Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I have a couple of related questions about the ethics of offering evidence at trial. First, I have some evidence that’s not directly relevant, but I’d like to offer it and see what happens, as it
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November 3, 2025 Issue – Former Client Conflict of In-House Lawyer
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am an associate general counsel in a corporate law department for Company A. Previously, I was a partner at a law firm in its corporate transactions practice group, advising and representing a number of clients,…
October 15, 2025 Issue – Gifts to Judges
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, A state court judge is retiring after what seems like 105 years on the bench. A retirement party is scheduled to occur 3 days before the judge’s retirement becomes effective. A group of lawyers on behalf…
October 1, 2025 Issue – General Commercial Transaction with Client
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, Our firm represents a well-respected private equity fund company. I am a products liability lawyer and have not personally done legal work for this client. The company is now raising capital for a new fund and…
September 15, 2025 Issue – Tribunal Under Rule 3.3
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I have a question about Model Rule 3.3 Candor to the Tribunal. I assisted a representative of a corporate client in testifying before a state legislative committee about an environmental matter. In follow-up conversations after the…
September 2, 2025 Issue – Conflicts from Joint Defense Arrangement
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, Our firm defended client X in a product liability suit in which other companies in the same industry were also defendants. The various defendants, including our client, entered into a written joint defense agreement and collaborated…
August 15, 2025 Issue – Trade Names for Law Firms
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am one of four lawyers with a practice focus in technology and with difficult-to-spell or “not catchy” names, who are forming a firm. In a quandary over what to call this collection of fine legal…
August 1, 2025 Issue – Insurance Defense Conflicts
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, A lawyer in our firm represents an insured as client pursuant to an arrangement with an insurance company under a policy that has a duty to defend the claim. Our firm has now been asked by…
July 15, 2025 Issue – Billing of Expenses
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, For most engagements, our Firm charges a fee (hourly, fixed or contingent), plus certain expenses for travel, electronic legal research, large photocopy or scanning projects, overnight deliveries/couriers, outside vendors, etc., as specified in our engagement letter…
July 1, 2025 Issue – Lawyer Reporting Crime by Client
Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, Our firm undertook a high-level collection action on a contingent fee basis for a foreign client that we understood to be a lender. The scope of our representation was to collect a substantial debt from an…