Ed.
note:
Please
welcome
Renee
Knake
Jefferson
back
to
the
pages
of
Above
the
Law.
Subscribe
to
her
Substack,
Legal
Ethics
Roundup, here.
Welcome
to
what
captivates,
haunts,
inspires,
and
surprises
me
every
week
in
the
world
of
legal
ethics.
Happy
Monday!
I
hope
this
finds
you
warm
amidst the
national
polar
vortex.
At
the
University
of
Houston,
classes
are
cancelled
at
least
for
today.
Stay
safe
out
there,
my
friends.
Polar
Vortex
(Source:
Screenshot
WHAS11)
Now
for
your
headlines.
Highlights
from
Last
Week –
Top
Ten
Headlines
#1
“How
the
American
Legal
Profession
Can
Regain
Its
Dignity.” From Judges
Shira
A.
Scheindlin
and
John
Jones
III in The
New
York
Times:
…
As
federal
judges
who
have
retired
after
more
than
five
combined
decades
on
the
bench,
we
have
no
such
professional
concerns.
But
we
have
seen
firsthand
how
fragile
the
rule
of
law
is,
and
how
powerful
the
pressure
from
the
federal
government
can
be.
We
have
joined
together
with dozens
of
retired
federal
district
and
appellate
judges who
were
appointed
by
presidents
of
both
parties
to
defend
the
legal
profession.
Today,
we
offer
a
set
of
principles
of
legal
independence,
a
reaffirmation
of
values
and
obligations
designed
to
guide
and
to
strengthen
law
firms,
bar
associations,
law
schools,
businesses
and
nonprofits.
…
The
principles,
which
we
have posted
in
full online,
call
on
lawyers
and
their
organizations
to
reinforce
the
most
basic
professional
commitments. That
starts
with
something
that
federal courts have already affirmed: Representing
clients,
donating
to
causes
they
support,
and
expressing
beliefs
regarding
the
value
of
equal
opportunity
are
activities
protected
by
the
First
Amendment.
We
have
a
right
to
pursue
them
free
from
government
coercion
or
retaliation.
Beyond
that,
the
principles
declare
that
lawyers
and
their
organizations
have
a
duty
to
challenge
government
actions
when
clients’
interests
require
it.
We
have
a
duty
to
help
individuals
or
groups
that
can’t
afford
counsel
—
and
donating
our
services
to
wealthy
and
powerful
clients
does
not
count.
We
must
work
to
promote
public
confidence
in
the
integrity
of
the
legal
process
through
all
our
actions,
including
being
both
truthful
and
candid.
And
we
must
refuse
demands
that
would
require
us
to
violate
any
of
these
obligations.Read
more here (gift
link).
#2
“Georgia
High
Court
Wants
Tougher
Discipline
for
Lawyer
Who
Took
Part
in
Jan.
6.” From
the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution: “The
Georgia
Supreme
Court
rejected
recommendations
that
a
Middle
Georgia
attorney
be
publicly
reprimanded
for
his
actions
during
the
Jan.
6,
2021,
U.S.
Capitol
riot
and
suggested
that
he
be
disbarred
instead.
In
a
unanimous
opinion
released
Wednesday,
the
justices
wrote
that William
McCall
Calhoun knew
he
was
breaking
the
law
when
he
joined
the
first
wave
of
supporters
of President
Donald
Trump who
forced
their
way
into
the
Capitol.
His
actions
on
that
day,
many
of
which
Calhoun
posted
in
messages
and
videos
to
social
media,
were
‘very
serious’
and
‘reflect
adversely
on
his
fitness
as
a
lawyer.’
The
State
Bar
of
Georgia
suggested
to
the
court
that
a
public
reprimand
would
be
enough
punishment
for
Calhoun,
but
the
justices
thought
otherwise.
They
concluded
‘it
is
hard
for
us
to
see
how
anything
less
than
disbarment
can
be
accepted
here.’”
Read
more here.
#3 “ABA
Formal
Opinion
520
Re:
Disclosure
of
Information
in
a
Motion
to
Withdraw
from
a
Representation.” From American
Bar
Association: “The
American
Bar
Association
Standing
Committee
on
Ethics
and
Professional
Responsibility
released
a
formal
opinion
that
provides
guidance
on
when
a
lawyer
is
required
to
respond
to
requests
for
information
from
former
clients
or
successor
counsel
in
certain
limited
circumstances
when
doing
so
is
necessary
to
protect
client
interests
and
reasonably
practicable
under
Model
Rule
1.16(d). Formal
Opinion
520 says
that,
while
lawyers
often
completely
fulfill
their
obligations
under
Model
Rule
1.16(d)
to
protect
client
interests
upon
termination
of
the
representation
by
surrendering
the
file
upon
request
and
refunding
unearned
advanced
fees
and
unexpended
costs,
there
are
limited
situations
where
a
lawyer
must
comply
with
requests
for
information
from
successor
counsel
or
a
former
client.”
Read
more here.
#4
“Florida’s
Rule
Is
Subtly
Pushing
Back
on
Non-Lawyer
Ownership.” From Bloomberg
Law: “The
Florida
Supreme
Court
quietly amended Rule
4-8.6
of
the
Rules
Regulating
the
Florida
Bar,
expanding
authorized
business
entities,
including
certain
not-for-profit
structures.
