development of ethics educational information for lawyers’, such as CLE programs, website resource pages, etc.” Learn more and apply here.
Upcoming Ethics Events & Other Announcements
Did you miss an announcement from previous weeks? Find them all here.
2025
February 20, 2-3PM Central. The Legal Ethics of Crisis Lawyering. This online program will analyze the special ethics issues lawyers confront when dealing with crises in their practice and emergency situations. It will focus on some of the lawyer experiences recounted in the book Crisis Lawyering: Effective Legal Advocacy in Crisis Situations (Ray Brescia & Eric K. Stern, eds., NYU Press 2021). Learn more and register here.
March 27, 10:15-11:15AM Central. Ted Lasso and Attorney Ethics: Lessons in Life, Law, and Leadership. Learn more and register for the webcast here.
May 28-30. 50th ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility in Washington DC. Learn more here.
August 7-9. Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers Annual Meeting in Toronto. Learn more here.
2026
December 2-4. International Legal Ethics Conference at the University of Houston. Learn more here.
Keep in Touch
News tips? Announcements? Events? A job to post? Reading recommendations? Email legalethics@substack.com - but be sure to subscribe first, otherwise the email won’t be delivered.