Course1

Ethics and "Virtual Law Offices"

$65.00

Technology allows lawyers far more flexibility to practice law virtually – from home or in shared settings – than ever before.  No longer must they maintain freestanding offices, support staff, and libraries. Lawyers can set-up offices in their homes, communicate with clients, adversaries and the courts electronically, outsource overflow work to co-counsel or vendors, and establish web sites that can reach potential clients. These “virtual” practices are increasingly commonplace, but the relative ease with which they are established obscures many significant ethical issues.This program will provide you with a practical guide to significant issues when lawyers and law firms establish “virtual” law practices.   Disclosure to clients of the virtual character of a law practice Electronic communications, confidentiality, and ethical risks in virtual practices Ethical issues when lawyers share office space or other resources but practice separately How Web sites and a “virtual” presence implicate multijurisdictional practice issues Outsourcing work to vendors or co-counsel, and ensuring its competently performed Requirements and risks when offering legal advice across state lines Duty to understand law office technology as a duty of competence   Speakers: H. Michael Drumm is the founder and member of Drumm Law, LLC in Denver, Colorado, where he has an extensive franchise, trademark and business transactional practice.  He works with franchisors across industries nationwide helping them draft, file and renew their franchise Disclosure Documents and franchise agreements.  He has a specialty representing craft breweries to help them trademark their brands and protect their intellectual property. He has been repeatedly honored by Franchise Times magazine as a “Legal Eagle” and has been designated by the International Franchise Association as a “Certified Franchise Executive.”   Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 10/23/2024
    Presented
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Ethics and Virtual Law Offices

$65.00

Technology allows lawyers far more flexibility to practice law virtually – from home or in shared settings – than ever before.  No longer must they maintain freestanding offices, support staff, and libraries. Lawyers can set-up offices in their homes, communicate with clients, adversaries and the courts electronically, outsource overflow work to co-counsel or vendors, and establish web sites that can reach potential clients. These “virtual” practices are increasingly commonplace, but the relative ease with which they are established obscures many significant ethical issues.This program will provide you with a practical guide to significant issues when lawyers and law firms establish “virtual” law practices.   Disclosure to clients of the virtual character of a law practice Electronic communications, confidentiality, and ethical risks in virtual practices Ethical issues when lawyers share office space or other resources but practice separately How Web sites and a “virtual” presence implicate multijurisdictional practice issues Outsourcing work to vendors or co-counsel, and ensuring its competently performed Requirements and risks when offering legal advice across state lines Duty to understand law office technology as a duty of competence   Speakers: H. Michael Drumm is the founder and member of Drumm Law, LLC in Denver, Colorado, where he has an extensive franchise, trademark and business transactional practice.  He works with franchisors across industries nationwide helping them draft, file and renew their franchise Disclosure Documents and franchise agreements.  He has a specialty representing craft breweries to help them trademark their brands and protect their intellectual property. He has been repeatedly honored by Franchise Times magazine as a “Legal Eagle” and has been designated by the International Franchise Association as a “Certified Franchise Executive.”  Mr. Drumm received his BSBA from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • MP3 Download
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 10/24/2024
    Avail. Until
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LIVE REPLAY: 2024 Ethics Update Part 1

$65.00

This annual ethics program will provide you with a round-table discussion of practical ethical issues important to your practice. The program will provide you with an engaging discussion of ethics developments involving technology and law practice, conflicts of interest, and attoarney-client communications in a digital world where no one is truly unplugged. The panel will also discuss the ethics of withdrawing from a matter and firing a client and the ethics of developing new business.  This program will provide you with a wide-ranging discussion of practical ethics developments important to your practice.   Day 1: Ethics and technology: A Potpourri Ethics, competence, and AI: What are competence and the unauthorized practice of law in a specialized world? Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics of firing a client Ethics and client development Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Mr. Pera received his A.B. with honors from Princeton University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and is an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management.  He was a trial lawyer for 22 years and has practiced in the areas of legal ethics and lawyer malpractice for 20 years.  He is chair of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. and past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.  He maintains the Web site “Freivogel on Conflicts” at www.freivogelonconflicts.com.  Mr. Freivogel is a graduate of the University of Illinois (Champaign), where he received his B.S. and LL.B. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a broad complex commercial, business and securities litigation practice. He also has a substantial practice advising businesses on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 20 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 10/28/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: 2024 Ethics Update Part 2