The
changes
also
clarify
governance
limits
and
reinforce
that
only
licensed
lawyers
may
direct
legal
judgment
in
Florida.
But
beneath
the
procedural
language
sits
a
question
the
legal
profession
can
no
longer
avoid.
Is
Florida
drawing
a
line
in
the
sand
against
alternative
business
structures,
or
is
it
merely
borrowing
time
in
a
transition
that
is
already
underway
nationwide?”
Read
more here.
#5
“Elvis
Has
Left
the
Courthouse:
Presley-Loving
Judge
Ousted
by
State
Supreme
Court.” From
the ABA
Journal: “A
Missouri
judge
known
for
dressing
up
as
Elvis
Presley
in
the
courtroom
has
been
removed
from
office
by
the
Missouri
Supreme
Court,
ending
a
nearly
two-decade
judicial
career
amid
concerns
that
his
behavior
undermined
the
integrity
of
the
judiciary.”
Read
more here.
#6
“Trump
Picks
Appeals
Judges’
Children
for
Courts
in
Their
Circuit.” From Bloomberg
Law: “President
Donald
Trump has
nominated
two
children
of
judges
on
the
US
Court
of
Appeals
for
the
Eighth
Circuit
who
would
sit
on
courts
within
their
jurisdiction,
a
rarity
for
the
federal
judiciary. Judge
Duane
Benton presides
in
Missouri,
and Judge
Bobby
Shepherd serves
in
Arkansas.
Benton’s
daughter, Megan,
is
Trump’s
pick
for
the
Western
District
of
Missouri.
Shepherd’s
son, John,
has
been
tapped
for
the
Western
District
of
Arkansas.
A federal
statute, amended
in
1998,
prevents
family
members
from
serving
on
the
same
court.
Though
‘it
does
not
preclude
family
members
from
serving
on
different
courts,
even
those
within
the
same
circuit,’
said John
P.
Collins,
a
George
Washington
law
professor
who
researches
judicial
nominations.”
Read
more here.
#7
“Halligan
Leaves
as
U.S.
Attorney
After
Mounting
Pressure
From
Judges.” From The
New
York
Times: “Lindsey
Halligan,
tapped
by President
Trump to
prosecute
his
enemies,
has
left
the
U.S.
attorney’s
office
in
the
Eastern
District
of
Virginia, Attorney
General
Pam
Bondi said
late
Tuesday,
after
a
judge
called
Ms.
Halligan’s
bid
to
remain
in
office
a
‘charade.’”
Read
more here (gift
link).
#8
“Complaint
Accuses
Trump’s
Criminal
Attorney
of
‘Blatant’
Crypto
Conflict
in
His
Role
at
DOJ.” From Salon
: “An
ethics
watchdog
group filed
a
complaint
Thursday seeking
an
investigation
into
whether President
Donald
Trump’s criminal
defense
attorney
—
now
the
No.
2
at
the
Justice
Department
—
broke
federal
conflict-of-interest
law
when
he
issued
a
new
prosecution
policy
that
benefits
the
cryptocurrency
industry.
The
complaint
comes
after
a
ProPublica
investigation
revealed
last
month
that Todd
Blanche owned
at
least
$159,000
worth
of
crypto-related
assets
when
he
ordered
an
end
to
investigations
into
crypto
companies,
dealers
and
exchanges
launched
during
President
Joe
Biden’s
term.
Blanche,
the
deputy
attorney
general,
issued
the
order
in
an
April
memo
in
which
he
also
eliminated
an
enforcement
team
dedicated
to
looking
for
crypto-related
fraud
and
money-laundering
schemes.”
Read
more here.
#9
“Legal
Updates
for
Lawyers’
Professional
Liability.” From JDSupra: “More
and
more,
judges
are
referring
attorneys
to
the
bar
for
discipline
for
lapses
in
professional
conduct
when
using
generative
artificial
intelligence
to
perform
legal
research
without
verifying
the
caselaw
cited
to
the
court.
Recently,
the
Second
District
Court
of
Appeal
in
Florida
referred
appellate
counsel
to
the
Florida
Bar
for
citing
imaginary
legal
authorities
as
if
they
were
law.”
Read
more here.
#10
“France
Formally
Adopts
Legal
Privilege
for
Consultations
by
In-House
Lawyers.” From Cleary
Gottleib: “On
January
14,
2026,
the
French
Senate
approved
a
bill
extending
the
scope
of
legal
privilege
to
consultations
of
in-house
lawyers
for
the
first
time.
This
landmark
reform
will
make
France
one
of
a
handful
of
EU
Member
States
to
extend
legal
privilege
to
in-house
lawyers,
and
marks
the
end
of
a
long-standing
debate
in
France
regarding
the
scope
of
legal
privilege.”
Read
more here.
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Renee
Knake
Jefferson
holds
the
endowed
Doherty
Chair
in
Legal
Ethics
and
is
a
Professor
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Law
at
the
University
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Houston.
Check
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Ethics
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