Hour 1 – The QUIZ: A potpourri of the hottest topics in legal malpractice and ethics, and what you need to know to protect yourself from novel malpractice risks and ethics complaints.
Hour 2 – The Ethics and Malpractice Risk When Lawyers Leave Law Firms – Lawyers leave law firms. Sometimes to take positions at other firms, start their own firm, leave the practice entirely, retire, or…gulp, die, disappear or become disabled. All of these occurrences implicate the “left behind” lawyers’ duties under Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct 4-1.1. Competence, 4-1.3. Diligence, 4-1.4. Communication, 4-1.5. Fees, 4-1.6. Confidentiality of Information, 4-1.8. Conflict of interest; current clients; specific rules, 4-1.9 & 4-1.10. Duties & Conflict of Interest, Former Client & Imputation to Law Firm, 4-1.15. Safekeeping Property, 4-1.16. Declining or Terminating Representation, 4-5.1. Responsibilities of partners, managers and supervisory lawyers, 4-5.6 Restrictions on Right to Practice, 4-8.3. Reporting Professional Misconduct, and 4-8.4. Misconduct, as well as the quality of a law firm's practice management procedures. Attendees will learn how to identify where their potential ethics and malpractice risk lies, and the systems they need to have in place BEFORE they are “left behind.”
Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.