Law Commons^™

The Disclosure Of Third-Party Litigation Funding Agreements Is Necessary To Resolve Ethical Dilemmas Created By The Third-Party Lender Industry, Gareth Purnell

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

No abstract provided.

“Listserv Lawyering”: Definition And Exploration Of Its Utility In Representation Of Consumer Debtors In Bankruptcy And In Law Practice Generally, Josiah M. Daniel Iii

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The author examines the communications and activities of bankruptcy lawyers participating in the listserv of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and finds that those activities constitute a previously unrecognized form of “lawyering,” which he has defined as the work of lawyers in and through the legal system to accomplish the objectives of their clients. Review of specific postings about legal issues and practical problems by Texas bankruptcy lawyers, whose practices are primarily on behalf of individual debtors in cases under Chapters 7 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, and observations about the voluntary, collaborative, and …

Securing Technological Privacy: Modernizing The Texas Disciplinary Rules Of Professional Conduct To Protect Electronic Data, Ashley "Nikki" Vega

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

This comment explains how and why the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (the “Texas Disciplinary Rules”) should be updated to reflect the modernization of technology. Lawyers must keep abreast of changes in the law and its practices; including those which are technological in nature. The American Bar Association (the “ABA”) recently amended the “technology provisions” of its Model Rules of Professional Conduct (the “Model Rules”); namely Rule 1.1 “Competence” and Rule 1.6 “Confidentiality of Information” in order to keep up with the benefits and risks associated with technology in the legal profession. Additionally, over half of all jurisdictions have …

Breaking The Silence: Holding Texas Lawyers Accountable For Sexual Harassment, Savannah Files

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Following the 2017 exposure of Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement spread rapidly across social media platforms calling for increased awareness of the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault and demanding change. The widespread use of the hashtag brought attention to the issue and successfully facilitated a much-needed discussion in today’s society. However, this is not the first incident prompting a demand for change.

Efforts to bring awareness and exact change in regards to sexual harassment in the legal profession date back to the 1990s. This demonstrates that the legal profession is not immune from these issues. In fact, at least …

A Status Update For Texas Voir Dire: Advocating For Pre-Trial Internet Investigation Of Prospective Jurors, Luke A. Harle

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Internet provides trial attorneys an additional tool to investigate the backgrounds of prospective jurors during voir dire. Online searches of a person’s name and social media accounts can reveal information that could be used as grounds for a challenge for cause or to facilitate intelligent use of peremptory strikes. Texas lawmakers have not yet provided any official guidance as to whether attorneys can investigate prospective jurors online or how they might do so, should it be allowed. Texas’s current voir dire structure, judicial opinions, and ethics opinions, together, support the notion that Texas trial attorneys should be given opportunities …

The Ambulance Chasing Epidemic In Texas, Ronald Rodriguez

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Barratry and solicitation of professional employment is illegal and unethical. The Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct define barratry as ethical misconduct and a serious crime. Unfortunately, for citizens and law-abiding attorneys of Texas, the criminal and ethical prohibitions against barratry have rarely been enforced. Consequently, barratry continues to proliferate rapidly throughout South Texas. For lawyers who engage in this unethical practice, the potential for large financial gain proves irresistible given the virtually nonexistent risk of prosecution. The lack of robust and successful prosecutions has created an optimal environment for barratry to proliferate. This Article discusses the current barratry epidemic …

Conflicts Of Interest For Former Law Firm Clerks Turned Lawyers, Daniel Haley

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

There is no consensus for how the legal profession should treat a lawyer who has a conflict that arises from their time working as a law clerk while in law school. The majority of states allow a lawyer to be screened from participation if there is a conflict that arises from work they performed while still in law school. Nonetheless, not all states have adopted the Model Rules, and not all states that have adopted them accept and apply their rules uniformly. Clerkships are beneficial to both the student and the potential employer, and to limit these educational experiences due …

The Qualified Privilege Of Texas Lawyers To Defend Their Reputations., Clement J. Hayes

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The technology-based society of the twenty-first century offers vast Internet resources that afford individuals easy access to information and means of communication. As a result, people spend substantial time online. Some Internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Angie's List and Google, provide consumers an online forum for sharing experiences and opinions. This development, while in many respects beneficial, is not without its drawbacks.