$65.00

This annual ethics program will provide you with a round-table discussion of practical ethical issues important to your practice. The program will provide you with an engaging discussion of ethics developments involving technology and law practice, conflicts of interest, and attoarney-client communications in a digital world where no one is truly unplugged. The panel will also discuss the ethics of withdrawing from a matter and firing a client and the ethics of developing new business.  This program will provide you with a wide-ranging discussion of practical ethics developments important to your practice.   Day 1: Ethics and technology: A Potpourri Ethics, competence, and AI: What are competence and the unauthorized practice of law in a specialized world? Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics of firing a client Ethics and client development Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Mr. Pera received his A.B. with honors from Princeton University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and is an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management.  He was a trial lawyer for 22 years and has practiced in the areas of legal ethics and lawyer malpractice for 20 years.  He is chair of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. and past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.  He maintains the Web site “Freivogel on Conflicts” at www.freivogelonconflicts.com.  Mr. Freivogel is a graduate of the University of Illinois (Champaign), where he received his B.S. and LL.B. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a broad complex commercial, business and securities litigation practice. He also has a substantial practice advising businesses on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 20 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 10/29/2024
    Presented
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Ethics in Discovery Practice

$65.00

To Be Determined

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/1/2024
    Presented
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Course1

Ethics in Discovery Practice

$65.00

Discovery can be the most important phase of litigation, directing the course and outcome of the case.  How evidence is discovered, how it is used, and how mistakes in its handling are disclosed and remedied all raise very significant ethical issues. These issues – the risk of mishandling – are increased by the vast growth of ESI, electronically stored information. Litigators have certain obligations that their vendors comply with ethics rules. There are also issues surrounding the use of paralegals in discovery practice.  Failure to ensure ethics compliance during discovery can have a material adverse impact on the underlying litigation and draw an ethics complaint.  This program will provide you with a real-world guide to substantial issues ethical issues that arise in discovery practice and how to avoid ethics complaints.    Duty of candor to the tribunal during discovery Ethical issues when you learn that a client is dishonest Inadvertent disclosure privileged documents and their handling Ethics in depositions – conferring with witnesses, using video depositions and more Ethical issues in widespread data mining of discovery documents Issues involving metadata in electronic files – documents, email, text messages Attorney-client privilege and security issues of working with outside e-discovery vendors Ethics and social media discovery   Speakers: Elizabeth Treubert Simon is an ethics attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she advises on a wide range of ethics and compliance-related matters to support Akin Gump’s offices worldwide.  Previously, she practiced law in Washington DC and New York, focusing on business and commercial litigation and providing counsel to clients regarding professional ethics and attorney disciplinary procedures.  She is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Discipline and the District of Columbia Legal Ethics Committee.  She writes and speaks extensively on attorney ethics issues.   She received her B.A. and M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Albany Law School. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • MP3 Download
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/2/2024
    Avail. Until
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Ethics in Trust and Estate Practice

$65.00

Trust and estate practice often sits at the intersection of money, aging clients, family drama, easy accusations of self-dealing and misdeeds, dispute – and anger.  This turbulent combination of circumstances can put attorneys in difficult ethical spots. Questions about the competence of aging clients in combination with family drama can easily lead to ethical complaints and eventually litigation. There are also issues of decision-making authority and confidentiality if someone other than the client is paying for the representation.  Conflicts of interest, especially where a longtime client may gift something to the attorney, are rife. This program will provide you with a practical guide to substantial ethical issues in trust and estate practice. Working with clients with diminished capacity and protecting against challenges Confidentiality – understanding what information is confidential and when and to whom it can be disclosed Conflicts of interest – joint and common representations, husbands and wives, multiple generations of a family Gifts from clients – what lawyers may accept, what should they decline? Special issues when someone other than the client pays for a representation   Speakers: Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School. Missia H. Vaselaney is a partner in the Cleveland office of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, LLP, where her practice focuses on estate planning for individuals and businesses.  She also represents clients before federal and state taxing authorities.  Ms. Vaselaney is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has been a member of the Steering Committee for AICPA’s National Advanced Estate Planning Conference since 2001.  Ms. Vaselaney received her B.A. from the University of Dayton and her J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

