Ethical Grounds
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Michael Kennedy covers articles on legal ethics with doses of running & pop culture on the Ethical Grounds Blog. The blog will answer all your questions related to the Vermont Law world.
Ethical Grounds
1d ago
“ Happy Friday! And welcome to the 314th legal ethics quiz! Blogger’s Note: As will become clear, I wrote this post Thursday night. However, this morning, I’m compelled to include a final post-script related to last week’s intro. I just got back from Dunkin. They’re putting up Christmas decorations! Don’t believe me? Here’s the scene ..read more
Ethical Grounds
2d ago
My latest Professional Responsibility Connections puzzle is here.[1] ****** Rule 1.5 of the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits lawyers from charging unreasonable fees. While not often, I’ve mentioned more than once in this space that the fact that a client agrees to a fee does not render the fee reasonable. Indeed, I recently discussed ..read more
Ethical Grounds
5d ago
Happy New Year! Oops. I guess I’ve still got Friday’s intro on my mind. I meant, Happy Monday! Friday’s questions are here. The answers follow today’s Honor Roll. Honor Roll ANSWERS Question 1 A comment to the rule that sets out a duty that is one of the 7 Cs of Legal Ethics states that ..read more
Ethical Grounds
1w ago
Happy Friday! And welcome to the 313th legal ethics quiz! In past years, I’ve used this space to rank the Halloween candies. My rankings debuted in 2020, with my atonement published in 2021. I didn’t post rankings in 2022, choosing instead to go with my Top 5 favorite pictures of the First Brother and I ..read more
Ethical Grounds
1w ago
My latest Professional Responsibility Connections puzzle is here.[1] ****** In my opinion, lawyers should send disengagement and nonengagement letters whenever possible. While I’ve never blogged about either, I mention them occasionally at CLEs and even more often when doing in-house presentations for firms. Noone has ever disagreed with me that lawyers and firms are well-served ..read more
Ethical Grounds
1w ago
It has been a long time since my last Was That Wrong? post. Over the years, I’ve become quite selective in what is worthy. Initially, I didn’t find the misconduct at issue in today’s story to qualify. While egregious, it’s, sadly, not new or novel, the typical prerequisites for entry into the WtW? pantheon. Then ..read more
Ethical Grounds
2w ago
Happy Friday! And welcome to the 312th legal ethics quiz! I’ve often spent far too much time & thought trying to compose the perfect intro to one of these Friday posts. This week’s quiz number tried to lure me down the same old path. Perhaps a post reflecting on how 312, slightly discombobulated from the ..read more
Ethical Grounds
2w ago
My latest Professional Responsibility Connections puzzle is here.[1] ****** I’m sitting in the State House cafeteria waiting to present at the VBA’s Pro Bono Conference. I thought I’d post a few ethics tidbits. Confidentiality & Autocomplete In 2017, I posted Client Confidences: Disable Auto-Complete? In it, I shared the story of a lawyer who worked ..read more
Ethical Grounds
2w ago
Happy Monday! Friday’s questions are here. It seems that a karaoke night would be well received! Today’s answers follow today’s Honor Roll. ANSWERS Question 1 My response to a lawyer’s inquiry was “the rules allow it, but only in an amount is necessary to cover reasonably expected bank fees & charges.” Which of the 7 ..read more
Ethical Grounds
3w ago
Happy Friday! And welcome to the 311th legal ethics quiz! Believe it or not, I associate “311” with legal ethics & the law. Specifically, with the duty of competence, the U.S. Constitution, and a lawyer’s professional responsibility to report another lawyer’s misconduct. With that said, my hope is that today’s post sparks a karaoke night ..read more