“No Admittance,” Eva Critescu (CC-BY-2.0) by Jim Doppke A recent blog post by Brian Faughnan concerning potential changes to Tennessee’s disciplinary system highlighted disbarment and reinstatement – what they mean, and whether and how lawyers can return to practice after discipline. Faughnan discusses a proposal to create permanent disbarment in his state, and to lengthen times within which certain lawyers can seek reinstatement. Thankfully, no such proposal appears to be on the horizon…

On Wednesday, September 24, RSMD’s Stephanie Stewart will join the ARDC’s Melissa Smart in addressing the DuPage County Bar Association. The lunchtime (11:45-1:00) presentation will provide an insider’s view of the ARDC and professional responsibility issues from the perspective of both an ARDC prosecutor and an ARDC defense attorney. They will address ARDC processes, how to navigate ARDC grievances, and trends in professional responsibility and disciplinary cases. More information about the event, and registering to…

RSMD is pleased and proud to announce Sari Montgomery‘s appointment to the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Regulation. The Committee helps to develop, promote, coordinate, and strengthen professional disciplinary and regulatory programs and procedures throughout the nation. It develops and promotes ABA activities relating to professional discipline, model rules for disciplinary enforcement, and standards for the imposition of sanctions. It has been a leader in studying Proactive Management-Based Regulation, and it promulgated…

by Jim Doppke In my last post, I wrote about In re Karavidas, the ways in which it changed attorney regulation in Illinois, and how it can be seen as the foundation for future reform efforts. The profession – in Illinois and elsewhere – is beginning the discussion of “re-regulation,” and asking how we can change regulation in the future to best meet the needs of an innovating landscape while also…

“Change,” Ben Chun (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Jim Doppke As I prepare to attend the #MAKELAWBETTER conference tomorrow, I reflect on the all the talk of innovation in law – talk we sorely need. The ethics and professional responsibility realm should be, and often is, at the forefront of the discussion. As we ponder changes in methods, we should also ponder changes in norms and standards. The Illinois ethical landscape should change with …

At APRL’s annual meeting in San Francisco, RSMD’s Sari Montgomery was pleased to moderate a panel discussion entitled Why People Lie and Why Should We Care. On the panel were Donald D. Campbell, Jim Grogan of the Illinois ARDC, and filmmaker Yael Melamede, discussing Dan Ariely’s research on the science behind dishonesty. Yael’s film (Dis)Honesty: the Truth About Lies explains more about this fascinating (and timely) research. The post Sari Montgomery Moderates APRL …

A new episode of Chad Main’s Technically Legal podcast, featuring a conversation with RSMD’s Jim Doppke, is now live. Jim was a guest on Technically Legal’s first episode, when he and Chad discussed the general boundaries of the duty of competence as it applies to technology. He’s pleased to return to discuss still more ethics issues pertaining to legal tech, this time examining the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence, predictive coding, and more.…