  • MP3 Download
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/12/2024
    Avail. Until
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Ethics in Trust and Estate Practice

$65.00

To Be Determined

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/13/2024
    Presented
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Ethics and Changing Law Firm Affiliation

$65.00

When a lawyer moves from one firm to another, it can be a fairly dramatic event.  The ethical issues for the lawyer and for his or her prior firm and new firm are substantial.  There are issues of when and how to communicate to clients and whether it’s done by the lawyer or the firm. There are issues of ongoing matters and what to do with client files.  In ongoing litigation or transactional matters, do lawyers withdraw pending a client decision about whether to move the matter to the lawyer’s next firm?  Is withdrawal even permitted?  There are also issues of conflicts of interest and how they are managed – for the lawyer who is changing law firm affiliation and for the firms involved. This program will provide you with a practical guide to ethical issues when lawyers change law firm affiliation.   Ethical issues when lawyers change law firm affiliation Propriety and timing of communications with the departing lawyer’s clients – by the lawyer or the firm? Ownership and transfer of client files among law firms Ongoing litigation or transactional matters – is withdrawal permissible? Diligence for the new firm– conflicts, confidentiality, and screening Issues when a solo practitioner joins a multi-lawyer firm   Speaker: Matthew Corbin is Senior Vice President and Executive Director in the Professional Services Group of AON Risk Services, where he consults with the company’s law firm clients on professional responsibility and liability issues.  Before joining AON, he was a partner with Lathrop & Gage, LLP, where he was a trial and appellate lawyer handling professional liability, commercial, business tort, employment, construction, insurance, and regulatory matters. Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Mary Briscoe of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  Mr. Corbin earned his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law.

  • MP3 Download
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/18/2024
    Avail. Until
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Ethics and Changing Law Firm Affiliation

$65.00

To Be Determined

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/20/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: Ethics of Identifying Your Client: It's Not Always Easy

$65.00

The first step in every ethics analysis is answering the question, who is your client?  It’s seemingly a very easy question to answer, but it’s not always 20/20 except in hindsight.  Representing multiple parties on the same matter, whether in litigation or on a transaction, may mean you have many clients, some or all with conflicts.   If you’re a private practitioner and you represent an organization, your client may be the entity, its officers from whom you are taking directions, or possibly both. If you’re an in-house attorney, the analysis – and its implications for the attorney-client privilege – becomes even more complex.  This program will provide you with a real world guide to ethics of identifying your client in a variety of settings avoiding conflicts of interest with the client.  Ethics and identifying your client and avoiding conflicts in transactions and litigation Representing businesses entities, nonprofit associations, and the government – client v. person giving directions Identifying clients in trust and estate planning – the testator or the person paying your fees? Special ethical challenges and ethical risks for in-house counsel and attorney-client privilege issues How to untangle clients and conflicts in joint representations – managing conflicts and information flows Best practices in documenting client representation to avoid later challenge   Speakers: Elizabeth Treubert Simon is an ethics attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she advises on a wide range of ethics and compliance-related matters to support Akin Gump’s offices worldwide.  Previously, she practiced law in Washington DC and New York, focusing on business and commercial litigation and providing counsel to clients regarding professional ethics and attorney disciplinary procedures.  She is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Discipline and the District of Columbia Legal Ethics Committee.  She writes and speaks extensively on attorney ethics issues.      Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a broad complex commercial, business and securities litigation practice. He also has a substantial practice advising businesses on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 20 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee. 

