Recent Kentucky news and commentary
Other recent news
Other recent commentary
Recent CLE material and research links
Highlights from recent posts
Thanks for your interest! |
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"...My "site statistics" show that this online newsletter has received 71,722 visits since it was launched about two years ago, including 2,364 visits over the past thirty days. Thanks for your interest!..." |
Order in 'consensual discipline' case is further evidence that the 'new' Supreme Court of Kentucky is looking closely at disciplinary prosecutions |
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"...The ruling is significant because it is further evidence that the "new" Supreme Court of Kentucky is examining disciplinary cases closely, even when it receives a case on an unopposed motion for "consensual discipline."..." |
Ten upcoming CLE presentations, on the Internet and in person |
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"...I am planning to offer three "Last Chance" Ethics CLE seminars live on the Internet during the weeks of June 18 and June 25, for members of the Bar who are not able to attend the KBA Annual Convention in Louisville. ... I have also agreed to make live, in-person presentations at seven seminars and conferences before June 30...." |
Congratulations to Chief Deputy Bar Counsel Jay R. Garrett |
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"...Congratulations to Jay R. Garrett, who has been appointed Chief Deputy Bar Counsel at the Kentucky Bar Association. Mr. Garrett has served as a Deputy Bar Counsel for many years, and has also served as the"intake manager" in the Office of Bar Counsel for the past several years...." |
Cartoon in Bench and Bar magazine prompts questions about balance and good taste |
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"...It does seem surprising that the leadership of the Bar would permit a cartoon of that nature to be published on the pages of the state bar journal. After all, the cost of publishing Bench & Bar magazine is borne by the entire membership of the Kentucky Bar, including personal injury attorneys...." |
Lawyer regulation in the context of a 'unified' state bar |
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"...The existence of a"unified" state bar does not automatically or necessarily mean that attorney disciplinary matters are handled by a state bar association. In fact, the American Bar Association recommends a different approach to the handling of disciplinary matters, even in states like Kentucky that have "unified" state bars...." |
KBA moves Client Assistance Program into Office of Bar Counsel |
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"...In light of everything the KBA stated and represented to the membership of the Bar several years ago regarding the functional relationship between the Client Assistance Program and the Office of Bar Counsel, it seems that the KBA ought to make some conspicuous announcement and explanation of the recent change in the pages of the Kentucky Bench & Bar magazine and also at District Bar Meetings...." |
Criticism of Deckard appointment misunderstands the position of KBA Executive Director |
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"...During my five years of service in the Office of Bar Counsel, first as Chief Deputy and then as Chief, KBA Executive Director Bruce Davis never attempted to influence that process in any way. To suggest that Mr. Deckard would attempt to do otherwise is an affront to his personal integrity. ... [Likewwise] ... to suggest that Mr. Deckard would "politicize" the relationship between the KBA and the Supreme Court is an affront to the Board of Governors, as well as Mr. Deckard...." |
Congratulations to Jim Deckard, the KBA's new Executive Director |
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"...Congratulations to Jim Deckard, General Counsel to Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, who has been selected as the new Executive Director of the Kentucky Bar Association. He succeeds Bruce K. Davis, who will retire in March after serving as Executive Director for 24 years. ... I had the pleasure of working with Jim during my service as Chief Bar Counsel, when he was serving as Chief Justice Lambert's chief of staff. I know that he will bring a high level of intelligence, integrity and sophisticated understanding of Kentucky's legal system to the position of Executive Director...." |
Law-related blogs: following in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson |
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"...Earlier this week, a reporter for the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader interviewed some Louisville lawyers who publish blogs, in preparation for a news story about the growth of law-related blogs. I was invited to join them but could not attend. I prepared some written comments instead [and] portions of those comments have since been posted on Larry Bodine's Law Marketing Blog and the Law.com Blog Network. I thought my readers might be interested in reading the full text of what I wrote, so here it is: ..." |
The top ten legal ethics news stories of 2006 |
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"...John Steele has published his annual review of legal ethics news on the Legal Ethics Forum. ... I had been wondering how he would squeeze all of the ethics-related news of 2006 into a "top ten" list. The answer is: he couldn't, so instead he added added seven "honorable mentions." Here's the entire list ......" |
May Kentucky lawyers advertise in the 'Best Lawyers' section of Louisville Magazine? |
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"...Louisville Magazine is presently seeking advertisers for a "Best Lawyers" section that will appear in the March issue. ... Kentucky lawyers should be mindful of the following text that was recently added to the "FAQ" page of the Attorney's Advertising Commission ......" |
