Benchmarks: Lawyer can’t keep passport to ensure payment 
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: April 23, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, attorney lien, passport, Rules of Professional Conduct
The Colorado Supreme Court decided yesterday that an attorney could not hold onto a person’s U.S. passport in order to ensure that he was paid the remainder of his fees.
Suspended attorney satisfied standard for rehabilitation
Published: April 22, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, rehabilitation, reinstatement, suspension
An attorney suspended for misconduct related to a client’s estate made a sufficient showing of his rehabilitation for reinstatement to the practice of law, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled.
Immunity protects party who files bar complaint
Published: April 15, 2013
Tags: absolute immunity, attorney discipline, defamation
A party who filed a bar complaint enjoyed absolute immunity from liability for defamation, Massachusetts’ highest court has ruled.
Benchmarks: Attorney can’t sue for defamation over bar complaint
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: April 11, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, defamation
Massachusetts’ highest court made clear this week that those who file disciplinary complaints against attorneys enjoy the broadest form of immunity from liability for defamation.
Lawyer suspended over poor billing practices
Published: March 18, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, billable hours, ethics, legal ethics
A lawyer who charged a client for six hours of time to prepare his bill – with an additional hour spent searching for the file – was recently suspended by the North Dakota Supreme Court.
Two-year suspension for attorney who helped client break into her former home
Published: March 13, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, divorce, suspension
After being caught on a surveillance video while helping a client break into the home of her estranged husband, a New Mexico attorney had his license suspended for two years.
Benchmarks: Dumbbell-wielding defense attorney disbarred
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: March 7, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, attorney misconduct, Rules of Professional Conduct
The Minnesota Supreme Court yesterday disbarred a former defense attorney who is currently serving a six-year sentence for dropping dumbbells on the head of a former client.
Iowa attorneys suspended for house flipping scheme
Published: March 7, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, client communication, conflict of interest, ethics, foreclosure, real estate, Rules of Professional Conduct
The Iowa Supreme Court has suspended two attorneys who failed to fully disclose that they were behind the purchase of a home their client had foreclosed upon and put up for auction.
Short call not misconduct
By:
Peter Vieth
Published: March 5, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, etichs
A lawyer who took a telephone call from a distraught adversary did not violate the bar’s ethics rules when she did not immediately hang up, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled.
Attorney’s drinking leads to disbarment
Published: February 21, 2013
Tags: attorney discipline, censure, disbarment, drunken driving
Repeated arrests for drunken driving and other “outrageous behavior” must result in an attorney’s disbarment, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled.