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/25/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: Ethics in Negotiations – Boasts, Shading, and Impropriety

$65.00

Lawyers must always be truthful in their representations. Yet they must be zealous in representing clients. The tension between these two principles is perhaps never as great as when the lawyer is negotiating for a client. The lawyer may make statements about the law or fact – or simply refrain from making statements because the lawyer knows certain facts or legal precedent are adverse to a client’s interest.   Lawyers may also boast, signaling that a client’s position is stronger than is, in fact, the case. Navigating these gray lines is the difference between ethical representation and impropriety. This program will provide you with a guide to ethical issues in negotiations.    Truthful representations v. zealous representations? Affirmative statements of fact, value or intent in settlements Silence about adverse law in negotiations Silence about facts unknown to an opponent or counter-party Silence about errors in settlement agreements or transactional documents Non-litigation work in another state – “temporary” practice   Speakers: Anthony Licata is a partner in the Chicago office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where he formerly chaired the firm’s real estate practice.  He has an extensive practice focusing on major commercial real estate transactions, including finance, development, leasing, and land use.  He formerly served as an adjunct professor at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and at the Illinois Institute of Technology.  Mr. Licata received his B.S., summa cum laude, from MacMurray College and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/26/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: Ethical Issues When You Have a Dishonest Client

$65.00

To Be Determined

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 11/27/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: Professionalism for the Ethical Lawyer

$65.00

Ethics rules, the principles of professionalism, and sanctionable conduct are interrelated.  Lawyers have a duty to zealously represent their clients, but they do not have a duty to engage in offensive conduct that may be desired by clients. Lawyers have duties of confidentiality and honesty, but those duties do not always require pressing every advantage, such as when the lawyer knows that opposing counsel has made a material drafting error in a transactional document. In these and many other scenarios, ethics rules, professionalism, and potentially sanctionable conduct subtly interact.  This program will provide you with a practical guide to professionalism for the ethical lawyer.    Interrelationship of ethics rules, professionalism, and sanctions Zealous representation v. needlessly embarrassing an adversary or third-party Reacting to an adversary’s drafting errors in transactional documents Ethics, professionalism, and inadvertent transmission of communications Duty to supervise and train subordinate lawyers and staff, including to ensure courtesy to clients, opposing counsel, and courts Offering candid advice to clients and withdrawal when they demand offensive conduct Avoiding discrimination and bigotry   Speaker: Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 1,800 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School.  

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/5/2024
    Presented
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Ethics of Beginning and Ending Client Relationships

$65.00

Substantial ethics issues flow from the moment an attorney-client relationship is formed, whether it is formed intentionally or through inadvertence.  Determining when a relationship commences and the scope of the representation has dramatic implications for issues related to confidentiality, conflicts of interest, the attorney-client privilege and more. Ending an engagement is nearly as complicated. When are you allowed to end an engagement?  And how must you go about it without prejudicing a client’s interest in a transaction or in litigation? This program will you provide a real-world guide the ethical issues of beginning and ending an attorney client relationship.   Determining when and how a relationship starts – including through inadvertence Email and technology issues – how unsolicited communications may trigger ethical obligations Joint representation issues – unsorting the confidentiality and privilege issues End a relationship – when are you allowed to end an engagement?  How do you do it ethically? Circumstances when you might be required to end a relationship   Speaker: Elizabeth Treubert Simon is an ethics attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she advises on a wide range of ethics and compliance-related matters to support Akin Gump’s offices worldwide.  Previously, her practice focused on business and commercial litigation and providing counsel to clients regarding professional ethics and attorney disciplinary procedures.  She is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Discipline and the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct Rules Review Committee.  She is the immediate past chair of the District of Columbia Legal Ethics Committee.  She writes and speaks extensively on attorney ethics issues.   She received her B.A. and M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Albany Law School.

