Practice while suspended – bad idea even for “corporate lawyer” — Supreme Slap-down? Bottle of Red? — What Do the Prosecutors Think?

Get a License

Some corporate lawyers forget that they are required to be licensed in the state where they practice law. Indiana has a special rule for that.

In Ohio, David Troller was suspended from practice for failing to register as a lawyer. So after that, he kept practicing law, did not meet the requirements for a suspended lawyer, forgot to get reinstated, and recently got a new two-year suspension, with six months withheld, and was ordered to stay in the Lawyers Assistance Program of Ohio.. As a corporate employee he might have gotten away, but he claimed the title “Chief Legal Officer” which means you are a lawyer.

H/T Andy Perkins.

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Scalia Slapdowns are the worse

Lawyers spend their lives dreaming of taking a case to the US Supreme Court. Some make it, a few wish they hadn’t.  Steven Lechner was arguing his first case in the Court, before the nine justices. He was trying to make the points needed by his client when out of the blue, J. Scalia says: “Counsel, you are not reading this, are you?”

Lechner froze, because he was.  J. Breyer said: “It’s all right.” and broke the silence.

Scalia is a lightning rod for criticism anyway, and the bolts hit fast.  Scalia was lambasted, and supported.  Finally the issue was more or less decided that Scalia was right, if not kind, to hold Lechner to the Supreme Court Rule #28, which says in part: “Oral argument read from a prepared text is not favored.”

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 Bottle of Red, a Bottle of White, Charged with a Crime, the lawyer must now Fight!

We have written about lawyers doing illegal things a few times, but wine smuggling?  Philly lawyer Art Goldman is now charged with Selling Wine without a License, after an undercover investigation showed that he had high-end wines, not found with the state seal, or available in the state-run liquor stores.  The police seized about 2,400 bottles of wine, with a value estimated at $200,000.  Multiple misdemeanors could result in fines of over $200,000, if he is convicted.

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Blog for Prosecutors and those who deal with them

If you know a prosecutor who needs to read up on the issues that are critical to them, or if you want to eavesdrop on what prosecutors are talking about, you may want to link to the Prosecutors Discretion blog. Recent topics include the Brady Evidence Dilemma, and Why One Prosecutor will not Talk to Jurors.  Good reading.

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Be Careful Helping your Friends – Sharing with Friends – Treating Staff and Litigants

When is a Lawyer just a Friend — in trouble?

Jameson Conrad was with a friend on New Year’s Eve, in Charleston WV. Conrad’s friend got into a dispute with another man, and used his gun to make his point. The shooting was caught on tape. Conrad then used his lawyerly skills to advise friend to “run,” he then kept friend’s cell phone and refused to identify friend when police asked.

When you are a fact witness, it is hard to claim a lawyer-client privilege, because the police think you are an “accessory to malicious wounding.” It might work, we will know in several months.

But, upon these facts, WV Bar Counsel alto thinks you are enough of a menace to make a prompt Complaint to the Investigation Commission, seeking suspension from the practice, and to report it when asked by the local paper.

H/T Gary Welsh.

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Who do YOU Trust with your Client’s Secrets?

It is only a little secret. Something you learned while working with the world’s most famous writer. Surely your wife’s best friend can be trusted not to tell what you should not have told her.  But she told, and now you pay, in a couple of ways.

JK Rowling has been known to write some pretty good books, sold millions of books, and movie tickets from the Harry Potter series.  She ought to be able to trust her secrets to her solicitors.  But Robert Galbraith’s identity was not safe with Christopher Gossage, one of her lawyers.  Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym Rowling used on a new book she wrote, trying to see if she could enjoy writing without the hype and expectations of her name.  She was displeased, even though the book sales jumped after the word was leaked by the trusted friend of Gossage’s wife.

The law firm fell on the sword, quickly admitting that Gossage had shared the information with Judith Callegari during a private conversation. “The disclosure was made in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly.”  Not a great judge of character there.

Who do you trust implicitly enough to turn your license over for their discretion? The Solicitors Regulation Authority in England fined Gossage £ 1,000. for the breach of confidentiality.  Rowlings charged even more.

There was a winner in this matter. “The Soldiers Charity” was the recipient of all the book proceeds, plus the settlement damages Gossage and his firm, as well as his trusted friend paid to Ms. Rowling. Nice touch.  Hard for a billionaire to get much in the way of sympathy for herself.

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Judge Suspended for Treatment of Staff, Lawyers and Litigants.

The Judge Kimberly Brown story is a big story in Indiana legal circles. She has been through a protracted hearing before the Master Panel to determine a recommended punishment, based on a multi-count complaint of judicial misconduct. She was reported to have mistreated staff, lawyers and litigants in unusual and contemptible ways.

The Master Panel has recommended her removal in spite of some clever legal maneuvering by her new lawyer-team, after firing her earlier team of lawyers.  Now the Supreme Court has temporarily suspended Judge Brown and will take further action in due course.  Her suspension, as recommended is with pay.

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Ted Waggoner will be offering the annual kickoff session to the IVY Tech Agricultural Seminar Series on Jan. 22, at the Cole campus in Logansport. The topic – Family Farm Ownership: What is the Right Solution for You and Your Family. For more information, contact Julie Byrd at IVY Tech, 765-459-0651 x 288.