“A Scout Is Trustworthy”: Applying Virtue Ethics To Lawyer Professionalism., Jeff Brown

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

This Article advocates the employment of the twelve-point Scout Law of the Boy Scouts of America as a professional ethics guide for lawyers. The Article begins by briefly relating the history of virtue ethics as a philosophical field of study and comparing and contrasting it with rule-based ethics. The Article continues with a brief history of the Scout Law. Finally, the Article explores how each of the twelve points of the Scout Law identifies a virtue relevant to the practice of law and how seeking to adhere to these virtues is crucial for attorneys hoping to lead a life of …

If One Is Good, Two Must Be Better: A Comparison Of The Texas Standards For Appellate Conduct And The Texas Disciplinary Rules Of Professional Conduct., Edward L. Wilkinson

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the Standards for Appellate Conduct (Standards) on February 1, 1999. The Standards are intended to “give practitioners a valuable tool to use with clients who demand unprofessional conduct” by imposing “an affirmative duty to educate the client about the Standards of Appellate Conduct.” The Standards further state they do not “alter existing standards of conduct under the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, or the Code of Judicial Conduct.” Under the Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, sanctionable conduct includes “acts or omissions…which violate one or more of the Texas …

Ethical Issues Associated With Multidisciplinary Practices In Texas., Michael Kelly

St. Mary's Law Journal

In 2000, the American Bar Association House of Delegates voted to uphold the ban on multidisciplinary practices (MDPs) set out in Rule 5.4 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules). In 2009, the ABA announced the creation of the Ethics 20/20 Commission to review the Model Rules in the context of globalization. The Commission announced it was looking into alternative business structures, including MDPs. In an MDP a client can seek the advice of several professionals with experience in different disciplines working in a single business. Under Rule 5.4, a lawyer is prohibited from sharing legal fees with …

Ten Years After Burrow V. Arce: The Current State Of Attorney Fee Forfeiture., Jeffrey A. Webb, Blake W. Stribling

St. Mary's Law Journal

“Extreme [attorney] misconduct may warrant an extreme remedy.” Fee forfeiture certainly constitutes an extreme remedy, at least compared to the ordinary remedy for violation of a legal duty. But neither the degree to which the remedy is extreme nor how extreme the misconduct must first be before the forfeiture becomes appropriate is apparent in light of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Burrow v. Arce. Understanding the confusion which has arisen with regard to Burrow’s impact depends in large measure on a thorough evaluation of (1) the basis for the court’s determinations relating to forfeiture, (2) the sources from which …

Ethical Plea Bargaining Under The Texas Disciplinary Rules Of Professional Conduct., Edward L. Wilkinson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Plea bargaining is such an essential component of the administration of justice that disposition of charges after plea discussions is not only an essential part of the process but a highly desirable part for many reasons. Even though 95% of felony criminal cases nationwide are resolved through plea bargaining, there are no specific ethical rules governing the practice. The exhortation in article 2.01 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states it is the primary duty of all prosecuting attorneys to see that justice is done, rather than merely convicting. In order to determine the ethical boundaries of plea bargaining, …

Appellate Standards Of Conduct As Adopted In Texas The Fifth Annual Symposium On Legal Malpractice And Professional Responsibility: Essays., Catherine Stone

St. Mary's Law Journal

It was not until 1987 that the State Bar of Texas created an Appellate Practice & Advocacy Section. As lawyers began concentrating on appellate law as a specialty, other practitioners began to realize that appellate practice requires a unique skill set. As recognition of this skill set grew, litigators began hiring these specialized lawyers to assist in preserving error at the trial level. Over the years, the need for a more professional approach to the practice of appellate law persisted until the “Standards of Appellate Conduct” (the Standards) was jointly adopted by the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of …

Exploring Disqualification Of Counsel In Texas: A Balancing Of Competing Interests The Fifth Annual Symposium On Legal Malpractice And Professional Responsibility., Rebecca Simmons, Manuel C. Maltos

St. Mary's Law Journal

Uncertainty over conduct which results in disqualification can be costly and the laws relating to disqualification may be widely known but their application is difficult. Rigid application of irrebuttable presumptions and imputation of knowledge may result in disqualification of a client’s chosen counsel. Even if an attorney succeeds in opposing a motion to disqualify, the resulting costs and delay may damage the attorney-client relationship more than if the attorney had simply declined the representation. Motions to disqualify usually arise from conflicts of interest involving former clients. The law of disqualification, in this instance, is well developed and largely based on …

