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>EthicsAttorney.com / Legal Ethics
LAW FOR LAWYERS We represent lawyers and law firms in these risk management matters:
We offer bar complaint defense at every stage of the process, including Bar Counsel's initial inquiry and investigation, peer review, negotiated dispositions, contested evidentiary trials, and appeals. Our ethics work is focused, based on proximity to our northern Virginia office, upon bar complaints before the D.C. Bar, Virginia Bar, or USPTO. Our Maryland work is generally limited to cases involving parallel complaints to D.C. or Virginia matters. What to Do If You Receive a Bar Complaint Open the Letter. Inquiries from Bar Counsel always have a response deadline. Your failure to cooperate with Bar Counsel may be charged as an independent disciplinary violation. Lawyer-Up. Obtaining counsel early in the process is the safest course. Many disciplinary prosecutions result from issues that emerge solely out of the answers that pro se respondents give at the outset of an investigation. Self-inflicted damage done at the start of an investigation may be difficult to overcome later. (While you should avoid acting pro se on the merits, don't be afraid to ask Bar Counsel for a deadline extension so you have time to hire counsel.) Check Your Policy. Review your Errors & Omissions Policy before you directly engage any counsel: many malpractice policies include defense of disciplinary proceedings. Some policies allow you to select your own counsel and submit that counsel's billing for reimbursement (or direct pay) from the carrier. Other policies may give the carrier a right to select your counsel. Further, your policy may condition coverage upon prompt reporting of a disciplinary inquiry. Disciplinary complaints sometimes have civil components (such as malpractice claims). Failure to report a disciplinary inquiry could, in some instances, result in loss of coverage for a related civil claim. Take it Seriously. Disciplinary prosecutions generate records that sometimes become public, such as transcripts and exhibits, along with public fact-findings. Possible public sanctions for misconduct are admonition, censure, reprimand, probation, suspension, or disbarment. These are high stakes; so treat every Bar Counsel inquiry accordingly. Frequently Asked Questions Ethics Library (External Links) Each licensing jurisdiction adopts its own ethics rules. This sometimes means a federal court or agency could have different ethics rules than the bar of the state where that federal court or agency is located. Most licensing jurisdictions base their ethics rules on the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Note that the ABA Model Rules are not a basis on which to impose discipline unless adopted by a state bar or federal court/agency as its own. For current versions of state bar ethics rules, see: DC Bar | VA Bar | MD Bar Maryland and some ABA-following jurisdictions have additional trust account regulations that exist outside of ethics Rule 1.15. See: MD Code | ABA Trust Guidelines Notice: Use of this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. Our service area is limited to Virginia, District of Columbia, and Maryland. © SCHUMACK + GUGGENHEIM PLLC, Fairfax, VA, USA |