By: Arend J. Abel, Attorney Occasionally, a lawyer will run into a situation where someone other than the client agrees to pay the lawyer for the representation. This situation arises most frequently with insurance, but also can occur when a company pays for an employee’s defense or a relative pays for the representation of an… Continue Reading »
Legal Zoom and Avvo – Attorneys Beware
By: Arend J. Abel, Attorney In April, the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission issued its first ever advisory opinion, and it was a doozy. It’s fair to say that the opinion puts the kibosh on the current business “lawyer consultation” models for online giants Legal Zoom and Avvo for a whole host of reasons. Background… Continue Reading »
Judicial Qualifications Commission Gives Green Light to Tweeting at Trial
By: Arend J. Abel, Attorney You may remember just over a year ago when a partner in Barnes & Thornburg’s Chicago office was sanctioned for live-tweeting a trial. That event makes all the more surprising an Ethics Opinion that the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications issued last month. According to the Commission, live-tweeting a trial… Continue Reading »
The Indiana Appellate Rules Do Not Allow Exhibits in the Appendix or Citations in Footnotes
By: Arend J. Abel, Attorney [November 17, 2016]– The Indiana Court of Appeals issued an opinion today in which it said Exhibits should not be put in the Appendix. Sperro, LLC v. Ford Motor Credit Company, LLC. In footnote 4 of the opinion, the Court said: “Appellants’ and FMCC’s appendices do not comply with the… Continue Reading »
Tea Leaves About Testimonials
By: Arend J. Abel, Attorney Despite what many Indiana lawyers believe, client testimonials are no longer absolutely barred by the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct. They used to be, until January of 2011, when a set of amendments to the rules took effect. Until that time, former Rule 7.2(d)(3) expressly prohibited “use of any form… Continue Reading »
When incivility crosses the line into a disciplinary violation
By: Arend J. Abel, Attorney The Supreme Court entered an order last week that should cause every attorney to pause before hitting “Send” on that nasty email targeted at opposing counsel, and before filing a motion that vents frustration at a trial court’s ruling. They could get you suspended. Last week, an attorney in northern… Continue Reading »
To Report or Not to Report: That is the Question (Part I)
By: Arend J. Abel, Attorney I help cover the Indiana State Bar Association’s Ethics Hotline, and one of the questions I get most often is a question like this: “My opposing counsel did X. Do I have a duty to report to the Disciplinary Commission?” Sometime the “X” isn’t an ethics violation at all, which… Continue Reading »
Indiana Ethics Rule Could Hit You Where You Live – Literally
by: Arend J. Abel, Attorney Any lawyer who pays attention to legal ethics issues in Indiana by now has heard of In re Anonymous. 6 N.E.3d 903 (2014). The most widely talked about aspect of the case was the fact that the disciplined lawyer was somehow caught off-guard because he sought out legal advice and… Continue Reading »
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