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Disbarred for bad mouthing judges, prosecutors and public defenders
In February 2014, following oral argument in January, the Maryland Court of Appeals disbarred an attorney for emailing a number of attorneys, including long-time former Attorney Grievance Commission member George Meng, Esquire, defamatory claims of corruption regarding a number of judges and elected officials including the Attorney General. Â Opinion of Judge Greene in Attorney Grievance
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Not every wrong act violates a black-letter ethics rule
Among the cardinal virtues promoted in Greek antiquity and classical Christianity are fortitude, prudence, temperance and justice. Prudence (originally, providentia, contracted to prudentia) is the wisdom and discipline to apply principles appropriately, reasonably and in proportion. Latin Christianity derived these terms from Plato through Cicero and the early Fathers of the Church; the English terms
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Let’s All Help “Pat Barnes” Find Decent Employment
I pity “Pat Barnes”. He or she is a representative of a company that wants to sell me, an 18-year member of the Maryland Bar, a plaque commemorating my 15th year of membership in the Maryland Bar. And be darned if she or he isn’t persistent: I have gotten maybe half a dozen of these
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Beyond Parody: “Small Business Bodyguard”
Among my lesser faults (many others are much worse) is a propensity towards foul language, one that I do restrain with clients and in court, but one that I tend not to restrain as much on the phone with friends and peers in personal conversations. It is a regrettable fault, though it’s easier on the
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“Skin in the game” and attorney ethics
In the United States, contingent fees for attorneys are regulated and usually prohibited in most criminal and family law matters. Â Among the justifications for contingent fees are that they reward success, not attorney billable-hour churning. In today’s New York Times Adam Liptak discussed Marek v. Lane, a class action case against Facebook involving privacy violations.
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A Personal Statement About Professional Fortitude
Today’s tone will be a little earthier and more personal than I am normally willing to indulge here. Â If coarse analogies offend, please go read this vulgarity-free light reading instead. Lawyers far more skilled and dedicated than I have taken risks in their profession over the two centuries of the practice of law in this
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Joseph Amendola, Esquire, does NOT work in my law office
Why, oh why, does an attorney state the results of attorney-client work product and even attorney-client communications in front of a TV camera? Why tell Anderson Cooper whether a client communicated with you and what those communications were? Who in the name of mighty Thor congratulates the prosecution for convicting his client of felonies? Criminal