  • MP3 Download
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/8/2024
    Avail. Until
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Ethics of Beginning and Ending Client Relationships

$65.00

To Be Determined

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/10/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: 2024 Ethics Update Part 1

$65.00

This annual ethics program will provide you with a round-table discussion of practical ethical issues important to your practice. The program will provide you with an engaging discussion of ethics developments involving technology and law practice, conflicts of interest, and attoarney-client communications in a digital world where no one is truly unplugged. The panel will also discuss the ethics of withdrawing from a matter and firing a client and the ethics of developing new business.  This program will provide you with a wide-ranging discussion of practical ethics developments important to your practice.   Day 1: Ethics and technology: A Potpourri Ethics, competence, and AI: What are competence and the unauthorized practice of law in a specialized world? Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics of firing a client Ethics and client development Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Mr. Pera received his A.B. with honors from Princeton University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and is an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management.  He was a trial lawyer for 22 years and has practiced in the areas of legal ethics and lawyer malpractice for 20 years.  He is chair of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. and past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.  He maintains the Web site “Freivogel on Conflicts” at www.freivogelonconflicts.com.  Mr. Freivogel is a graduate of the University of Illinois (Champaign), where he received his B.S. and LL.B. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a broad complex commercial, business and securities litigation practice. He also has a substantial practice advising businesses on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 20 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/16/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: 2024 Ethics Update Part 2

$65.00

This annual ethics program will provide you with a round-table discussion of practical ethical issues important to your practice. The program will provide you with an engaging discussion of ethics developments involving technology and law practice, conflicts of interest, and attoarney-client communications in a digital world where no one is truly unplugged. The panel will also discuss the ethics of withdrawing from a matter and firing a client and the ethics of developing new business.  This program will provide you with a wide-ranging discussion of practical ethics developments important to your practice.   Day 1: Ethics and technology: A Potpourri Ethics, competence, and AI: What are competence and the unauthorized practice of law in a specialized world? Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics of firing a client Ethics and client development Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Mr. Pera received his A.B. with honors from Princeton University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and is an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management.  He was a trial lawyer for 22 years and has practiced in the areas of legal ethics and lawyer malpractice for 20 years.  He is chair of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. and past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.  He maintains the Web site “Freivogel on Conflicts” at www.freivogelonconflicts.com.  Mr. Freivogel is a graduate of the University of Illinois (Champaign), where he received his B.S. and LL.B. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a broad complex commercial, business and securities litigation practice. He also has a substantial practice advising businesses on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 20 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/17/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: Ethics in Negotiations – Boasts, Shading, and Impropriety

$65.00

Lawyers must always be truthful in their representations. Yet they must be zealous in representing clients. The tension between these two principles is perhaps never as great as when the lawyer is negotiating for a client. The lawyer may make statements about the law or fact – or simply refrain from making statements because the lawyer knows certain facts or legal precedent are adverse to a client’s interest.   Lawyers may also boast, signaling that a client’s position is stronger than is, in fact, the case. Navigating these gray lines is the difference between ethical representation and impropriety. This program will provide you with a guide to ethical issues in negotiations.    Truthful representations v. zealous representations? Affirmative statements of fact, value or intent in settlements Silence about adverse law in negotiations Silence about facts unknown to an opponent or counter-party Silence about errors in settlement agreements or transactional documents Non-litigation work in another state – “temporary” practice   Speakers: Anthony Licata is a partner in the Chicago office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where he formerly chaired the firm’s real estate practice.  He has an extensive practice focusing on major commercial real estate transactions, including finance, development, leasing, and land use.  He formerly served as an adjunct professor at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and at the Illinois Institute of Technology.  Mr. Licata received his B.S., summa cum laude, from MacMurray College and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/26/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: Ethics and "Virtual Law Offices"

$65.00

To Be Determined

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/30/2024
    Presented
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LIVE REPLAY: Lawyer Ethics and Email

$65.00

Email has become essential to law practice.  Communications with clients and colleagues is practically impossible – and absolutely inefficient – without email.  But the ubiquity of email may obscure many important ethical issues that arise when it is used in law practice, including issues related to confidentiality, metadata, and the attorney-client privilege. These and other substantial ethical questions will be discussed in this practical guide to the ethical issues when lawyers use email in their practices. Beginning an attorney relationship via email – intentionally and inadvertently Security and confidentiality when email is exchanged in the Cloud Inadvertently sent email and metadata embedded in email Discarding/deleting email and working with outside vendors Ex parte communications with represented adversaries Attorney-client privilege issues Speaker: Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750-page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.      

