Lawyers serving on a board of directors may derive many benefits from such service, including honing one’s business skills, developing professional relationships, enjoying the prestige and recognition of board membership, and strengthening the lawyer’s ties with an existing or potential law firm client. Lawyers contemplating board service must weigh the potential benefits against the risks inherent in such appointments prior to acceptance and throughout the tenure of any board service. Ambiguity concerning the lawyer-director’s precise role, as well as inattention to conflicts of interest and other liability issues may lead to negative consequences for the company, the lawyer’s law firm, and the lawyer herself. There is no rule or law that prohibits lawyers from simultaneously serving as legal counsel and board members for an organization. Comment 35 to ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct [“ABA MRPC”] Rule 1.7 cautions, however, that if “there is a material risk that the dual role will compromise the lawyer’s independence of professional judgment, the lawyer should not serve as a director or should cease to act as the corporation’s lawyer when conflicts of interest arise.” Moreover, if the lawyer contemplating board service determines that conflicts probably would arise frequently and be significant, the lawyer ...
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As with every other aspect of our lives, technology continues to redefine how lawyers practice and how firms operate. In view of that basic premise, the pace of changing technology provides the opportunity for firms to regularly reassess their processes, operations, and systems. Routine system-wide assessments permit greater operational efficiency and productivity, improved client service, increased new client generation, and ultimately improved financial success. Moreover, a systematic reevaluation of law firm operations (which should typically occur at least once a year) is one tool out of many that firms have at their disposal to help minimize the risk of potential malpractice claims or claims of ethical impropriety. With pervasive and ever-evolving ethics rules, opinions, and legal malpractice precedents, this protocol becomes especially important. This challenge creates a number of questions. The questions lawyers ask themselves should not be “Must I accept electronic payments?” or “Should my solo practice need an incident response plan?” Rather, those questions are better phrased as “How do I improve my practice?” Or “How do I more efficiently track and follow up on my accounts receivable to free up more time to devote to clients?” “How can I organize my documents to be more accessible?” “Drastically ...
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Introduction: People often ask, “When is the right time to retire?” But like so many questions about important decisions, there is no “right” answer. To find a meaningful answer, the questions should be reframed as, “When is the right time for me to retire?” And the only person who knows the right answer to that question is you. The key is to ask yourself that question now and then revisit it from time to time throughout your practice. The earlier you begin to think about it, with an eye toward retirement someday in the future, the more likely you are to be ready for a smooth transition out of practice whenever the time comes. Lawyers tend to work longer than the general workforce. While some lawyers retire in their 50s, others continue into their 80s and even older. According to the recent ABA report, “Profile of the Legal Profession 2021”, roughly 14% of lawyers are 65 or older, double the number of that age group in the general workforce (7%). The Covid-19 pandemic has caused about a third of the lawyers over the age of 62 to reconsider their retirement plans; of that group, about half decided to accelerate retirement ...
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In Practice…..with CNA Second Chances Abound: Opportunities for Correcting Certain Omissions and Mistakes in Tax Elections “Ignorantia juris quod tenetur scire, neminem excusat.” Latin, philosophy and legal scholars alike may recognize this Latin phrase which roughly translates to “Ignorance of the law, which everyone is bound to know, excuses no one.” While this principle may be unforgiving, it is important to recognize that in practice, the tax law and in particular the tax regulations can be forgiving when it comes to failing to make timely tax elections. Understanding these opportunities for forgiveness can be an important tool in avoiding legal and accounting malpractice claims which involve tax law. Specifically, when tax practitioners make certain filing errors, particularly as to making tax elections, the potential exists for significant tax liability for their clients, and thus professional liability for the law firm. Practitioners should be mindful that relief (forgiveness of a sort) may be found in Treasury Regulation (Treas. Reg.) 301.9100-2 et seq. 301.9100 Relief in General Treas. Reg. 301.9100-2 et seq. grants the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the authority to grant taxpayers relief from certain filing errors. 9100 relief does not cure improper filings, but it does allow ...
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Description of Practice Area Includes the representation of parties in actions to recover for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage resulting from intentional or unintentional acts, negligence, and other causes. Libel and slander actions, medical malpractice and product liability suits where any form of personal injury or property damage is involved are also included. Risk Management Tips The top three allegations in this area of practice are related to calendaring errors. It is imperative that attorneys and legal support staff recognize the crucial role correct calendaring plays in avoiding a legal malpractice allegation. At a minimum, a master calendar should have at least one back up that would not be affected by a ransomware or software crisis. Rather than relying on the incident dare provided by a prospective or current client, attorneys should verify by documentation, electronic record or video surveillance/recording. Attorneys should inquire about all potential parties to a matter or litigation, and potential witnesses. Beyond calendaring the stature of limitations, attorneys may was to calendar a potential withdrawal date or time to review the status of the matter and determine if the representation should proceed. This is an evaluation that should take place at least six months ...
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