2026 Ethics Express

These presentations are included in our 2026 CLE Express.

When everyone is in everyone’s business: Conflicts and confidentiality issues
Practicing law in close quarters communities — whether that’s a small town, a tight professional circle, or a world where reputations travel faster than email — creates a unique set of ethical landmines. When clients know each other, when your personal and professional circles overlap, and when gossip functions as a local news service, the usual rules of conflicts and confidentiality take on a whole new level of complexity. Join Stuart Teicher, Esq. (the CLE Performer) as he explores the ethical challenges that arise when everyone is in everyone’s business: navigating conflicts when your clients’ lives intersect, protecting confidentiality in environments where information spreads instantly, defining the scope of representation when you’re the only lawyer within shouting distance, and managing dual relationships when your client is also your neighbor, fellow congregant, or your kid’s soccer coach.

Learning objectives:

• Conflicts of interest in overlapping lives. (RPC 1.7)
• Confidentiality in communities where information travels fast. (RPC 1.6)
• Scope of representation when you’re the only lawyer for miles. (RPC 1.1)
• Role confusion in tight-knit communities. (Rule 1.7)

Speaker: Stuart Teicher, The CLE Performer

One-hit wonders and attorney ethics
From Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know (2011) to Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping (1997) to A ha’s Take On Me (1985), one-hit wonders across the decades offer a surprisingly rich lens for examining modern legal ethics. Some artists vanish after one breakout hit; others struggle with communication, conflicts, or reputation. Lawyers face similar pitfalls. This program uses the rise and fade arcs of these iconic singles to explore competence, communication, conflicts, and misconduct — showing how attorneys can stay relevant, ethical, and trusted long after their “big case” moment.

Learning objectives:

• Use the arc of modern one-hit wonders like Somebody That I Used to Know to illustrate how lawyers who stop updating their skills risk lapses under Rule 1.1 (Competence).
• Examine how disappearing acts — musical or legal — mirror communication failures under Rule 1.4 (Communication), using Take On Me as a metaphor for clarity, follow through, and staying connected.
• Analyze how divided loyalties and poor decision-making, reflected in the chaotic rise of Tubthumping, parallel conflicts of interest and the requirements of Rule 1.7 (Conflicts).
• Explore how reputational flameouts in one-hit wonder history demonstrate the importance of avoiding conduct that undermines the profession under Rule 8.4 (Professional Misconduct).

Speaker: Stuart Teicher, The CLE Performer

Lawyering across the rural and urban divide
Panelists will discuss similarities and differences, along with the good and bad, of practicing in rural and urban areas across the state.

Learning objectives:

• Benefits and detriments of rural vs. urban practice.
• Barriers to practicing in a rural setting vs. an urban setting.
• Quality of life considerations when choosing where to practice.

Speakers: Hon. Matthew P. Hamner, Missouri Court of Appeals - Southern District, Springfield; Hon. Corey R. Moon, 2nd Judicial Circuit, Monticello; Charnissa E. Holliday Scott, Guin Mundorf, LLC, Kansas City

There will be a 5-minute break between each 50-minute topic.

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.