Other Duties to the Profession and the Public Flashcards
Unauthorized Practice of Law
Can’t engage or assist in unauthorized practice
Assisting a nonlawyer can be helping the unauthorized practice of law. Can delegate work and assist layperson appearing pro se without lawyer.
Can’t hire disbarred cousin to work in law office. CA restricts what fallen lawyers can do. Requires specific notice to bar.
What is the “practice of law”?
Example: a Texas law firm was advertising in CA to do federal legal work. Is that unauthorized practice in CA? Yes. The ad was beyond the capacities and knowledge of laypersons (drafting contracts and petitions based on the info they submitted).
Multi-Jurisdictional Practice
Can practice only where licensed, with limited exceptions
No Partnerships with Nonlawyers
You can’t allow a nonlawyer to be a partner or lead or control a law firm. Can’t let them affect your professional judgment in the handling of your firm.
As long as you’re not handing out legal advice though, you can run a business of some other kind with a nonlawyer.
Providing Law-Related Services like Accounting
May be subject to ethics rules when providing other services in conjunction with legal services. So if you’re doing legal work alongside accounting work, you’re still subject to atty-client confidentiality and all that.
If providing legal services alongside others through an entity you control, make sure recipient understands the protections they have with you as a lawyer in a lawyer-client relationship don’t apply. If they don’t understand that, they will be held to apply to those other services as well.
Arrangements Restricting Lawyer’s Right to Practice
Noncompete agreements and restrictive settlement agreements generally prohibited.
Responsibilities of Subordinate Lawyer
You are not responsible if you followed a supervisor’s reasonable resolution of an arguable ethics question.
Ofc if it’s a clear violation then you would be responsible even if you were “just following orders”.
Responsibilities of Partners and Supervisors
Responsible for another’s violation if they ordered it, ratified it, or failed to mitigate it.
Partner and supervisor must train others to follow ethics rules.
Reporting Misconduct (Ratting Out)
General Rule: Must be a rat and report another lawyer’s or judge’s KNOWN act that raises a SUBSTANTIAL QUESTION as to that lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer
Exceptions:
1) confidential info and
2) lawyers’ assistance programs like lawyer AA club)
CA: Similar rule, requires ratting out another lawyer who you KNOW has committed a CRIME or dishonest act that raises a SUBSTANTIAL QUESTION as to their integrity or fitness.
-> CA Exceptions:
1) Confidentiality again
2) Lawyers’ assistance program like AA
3) Atty-client privilege
CA Addition: Must SELF-REPORT if convicted of various crimes or sued/found liable
CA: Can’t try to prevent a person from making a report. Can’t bargain with a client to get them not to report you.