TIME magazine's Person of the Year: You (and me) |
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"...Where the legal profession is concerned, there can be little doubt that law-related weblogs -- "blogs" -- are what TIME is talking about. ..." |
ABA Ethics Opinion addresses permissibility of restrictive covenants in retirement agreements |
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"...ABA Ethics Opinion 06-444 (09/14/06) holds that, under ABA Model Rule 5.6, a lawyer may participate in offering or making a partnership, shareholder, operating, employment, or other similar type of agreement that restricts the right of a lawyer to practice after termination of the relationship only if the agreement concerns benefits upon retirement."..." |
HALT report summarizes status of malpractice insurance disclosure rules |
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"...HALT, the consumer-advocacy organization, has published a report summarizing the current status of state rules regarding disclosure of malpractice insurance coverage...." |
South Dakota holds that lawyer's authority to settle need not be in writing |
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"...The South Dakota Supreme Court has held that neither professional conduct rules nor the Uniform Commercial Code require that a lawyer's authority to settle a case be in writing..." |
The legal profession's continuing service to America |
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"...The legal profession's service to America is evident once again. The 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence included 24 lawyers and judges (42%). Two hundred and thirty years later, the ten members of the Iraq Study Group included no fewer than eight members of the Bar (80%). So: when people joke about lawyers at holiday parties, it might be well to remind them that our nation continues to depend on lawyers as premier problem-solvers...." |
Disciplinary attorneys seek to retain 'appearance of impropriety' standard for judicial conduct |
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"...The National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC) has submitted written comments regarding the Final Draft of the Proposed ABA Model Judicial Code, arguing that the 'appearance of impropriety' should continue to be a basis for disciplining judges...." |
Duties upon departure: Supreme Court of Kentucky holds that KBA E-424 goes too far |
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"...In Kentucky Bar Association v. Unnamed Attorney, Ky., No. 2006-SC-000520-KB, 11/22/06), the Supreme Court of Kentucky held that KBA Ethics Opinion E-424 "too broadly imposes a duty of notification upon any departing attorney who has taken a 'significant' role in delivering legal services to the client." The Court held that a departing lawyer has a duty to notify a client if the lawyer "is responsible for the client's matter or ... plays a principal role in the firm's delivery of legal services in the matter," as set forth in ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 99-414 (1999)..." |
Mediation ethics: California court holds that joint representation is not a ground for disqualification by another party |
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"...A California appeals court has held that a party in mediation cannot disqualify a lawyer who jointly represents two other parties with different interests, rejecting an argument that the joint representation hinders the opposing party's right to mediate confidentially with each of the jointly represented parties. See Dino v. Pelayo, Cal. Ct. App. 1st Dist., No. A113046, 11/30/06)...." |
Tennessee adopts statewide standard of care for legal malpractice |
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"...The Supreme Court of Tennessee has adopted a statewide standard of care in legal malpractice cases. See Cathy L. Chapman, et al. v. Rick J. Bearfield, ___S.W. 3d___, 2006 WL 3162923 (Tenn 2006), filed November 6, 2006. ..." |
Online material regarding ethical aspects of law firm websites and weblogs |
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"...I have assembled the following links to online reference material for tomorrow's seminar on "Ethical Risks of Law Firm Websites and Blogs." Incidentally, I found all of these materials using the Legal Ethics Search Engine on my law office web site, cowgill.com. ..." |
Ethical Risks of Law Firm Websites and Blogs: a CLE teleconference on Thursday, December 14th |
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"...I will be one of three presenters in a CLE teleconference at 1:00 p.m. ET this Thursday, December 14, titled "Ethical Risks of Law Firm Websites and Blogs: Staying on the Right Side of the Ethics Line." ... The other presenters are John Steele, Ethics and Conflicts Director and Special Counsel at Fish & Richardson P.C. in Silicon Valley, and Brett J. Trout, former president of the Iowa Intellectual Property Association and author of the book, Internet Laws Affecting Your Company. ..." |
ABA holds that lawyers can ethically examine hidden 'metadata' in electronic documents |
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"...A new ABA Formal Ethics Opinion holds that a lawyer can ethically examine the hidden 'metadata' in an electronic document received from an opposing party. See ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 06-442...." |
Chicago Tribune article discusses ethical aspects of lawyer blogs |
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"...I was pleased to be quoted in yesterday's edition of the Chicago Tribune, in an article discussing ethical aspects of blogs published by practicing lawyers ... The article recounts the story of how I succeeded in bringing clarity to the regulation of lawyer blogs in Kentucky when I launched this blog as a "test case" early last year. ..." |