  • Audio Webcast
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/31/2024
    Presented
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Ethical Issues When Representing the Elderly

$65.00

Many ethical issues arise when lawyers represent elderly clients.  Foremost among these issues is determining whether a client has the capacity to make valid decisions – and if not, then what? There are many conflict of interest issues, including whether direction is taken from the elderly person or another person (often an adult child) who is paying for the representation. There are also issues involving the exercise of undue influence by a caregiver or other person, including the validity of gifts to that person. Issues of preserving confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege when meetings are held in the presence of children or caregivers are also very important. This program will provide you with a practical guide to the most important ethical issues when lawyers represent elderly clients.   Determining whether your elderly client has capacity – and identifying your client Practical alternatives if you determine a client doesn’t have capacity Conflicts of interest between the elderly client and the person paying for the representation, including the validity of gifts Preserving confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege when a caregiver or third party is in client meetings Clients who lose capacity during a continuing representation Ethical issues involved with undue influence over the elderly – what should you do? Elder abuse issues – how to spot it and what to do if you discover it   Speakers: Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Mr. Spahn will serve as the discussion leader of today’s program. Missia H. Vaselaney is a partner in the Cleveland office of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, LLP, where her practice focuses on estate planning for individuals and businesses.  She also represents clients before federal and state taxing authorities.  Ms. Vaselaney is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has been a member of the Steering Committee for AICPA’s National Advanced Estate Planning Conference since 2001.  Ms. Vaselaney received her B.A. from the University of Dayton and her J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 1/11/2025
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Lawyer Ethics When Working with Paralegals

$65.00

  Paralegals are often essential for lawyers to successfully practice law.  Paralegals conduct basic legal research, help review and prepare documents, and sometimes screen clients.  Still, they are not lawyers and not directly subject to the ethics rules applicable to lawyers. But the lawyers who supervise their work are responsible for their actions and liable for any improper conduct.  Lawyers are responsible for ensuring that their paralegals’ work conforms to ethics rules. If a paralegal’s actions breach client confidentiality, compromise the attorney-client privilege, or are otherwise improper, the supervising lawyer is ethically responsible for that misconduct.  This program will provide you with a practical guide to how ethics rules make supervising lawyers responsible for the actions of their paralegals.    Conflicts of interest and the attribution of paralegal knowledge about client matters Determining when paralegal research and document preparation becomes the unauthorized practice of law How paralegals must be instructed about client confidentiality – and lawyer consequences on breach Attorney-client privilege implications when clients communicate with paralegals – and risk of inadvertent disclosure Issues when paralegals participate in discovery Fee sharing with paralegals   Speaker: Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Mr. Spahn will serve as the discussion leader of today’s program.

  • MP3 Download
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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 1/21/2025
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Ethics and Client Money: Trust Funds, Expenses, Setoffs & More

$65.00

Whenever an attorney takes money from a client – for fees billed, to cover expenses, as a retainer, or held in trust – there are substantial ethical issues involved.  Many ethical complaints arise from accusations that an attorney mishandled funds. In billing and collecting fees and expenses, there are issues about whether the fees and expenses were explained in advance and are proper in relation to services provided.  If an attorney accepts credit cards from clients, there are significant issues related to disclosure, Truth-in-Lending laws, chargebacks, pass-through of merchant processing fees, and confidentiality.  In trust funds, there are issues of segregation of funds, accounting, and more. This program will provide you with a practical guide to the many ethical issues that arise when attorneys, clients, and money mix.   Traps in trust fund accounting and the risks of “set-offs” of disputed amounts Disclosure and documentation of trust accounting of client money Retainers – use, accounting, and regular communications Accepting credit card payments from clients –  pass-through processing fees, Truth-in-Lending, disclosure and confidentiality Confidentiality when a client has a dispute with his credit card company – ethical tension of client duties and contractual obligations Use of credit cards to fund a retainer and related trust fund accounting issues – trust funds v. operating funds   Speaker: Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Mr. Spahn will serve as the discussion leader of today’s program.

