A National Bar Association (NBA) survey finds black women lawyers continue to experience high rates of discrimination and bias. During 2022, 163 members of the NBA WLD and other Black women’s legal organizations were surveyed. The survey found that 70% of Black women lawyers had experienced or witnessed discrimination and bias in the workplace. The…
To be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer
Lawson, N. D. (2021). ” To Be a Good Lawyer, One Has to Be a Healthy Lawyer”: Lawyer Well-Being, Discrimination, and Discretionary Systems of Discipline. Geo. J. Legal Ethics, 34, 65. In 2017, a National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being comprised mostly of representatives from lawyer assistance programs (LAPs) issued a report recommending “modify[ing] the rules of…
To Be a Good Lawyer, One Has to Be a Healthy Lawyer
Lawson, N. D. (2021). ” To Be a Good Lawyer, One Has to Be a Healthy Lawyer”: Lawyer Well-Being, Discrimination, and Discretionary Systems of Discipline. Geo. J. Legal Ethics, 34, 65. In 2017, a National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being comprised mostly of representatives from lawyer assistance programs (LAPs) issued a report recommending “modify[ing] the rules of…
The American Bar Association has published a third draft discussion paper on amendments to lawyers’ client due diligence
The American Bar Association have published a Discussion Draft of possible amendments to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The Standing Committees on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Professional Regulation have developed this draft to address lawyers’ client due diligence obligations. The previous two discussion papers have focused on Model Rule 1.2(d) (Scope of Representation…
IAALS Publishes Report on Regulatory Innovation
The IAALS has published a report: Community & Cooperation: Action Steps toward Unlocking Legal Regulation that summarizes discussions held at a meeting in 2022 on regulatory innovation. The report proposes next steps for regulatory innovation and serves as a resource for those interested in improving the regulatory system. The report covers the following topics: The…
Lawyer Wellbeing as a Crisis of the Profession
Krause, C. A., & Chong, J. (2019). Lawyer Wellbeing as a Crisis of the Profession. SCL Rev., 71, 203. The legal profession is in the throes of a mental health crisis. State bars across the country continue to be rocked by the tragic loss of their lawyers to suicide and accidental drug overdose. Recent studies have also…
Characteristics of lawyers who are subject to complaints and misconduct findings
Sklar, T., Taouk, Y., Studdert, D., Spittal, M., Paterson, R., & Bismark, M. (2019). Characteristics of lawyers who are subject to complaints and misconduct findings. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 16(2), 318-342. Regulators of the legal profession are charged with protecting the public by ensuring lawyers are fit to practice law. However, their approach tends to be…
Ethical considerations for lawyers when responding to clients with cognitive decline
November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, a time when we increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and the more than 6.2 million Americans living with it. And as our population ages, the chances that a lawyer may interact with a client with cognitive decline may increase too. The Alzheimer’s Association predicts that 12.7 million Americans 65 and older (almost 1 in…
Twelve Tips to Help You Avoid Disciplinary Proceedings
No lawyer sets out to become a disciplinary statistic. Some lawyers, however, find themselves corresponding more often with disciplinary authorities than others. Solo and small firm practitioners, especially with practices in criminal, family or personal injury law, receive the highest number of client complaint letters. During the many years of representing lawyers in disciplinary proceedings,…
American Bar Association publishes bar exam pass data by ethnicity and gender
The Managing Director’s Office of the ABA Section of Legal Education has released the newest set of bar exam pass data aggregated by race, ethnicity and gender. The data from ABA approved law schools provides ultimate and first time pass grades. The charts, which are incorporated into the section’s Legal Education Statistics, include aggregate data in nine…