Top Legal Ethics Issues Facing Legal Professionals Today

Introduction

As legal professionals navigate the complexities of the legal world, they must also keep up with latest ethics developments. More than two-thirds (68%) of legal professionals recently surveyed by Bloomberg Law said they encountered “conflicts of interest” in the past year, either due to concern over an actual ethics violation or simply to stay abreast of current legal ethics developments. In this editorial, we examine the top five legal ethics topics facing firms and in-house lawyers today.

Conflicts of Interest

It’s no surprise that conflicts of interest was identified as the top ethics issue by surveyed lawyers. There are a host of American Bar Association model ethics rules that explicitly deal with conflicts because they’re a prerequisite to engaging any new client, and they’re also implicated in many other facets of attorneys’ lives (e. g., lawyers sitting on boards or serving as expert witnesses). Lawyers must constantly be on the lookout for conflicts of interest, which can arise in various forms, including when representing multiple clients or switching sides in a case.

Withdrawal from Representation

Withdrawal from representation is the second most common ethics issue faced by lawyers, according to the Bloomberg Law survey. Lawyers have to withdraw in certain circumstances, such as when continued representation would require them to break the law or if they’re physically or mentally impaired. However, the rules on permissive withdrawal aren’t always clear, and they require balancing the facts of the representation (unpaid fees, angry client, trial the next day, etc.).

Cybersecurity

Advances in technology over the past two decades have made lawyers’ lives easier in many ways, but they have also brought new challenges. One of the biggest challenges facing law firms today is cybersecurity. No firm is immune from cyberattacks, and keeping client information secure is a major concern for law firms because cyberattacks can expose client information, in violation of Model Rule 1.6. Nearly one quarter of surveyed lawyers are worried about keeping client information safe.

Disclosure of Confidential Information

The internet has made it easy to share information, but attorneys must be careful not to divulge client information when commenting online or via email. Nearly the same percentage of respondents (22%) said that they dealt with issues relating to disclosure of confidential information in the past year. The ABA released an ethics opinion in May on the topic, essentially telling lawyers not to share information relating to a representation on a listserv—even if it’s a hypothetical—without client consent.

Multijurisdictional Practice Rules

Advances in technology also make it easier to work from anywhere, and the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for multijurisdictional practice rules. Cross-border practice became a big issue in 2020 when Covid-19 hit. Most lawyers had to work from home, which for many wasn’t where they were licensed. A number of states enacted measures to allow lawyers to continue working remotely without worrying about getting disciplined. The ABA is also considering changes to its multijurisdictional and unauthorized practice rule (Model Rule 5.5), which many lawyers say are overdue.

Originally Post From https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberg-law-analysis/analysis-what-are-lawyers-thinking-about-ethically-speaking

Peering into the Minds of Lawyers: Ethical Considerations – Bloomberg Law Analysis