WebCredenza 2024 Responding to demand letters: Tone and substance

Recording available after original program date, 2/9/2024

Ethics rules, the principles of professionalism, and sanctionable conduct are interrelated.  Lawyers have a duty to zealously represent their clients, but they do not have a duty to engage in offensive conduct that may be desired by clients. Lawyers have duties of confidentiality and honesty, but those duties do not always require pressing every advantage, such as when the lawyer knows that opposing counsel has made a material drafting error in a transactional document. In these and many other scenarios, ethics rules, professionalism, and potentially sanctionable conduct subtly interact.  This program will provide you with a practical guide to professionalism for the ethical lawyer. 

• Interrelationship of ethics rules, professionalism, and sanctions
• Zealous representation v. needlessly embarrassing an adversary or third-party
• Reacting to an adversary’s drafting errors in transactional documents
• Ethics, professionalism, and inadvertent transmission of communications
• Duty to supervise and train subordinate lawyers and staff, including to ensure courtesy to clients, opposing counsel, and courts
• Offering candid advice to clients and withdrawal when they demand offensive conduct
• Avoiding discrimination and bigotry

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.

Note: This material qualifies for self-study credit only. Pursuant to Regulation 15.04.5, a lawyer may receive up to six hours of self-study credit in a reporting year. Self-study programs do not qualify for GAL Certification, ethics, elimination of bias or Kansas credit.