  • MP3 Download
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 1/31/2025
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2023 Ethics Update, Part 1

$65.00

This annual ethics program will provide you with a round-table discussion of practical ethical issues important to your practice. The program will provide you with an engaging discussion of ethics developments involving technology and law practice, conflicts of interest, and attoarney-client communications in a digital world where no one is truly unplugged. The panel will also discuss the ethics of withdrawing from a matter and firing a client and the ethics of developing new business.  This program will provide you with a wide-ranging discussion of practical ethics developments important to your practice.   Day 1: Ethics and technology: A Potpourri Ethics, competence, and AI: What are competence and the unauthorized practice of law in a specialized world? Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics of firing a client Ethics and client development Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.   William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and is an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management.  He was a trial lawyer for 22 years and has practiced in the areas of legal ethics and lawyer malpractice for 20 years.  He is chair of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. and past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.  He maintains the Web site “Freivogel on Conflicts” at www.freivogelonconflicts.com.   Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2,000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  

  • MP3 Download
    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 2/9/2025
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2023 Ethics Update, Part 2

$65.00

This annual ethics program will provide you with a round-table discussion of practical ethical issues important to your practice. The program will provide you with an engaging discussion of ethics developments involving technology and law practice, conflicts of interest, and attoarney-client communications in a digital world where no one is truly unplugged. The panel will also discuss the ethics of withdrawing from a matter and firing a client and the ethics of developing new business.  This program will provide you with a wide-ranging discussion of practical ethics developments important to your practice.   Day 1: Ethics and technology: A Potpourri Ethics, competence, and AI: What are competence and the unauthorized practice of law in a specialized world? Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics of firing a client Ethics and client development Emerging issues in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.   William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and is an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management.  He was a trial lawyer for 22 years and has practiced in the areas of legal ethics and lawyer malpractice for 20 years.  He is chair of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. and past chair of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.  He maintains the Web site “Freivogel on Conflicts” at www.freivogelonconflicts.com.   Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  

  • MP3 Download
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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 2/10/2025
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The Ethics of Supervising Other Lawyers

$65.00

Lawyers are not only responsible for their own ethical conduct and decision making but also for the ethical practice of lawyers they supervise.  Whether it’s a partner supervising the work of an associate or the lead lawyer on a case supervising a group of partners and associates, the supervising lawyer has responsibilities to ensure that the lawyers he or she is supervising are ethically compliant. When subordinate lawyers violate ethics rules, supervising lawyers are potentially liable for that misconduct. This program will provide you with a guide to ethical issues when lawyers supervise other lawyers and non-lawyer support staff.   Standards for ensuring compliance by subordinate attorneys and potential liability when they act improperly Lawyer supervision of paralegals and other non-lawyer staff Responsibilities of subordinate lawyers who rely on judgment of supervising lawyers Special issues involved in billing the work of subordinate and co-counsel attorneys, and paralegals In-house counsel of outside counsel   Speaker: Matthew Corbin is Senior Vice President and Executive Director in the Professional Services Group of AON Risk Services, where he consults with the company’s law firm clients on professional responsibility and liability issues.  Before joining AON, he was a partner with Lathrop & Gage, LLP, where he was a trial and appellate lawyer handling professional liability, commercial, business tort, employment, construction, insurance, and regulatory matters. Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Mary Briscoe of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  Mr. Corbin earned his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law. Mark A. Webster is a Senior Vice President with the Professional Services Practice at Aon. As a member of the group’s loss prevention team, Mark consults with Aon’s 275+ law firm clients on a wide range of professional responsibility and liability issues.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 2/18/2025
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Lawyer Ethics and Texting

