A new non-partisan, nonprofit political group is hoping to improve ethics in Wisconsin politics.
Read More »Tag Archives: Ethics
Lawyers should not be punished for merely doing what ethical rules require of them
In all the years I have practiced law I have seen many lawyers run for public office and often win.
Read More »Do I have an ethical obligation to be nice?
Civility, niceness, and more specifically incivility and meanness, are big news today.
Read More »New ethics rules attempt to keep pace with how lawyers conduct business
The New Year has brought a new turn for the state's ethics rules for the use of technology.
Read More »Balancing business, legal ethics
Corporate counsel don’t often end up as the subject of disciplinary cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go astray just as easily as other sorts of lawyers.
Read More »Ethics complaints against Baldwin over firing dismissed (UPDATE)
The Senate ethics panel has dismissed three complaints against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin over her firing of a top-level staff member and handling of allegations at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Read More »Drawing the line on gifts
The Wisconsin Supreme Court sets the rules governing when and how judges can accept gifts.
Read More »Baldwin’s former state director files ethics complaint (UPDATE)
A former deputy state director for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin filed an ethics complaint against the Wisconsin Democrat on Monday, saying Baldwin unfairly faulted her for mishandling reports of problems at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center.
Read More »ON ETHICS: The ethics of Candy Crush
The rules of professional responsibility, much like the wheels of justice, are slow to come around.
Read More »Petri pays nearly $140K in defense of ethics probe (UPDATE)
U.S. Rep. Tom Petri has paid nearly $140,000 for legal representation in an ethics investigation into his stock holdings that he requested, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.
Read More »Defense attorney accused of supplying items to an inmate
A Madison criminal defense attorney is accused of illegally passing items to an inmate he was visiting in a Portage prison.
Read More »How to avoid ethics violations at holiday parties
Ah, the holiday party; a time to reconnect, network and, if you’re not careful, commit an ethics violation.
Tips for staying ethical online
Lawyers must abide by ethical rules in all areas of their practice — including how they market themselves online.
Read More »Applying ethics rules to ‘daily deals’
State ethics committees have struggled for decades with applying traditional ethics rules to new forms of electronic communications.
Read More »Judicial ethics code applies to social networking, ABA panel says
Judges must follow the ethics rules governing social relationships and contacts when engaged in electronic social networking, an American Bar Association committee has made clear in a new ethics opinion.
Read More »Watchdog: Labor board lawyer broke ethics rules
The top lawyer at the National Labor Relations Board violated federal ethics rules by helping investigate a case involving Wal-Mart Stores Inc. despite holding a financial interest in the company, the board's inspector general has found.
Read More »The lawyers’ lawyers: Attorneys seek peer assistance to fight malpractice claims, understand ethics rules
A lawyer can make a tough client.
Walker weighs in on Supreme Court justice complaints
Gov. Scott Walker says the process for reviewing complaints against sitting state Supreme Court justices must be one that instills confidence, but he won't say whether changes should be brought.
Read More »Former Prosser aide recommended judicial panel
Three of the five people whom Gov. Scott Walker appointed to a commission to investigate Supreme Court Justice David Prosser were recommended by a former Assembly speaker who once worked for Prosser.
Read More »Court won’t rehear union case without Justice Gableman
The state Supreme Court won't reconsider a lawsuit challenging Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining law without Justice Michael Gableman.
Read More »First vote on Justice Prosser complaint was unanimous
The Wisconsin Judicial Commission unanimously decided in January to file an ethics complaint against Supreme Court Justice David Prosser but split 3-3 a month later on whether to reconsider the decision, according to records released Wednesday.
Read More »State Supreme Court suspends attorney for one year
A Milwaukee attorney now living in California lost his law license for one year after defaulting on 14 disciplinary charges filed against him by the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation.
Read More »Justice’s recusal requests could end ethics case
Ethics violation accusations against Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser stemming from an argument with a fellow justice may not move forward if his colleagues agree to recuse themselves from the case.
Read More »The intersection of ethics and criminal or civil liability
It comes as no surprise that we as lawyers must avoid violating our profession’s unique ethics rules.
Read More »Democrats use Gableman case to propose series of ethics reforms
Assembly Democrats are proposing a series of reforms that would make the state Legislature subject to the open meetings law and force members of the Supreme Court to step down from cases involving law firms they've received donations from.
Read More »Sen. Democrats urge Chief Justice to release Supreme Court ethics rules
Several Democratic members of the Senate sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts this week urging him to release the Supreme Court’s ethics rules and confirm the court’s justices follow the same ethics code that binds other federal judges.
Read More »Legal ethics a hot topic in 2011
Legal ethics news this year ran the gamut from high-tech – can I friend the employee of an opposing party? – to more traditional challenges, such as attorney advertising and judicial recusal.
Read More »Discarded laptops, flash drives create ethical obligations for lawyers
A recent Florida Bar opinion advising that lawyers have an ethical duty to sanitize their storage devices has put a spotlight on how attorneys handle their discarded equipment.
Read More »American Bar Association: New ethics proposals would facilitate cross-border practice
An American Bar Association ethics panel has proposed rule changes that would make it easier for lawyers to engage in cross-border practice, while making clear that one’s “virtual presence” in another jurisdiction may trigger a rule violation.
Read More »Ethics professionals: Use caution with pay-per-lead advertising
Though Wisconsin has closed the book on investigating a controversial pay-per-lead website and other states have done the same, ethics professionals advise lawyers to use caution with similar advertising models.
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