The FCBA Professional Responsibility Committee will sponsor a CLE on Tuesday, May 6, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET entitled Ethics Issues for Difficult Times. The program will be held virtually via the Zoom platform.
For our Spring ethics committee sessions, we are delighted to be joined by Tracy Kepler, Risk Control Director with the CNA insurance carrier. Ms. Kepler brings a wealth of relevant and practical ethics experience to our panel – not only from her current role with a leading legal malpractice carrier, but also as a former state and federal agency disciplinary counsel. Our programs address two timely topics: the ethics of errors, and the ethics of lateral moves. The complex legal systems in which we operate have always been prone to error, and new technologies promoted to increase efficiency while reducing human error often create new vulnerabilities for mistakes. In our increasingly competitive profession, the impulse to deny mistakes and “keep on digging” can be strong, so our first program will detail the attorney’s formal ethics duties when responding to errors and share best practices on being accountable for mistakes that happen on our watch. Our second program addresses the all-too-timely topic of ethics issues arising from lateral attorney moves, especially for attorneys leaving government services to join private practice.
The FCBA will apply for 2.0 hours of Ethics MCLE credit from the VA Bar. This program has not yet been approved.
Click here to register.
Make sure to log into your account to receive the member rates! If you are signing up on behalf of a member, please sign in using their credentials (username and password). By doing this, the information will be linked to their account.
If you have any issues, please contact Elina Gross at elina@fcba.org.
AGENDA
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Navigating the New Norms: Key Updates in Cybersecurity Regulations
It’s not easy being a lawyer. Busy attorneys must skillfully handle many matters at once, meet rigid deadlines, satisfy demanding clients and tribunals, and do it all quicker and with fewer team member than ever before. All of which typically involves long hours. As attorneys are [still] only human, even the most skilled and seasoned practitioner will inevitably make a mistake. A mistake may damage cases, applications, and other filings while threatening client relationships or even one’s status and position at a firm. The instinct to deny and “cover-up” a mistake is strong, but failing to timely account for errors is like the “second arrow” that only makes matters worse. During this course, we will consider an attorney’s formal duties related to error disclosure, what exactly those duties require, and why it’s important to take these duties seriously. We will also discuss best practices for promptly admitting and correcting errors in a way that builds client confidence and helps avoids future mistakes.
At the end of this program, attendees will be able to:
- Understand duties to disclose, fiduciary duties, loyalty, confidentiality and MRPC 1.4 and 1.7(a)(a)
- Learn what triggers a duty to report an error, to whom & whether the representation can continue
- Identify how to keep communications with in-house ethics counsel privileged
- Discover best practices for having a conversation with your client about the error
- Gain knowledge on the consequences of nondisclosure of the error
- Address any conflicts of interest arising from errors, and prepare an effective waiver if appropriate
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Lateral Moves, Revolving Doors, and MRPC 1.10
Once characterized by life-long tenures at firms, government agencies, or in-house legal departments, employment in our profession has become increasingly impermanent, variegated, some might even say tenuous. Whether pursuing competitive offers or fleeing terrifying purges, lawyers are on the move like never before. When an attorney and legal employer find each other in that magic “Goldilocks Moment” where things are just right, much work remains after an initial conflicts checks of clients and matters on which the attorney is actively working. The potential for legal and business conflicts of interest remains heightened during the new lawyer’s first several months at the office. Attorneys leaving government service for private practice face additional constraints from state and federal rules that may vary across jurisdictions and include different exceptions and nuance. Whether you’re the lawyer on the move or tasked by your employer with on-boarding new lawyer colleagues, understanding and following effective conflicts of interest screens and protocols is vital in today’s profession. At the end of this program, attendees will be able to:
- Understand the purpose of conflict of interest screens
- Identify and comply with the provisions of MRPC 1.10(a)
- Learn the elements of an effective screen
- Understand “revolving door” and other constraints for government attorneys entering private practice
Speakers:
Tracy Kepler, CNA Risk Control Consulting Director, Global Specialty Lawyers Professional Liability
Elizabeth Fisher, Co-Chair of FCBA Professional Responsibility Committee
Tom Gilbertsen, Co-Chair of FCBA Professional Responsibility Committee
Cost: $135.00 for Private Sector Members; $95.00 for Non-Profit 501c3 Members; $50.00 for Government/Academic/Transitional/Retired Members; No charge for Law Student Members; $205.00 for Non-Members