The Need For An Innocence Network In Texas., Matthew D. Sharp

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Texas must establish an innocence network to ensure crime lab accountability standards are enforced. The multitude of crime lab scandals around the United States demonstrate why the current system of accountability, self-policing, should be reimagined as one more similar to that of a manufacturer and a consumer. Like manufacturers, crime labs are in the best position to ensure the accuracy of any results. Reshaping the system of accountability in this way would ensure that those responsible for handling evidence, handle it with the utmost care and provide accurate results. Innocence Projects generally adhere to one of three different organizational paradigms. …

Insurance Companies Use Of Captive Or In-House Counsel To Represent Insured Constitutes The Unauthorized Practice Of Law: Is American Home The Right Decision For Texas Comment., Daniel M. Martinez

St. Mary's Law Journal

Insurance companies should not be allowed to continue the practice of hiring in-house or captive counsel to defend against a claim covered by their insurance policy. Under a typical liability insurance policy, the insurer has a duty to defend. When legal counsel is retained, the insurer pays for the representation and has a contractual right to control the defense. This places defense counsel in a precarious situation because he or she has to balance the contractual obligations to the insurer against his or her ethical responsibilities to the insured. The defense counsel may be exposed to a malpractice claim by …

Ethics: Lawyering And Professionalism., Broadus A. Spivey

St. Mary's Law Journal

Because public perception is a major issue that confronts the legal community, Texas encourages lawyers to maintain a civil, professional, and courteous environment. The work of lawyers may be divided into three parts: first, a lawyer must consider several factors when communicating with a potential client; second, a lawyer must attend to the creation of the lawyer-client relationship; and third, a lawyer must effectively manage the lawyer-client relationship. The rules of ethical deportment for attorneys are contained in the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, which specifically address barratry and similar offenses related to the improper solicitation of potential clients. …

Summary Of Recent Developments In Texas Legal Malpractice Law Symposium: Legal Malpractice And Professional Responsibility., Steve Mcconnico, Robyn Bigelow

St. Mary's Law Journal

Although the number of malpractice suits may not be increasing, the way plaintiffs are pleading these suits is changing dramatically and resulting in increased potential for attorney liability. Recent changes in the nature of liability led to increased potential for damages and a trend of high dollar settlements in malpractice cases. These changes may significantly impact the ability of lawyers in Texas to avoid liability while representing clients and preserving client confidences. Texas law generally limits malpractice claims to clients against their attorneys; but non-clients are increasingly succeeding in creatively pleading causes of action by alleging fraud, conspiracy, and negligent …

Ethics And Due Diligence: A Lawyer's Perspective On Doing Business With Mexico., Rona R. Mears

St. Mary's Law Journal

The focus of this study is to survey ethical issues faced by legal practitioners in providing legal counsel for international business transactions, with special attention to lawyers counseling clients who are doing business with Mexico. This paper is intended for lawyers who practice in the United States (U.S.), involved in counseling clients outside the U.S. The purpose of this study is to highlight only those issues that raise special difficulties for such a practitioner, and then to provide practical advice on how to avoid ethical problems in U.S.-Mexico transactions. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MPRC), the International Code of …

Reformers' Regress: The 1991 Texas Workers' Compensation Act., Jill Williford

St. Mary's Law Journal

The revision of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act will affect most Texas taxpayers and workers. The Act, entering into force January 1, 1991, significantly restructures the preexisting seventy-six-year-old system. Before the advent of workers’ compensation systems employees relied on the court and common-law causes of action as the sole means of recovery. In 1913, Texas enacted one of the first versions of workers’ compensation in the United States. The original act created a system to compensate workers for injuries sustained during employment without regard to fault. Initially the act was elective for employers and mandatory for employees but was later …

Texas Disciplinary Rules Of Professional Conduct: Additional Liability For Texas Lawyers., Xavier G. Medina, Virginia Coyle

St. Mary's Law Journal

As a result of the enactment of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (“Rules”), Texas lawyer no longer practice under guidelines which include aspirational goals and discretionary moral choices. The Rules are mandatory in nature and depict a minimum standard of professional conduct which, if violated, could subject the offending lawyer to disciplinary action. Although the Rules provide a disclaimer stating that they “do not undertake to define standards of civil liability of lawyers for professional conduct,” Texas lawyers fear the Rules will be utilized as an independent basis for liability, or a standard of care for malpractice. The …