Federal court finds portions of Kentucky's Code of Judicial Conduct unconstitutional, issues injunction against Judicial Conduct Commission, Inquiry Commission and Bar Counsel |
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"...In an Opinion and Order issued today, United States District Judge Karen K. Caldwell held that two provisions of Kentucky's Code of Judicial Conduct are unconstitutional. She therefore granted a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, enjoining the Judicial Conduct Commission and decision-makers in Kentucky's attorney disciplinary system from taking any steps to enforce those provisions...." |
Update: Is the Kentucky Advertising Commission limiting advertisements about ComAir 5191 consistently? |
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"...If a newspaper ad by a Lexington law firm violates the Rule, does the web site of a "national" law firm violate the Rule as well?..." |
Attorney General cautions lawyers about contacting families of ComAir 5191 victims |
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"...It should be apparent from other posts on this blog that I generally respect the rights of other lawyers to advertise their services as they choose, within the boundaries of the law. That does not mean that I condone the behavior of any lawyer who directly solicits employment from people in their time of grief. . . . The Kentucky Rules and the federal statute both permit the lawyer to make direct contact with those people in an appropriate manner, subject to various requirements, after a specified period of respect for their privacy...." |
Update: How Kentucky's Attorney Advertising Commission is now treating blogs by Kentucky lawyers |
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"...Some of my readers have asked me to post an update on how Kentucky's Attorney Advertising Commission is treating law-related blogs published by Kentucky lawyers. . . . The short answer is that the Commission has adopted a fair and sensible approach...." |
New Jersey Supreme Court stays prohibition on 'Super Lawyer' advertisements |
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"...The New Jersey opinion has prompted commentary throughout the legal profession and on law-related blogs. Here, in the great tradition of free speech, is what I would add to the mix..." |
Law-related blogs are beginning to make an impact on legal scholarship and judicial decisions |
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"...There is growing evidence that law-related weblogs ("blawgs") are hitting the mainstream as a source of information about the law -- and that the courts are paying attention..." |
Turnover continues in Office of Bar Counsel |
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"...There are presently seven attorney positions in Kentucky's Office of Bar Counsel. Only two individuals have been members of that team for more than three years, and only three have been part of the team for more than two years..." |
Making sense of metadata: a mega-list of links for lawyers |
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"...I thought I would take a moment to pass along my own "working list" of links to on-line resources about metadata..." |
Heavy hitters: here, there and everywhere |
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"...Can Mr. Isaacs keep calling himself "The Heavy Hitter" in Kentucky, while Mr. Lerner can only call himself "A Heavy Hitter" in Las Vegas?..." |
Oklahoma Bar puts solo practice resources online |
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"...[T]he Oklahoma Bar Association [has] put up a new page on its web site called 'Starting a Law Practice - A Web Directory.' It's an excellent collection of links for solo practitioners...." |
What law firms can learn from consumers of technology |
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"...Matt Homann ... came across an article [which] sets forth ten reasons why the success of a new gadget depends more on the "user experience" than on features or technical specifications. Matt quickly realized that similar points can be made about a client's experience with a law firm. See if you don't agree..." |
Nevada ethics committee approves outsourcing of client data management |
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"...The State Bar of Nevada has issued a formal ethics opinion holding that it is ethically permissible for a law firm to store electronic client records on a remote server under the control of a third party, without obtaining client......" |
Kansas lawyer disciplined for 'rounding up' time entries |
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"...Earlier this month the Supreme Court of Kansas held that a lawyer was guilty of professional misconduct when he rounded up his time entries on a client's matter, even though the lawyer claimed that he had rounded up by no......" |
Arkansas Bar rejects malpractice insurance disclosure rule |
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"...On January 21 the Arkansas Bar Association rejected a proposed rule which would have required members of the Arkansas Bar to certify whether they carry professional liability insurance. The proposal had been drafted by the Bar's Professionalism Task Force and......" |
Colorado holds that Consumer Protection Act applies to lawyer advertising |
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"...Today’s e-mail brings me the most recent edition of “Alert from Lawyers for the Profession”, an e-mail newsletter published by the law firm of Hinshaw Culbertson. This issue calls attention to the recent decision in Crowe v. Tull, 126 P.3d......" |
A few comments concerning case citations, competence and computers |
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"...Recently I received a service copy of a brief from an attorney who was representing a member of the Bar in a show-cause hearing. I turned my attention to it immediately because I was working on a similar brief for......" |
