The twice-monthly “Dear Ethics Lawyer” column is part of a training regimen of the Legal Ethics Project, authored by Mark Hinderks, former managing partner and counsel to an AmLaw 200 firm. Read More

2025

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am mid-level partner at a firm with an active litigation practice. I use paralegals a fair amount for various tasks and have always had pretty good experiences with them, but I am not responsible for hiring and firing them, and am not in management at the firm. Recently I used a new paralegal for some work, who happens to be a distant relative of one of our practice leaders and had a bad experience. He didn’t seem to know what he was doing as to a fairly standard task, and I felt like he told me he had completed tasks that he had not done. I don’t want to rock the boat, so I plan to not use this paralegal again, and let other people form their own opinions. Given my role at the firm, this isn’t a problem is it?

Continue Reading February 17, 2025 Issue – Duties Re Mis-Performing Staff

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I represent co-defendants in a suit for misappropriation of trade secrets. The plaintiff has offered to settle for a total sum of $1 million. Although both defendants were involved, it appears from the evidence that the plaintiff has a very good case on damages against one but not the other. What are my obligations in presenting the settlement demand to the clients? Should I have thought of this in the engagement process? What do I do now?

Continue Reading February 3, 2025 Issue – Joint Representation/Aggregate Settlement

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, Many of our vendors have a provision in their agreements limiting their liability related to their work to the amount of their fee, or to some other capped limit. Could we insert a similar provision in our standard form of engagement letter? For example, our firm has a primary malpractice insurance limit of $25 million. Could we include in our engagement letter a provision disclosing that, and limiting our liability for malpractice to the amount of our insurance?

Continue Reading January 15, 2025 Issue – Agreements Limiting Liability

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, If I truly believe it to be the case, can I properly tell a prospective client that I am confident that I will provide legal service as good or better than any other lawyer in my city? Or have I been watching too many cheesy lawyer ads on television?

Continue Reading January 2, 2025 Issue – Comparison Statements About Lawyer Service