$65.00

Text messaging has become a mainstream form of communication.  Clients now routinely text their lawyers about pending matters.  They may ask about the status of a case, provide facts about a case, communicate decisions to a lawyer, or message other sensitive information.  These messages are often to a lawyer’s mobile phone that is used extensively for personal purposes, unsecured in their transmissions, and easily accessible by third parties. This new wave of lawyer-client communication raises many difficult ethical questions, including preservation of the attorney-client privilege.   This program will provide you with a guide to the major ethics issues when lawyers and their clients text message about pending matters.   Confidentiality issues involving unsecured transmission of texts involving sensitive case issues How to handle mobile phones used for both personal purposes and law practice Potential loss of the attorney-client privilege when text messages are accessible by third parties Tension among the duties of competence, prudence and to communicate with clients Understanding the ethical risks and counseling clients about the risks to their case when texting   Speaker: Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Mr. Spahn will serve as the discussion leader of today’s program.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 2/23/2025
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Ethical Issues for Small Law Firms: Technology, Paralegals, Remote Practice & More

$65.00

Solo and small firm practitioners wear many hats. They practice law but also run the office and manage all of its information technology – file storage, email, and Web sites.  They may supervise paralegals or contract attorneys. They also need to be attentive to developing new clients. Each of these and other roles comes with ethical issues and traps.  Email, file storage, and law firm web sites implicate issues of competence, confidentiality, and potentially the attorney-client privilege.  Supervising paralegals or junior attorneys implicates supervisory ethics and conflicts of interest.  Client development also implicates a range of ethics issues.  It’s a lot to manage for a firm of any size, but particularly for smaller firms.This program will provide you with a practical guide to major ethics issues for solo and small firm practitioners.   Ethical issues for small law firms and solo practitioners Technology – storing client files in “the Cloud,” email traps, and remote networks Pooled Resources – shared office/meeting space, shared support staff, shared technology Client Development – web sites and lawyer biographies, email/newsletters, social media, advertising and more Paralegals – training and billing, confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege Co-Counsel – ethical responsibilities when practicing with other lawyers   Speakers: Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Mr. Spahn will serve as the discussion leader of today’s program. H. Michael Drumm is the founder and member of Drumm Law, LLC in Denver, Colorado, where he has an extensive franchise, trademark and business transactional practice.  He works with franchisors across industries nationwide helping them draft, file and renew their franchise Disclosure Documents and franchise agreements.  He has a specialty representing craft breweries to help them trademark their brands and protect their intellectual property. He has been repeatedly honored by Franchise Times magazine as a “Legal Eagle” and has been designated by the International Franchise Association as a “Certified Franchise Executive.”  Mr. Drumm received his BSBA from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 3/2/2025
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Ethical Issues in Contract Drafting

$65.00

Negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts are processes fraught with ethical issues.  Negotiations sometimes require zealous advocacy, taking maximal positions; other times, they require delicacy and balance. Reviewing and drafting complex contracts is a similar ethical minefield. If you discover that the draft of a contract contains materially incorrect assumptions about the law but which will benefit your client, do you have the duty to disclose or correct the error?  In the same way, if the contract contains faulty assumptions about material facts, must you disclose those faulty assumptions?  And how do these rules apply when drafting a contract?  This program will provide you with a real world guide to the ethics of negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts.   The law – when you know a counterparty has made faulty assumptions benefiting your client, must you say? The facts – when a counterparty makes faulty factual assumptions, must you correct? Ethics and rescission – are you ever ethically obligated to rescind or restate a contract? Ethics in negotiations – what’s the line between zealous representation and deception?    Speaker: Thomas E. Spahn is of counsel in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 2000 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Mr. Spahn will serve as the discussion leader of today’s program.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 3/8/2025
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