Bar Counsel Informal Advisory Ethics Notes

The following Bar Counsel notes were previously published in Board email updates to active members of the Maine Bar.

2017 | 2016 |2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

2018

Date	Headline
10/1/2018	Client Confidentiality Issues
10/1/2018	Court/Candor Toward Tribunal
7/1/2018	Confidentiality
7/1/2018	Fee Issues
5/1/2018	Contact with Opposing Counsel
5/1/2018	Fee Issues
3/5/2018	Fee Issues
3/5/2018	Client Communication Issues

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2017

Date	Headline
11/29/2017	Conflicts of Interest
11/29/2017	Client Confidentiality
8/7/2017	Contact with Opposing Counsel
8/7/2017	Termination/Withdrawal from Representation
5/25/2017	Reciprocal Discipline
5/25/2017	Practice Management Issues
3/25/2017	Fee and Confidentiality Issues
3/25/2017	Conflict of Interest

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2016

Date	Headline
12/6/2016	Reporting Professional Misconduct
12/6/2016	Conflict of Interest
6/17/2016	Advertising
6/17/2016	Unauthorized Practice of Law Issues
5/10/2016	Advertising
5/10/2016	Inadvertent Disclosure
2/17/2016	Client Confidentiality
2/16/2016	Withdrawal from Representation

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2015

Date	Headline
10/9/2015	Conflict of Interest
10/9/2015	Prospective Clients
8/12/2015	Dealing with Unrepresented Person
8/12/2015	Multiple Representation
4/20/2015	Safekeeping Property - Former Client's File
4/20/2015	Commencement and Withdrawal from Representation
4/3/2015	Conflict of Interest
2/21/2015	Confidences of/duties to Prospective Clients
2/21/2015	Confidentiality of Bar Complaint Matters

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2014

Date	Headline
12/1/2014	Exception to Client Confidentiality
12/1/2014	Incapacitated Client/Scope of Representation
10/1/2014	Representation After Serving as a Neutral
8/1/2014	Duties to Former Firm Clients
8/1/2014	Confidential response to Grievance Complaint filed by non-client
6/1/2014	Internet Research of Jurors
6/1/2014	Non-prejudicial withdrawal from Representation
4/9/2014	Conflict of Interests
4/9/2014	Dealing with unrepresented persons
2/3/2014	Candor Toward the Tribunal
2/3/2014	Conflicts

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2013

Date	Headline
12/1/2013	Duty to Report Attorney Misconduct
12/1/2013	Termination of Representation
10/1/2013	Duties to Former Clients
10/1/2013	Conflict of Interest: Current Clients
7/30/2013	Retention of Earned Attorney Fees
7/30/2013	Communication with Person Represented by Counsel
6/18/2013	Client Confidentiality Issues
6/18/2013	Using Bar Counsel's Ethics Helpline
4/9/2013	Client Confidentiality Issues
4/9/2013	Grievance and Discipline Process
2/11/2013	Communications with Person Represented by Counsel
2/11/2013	Confidentiality of Information

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2012

Date	Headline
12/12/2012	Successive Representation
12/12/2012	Notice Regarding Fee Arbitration
10/5/2012	Unauthorized Practice of Law
10/5/2012	Conflict of Interest
8/7/2012	Disclosure of Deceased Client Info
8/7/2012	Screening of Non-lawyer Staff
6/20/2012	Communication with Person Represented by Counsel
6/20/2012	Termination of Representation
4/18/2012	Former Client Conflicts
4/18/2012	Communications with Person Represented by Counsel
2/10/2012	Conflict of Interest: Financial Assistance to a Client in Connection with Pending or Contemplated Litigation
2/10/2012	Confidentiality of Information/Candor Toward the Tribunal

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2011

Date	Headline
12/2/2011	Confidentiality of Information/Candor Toward the Tribunal
6/3/2011	Client Confidentiality
6/3/2011	Conflict of Interest
4/8/2011	Reporting Professional Misconduct
4/8/2011	Prospective Clients

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2010

Date	Headline
12/3/2010	Confilict of Interest
12/3/2010	Candor Toward a Tribunal
10/8/2010	Duties to Prospective Client
8/1/2010	Confidentiality of Information: Release of Client's File
8/1/2010	Candor Toward a Tribunal
6/1/2010	Conflict of Interest: Current Clients
6/1/2010	Confidentiality of Information

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2009

Date	Headline
9/1/2009	Confidentiality of Information: Former Clients File

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2008

Date	Headline
10/22/2008	Refunding "Unearned Fees"
10/22/2008	Conflict of Interest/Representation of a Minor
8/20/2008	Protecting Interest of at Risk Client
8/20/2008	Conflict of Interest/Lawyer as Witness
6/26/2008	Confidentiality.
6/26/2008	Communicating with adverse party.
6/26/2008	Tape recording conversation.
3/25/2008	Communicating with adverse party.
2/25/2008	Fee splitting/referral fees.
2/25/2008	Conflict-when lawyer may be called as a witness/lawyer's own interest

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2007

Date	Headline
11/20/2007	Retention of files
11/20/2007	Restriction on right to practice - non compete.
4/19/2007	Termination/withdrawal of representation
4/19/2007	Fee splitting/referral fees
2/5/2007	Adverse conduct/deceit
2/5/2007	Conflict/successive representative

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2006

Date	Headline
11/6/2006	Client confidences/confidentiality
11/6/2006	Conflicts/screening of support staff
11/6/2006	Client confidences/confidentiality
6/27/2006	Communicating with adverse party/statutory service
6/27/2006	Conflicts/office sharing
2/2/2006	Termination/withdrawal - failure to pay fee
2/2/2006	Conflicts/former clients confidences
2/2/2006	Advertising fields of practice

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2005

Date	Headline
5/31/2005	Legal Assistant Confronted with Inadvertent Disclosure
5/31/2005	Client shows signs of diminished capacity
5/31/2005	Client provides false testimony on cross
4/22/2005	Contact with witnesses
4/22/2005	Client confidences/incapacity
4/22/2005	Conflicts/prospective clients
4/22/2005	Conflicts/prospective clients
2/1/2005	Duty to Report Another Lawyer
2/1/2005	Returning "the file" - copying

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*Disclaimer: The Informal Ethics Advisory Notes from Bar Counsel are intended as outreach by the office of Bar Counsel for the use and benefit of the Maine bar. These scenarios are drawn from actual telephone calls received by the attorneys in the office of Bar Counsel in the course of providing informal advice on the Code of Professional Responsibility, known as Bar Counsel's "Ethics Hotline." The particular advice in each case is limited with reference to the particular factual situation related by the inquiring attorney who must be inquiring about his or her own conduct or the conduct of a member of his or her firm. We do not provide any advice to one attorney about the conduct of another attorney unless they are members of the same law firm. In the telephone opinions, we usually explore and discuss additional factual variables. However, I have attempted to pare down these factual scenarios to make the email newsletter more readable and useful in a general sense. Obviously, that creates the risk that slight variations on the facts, to a learned reader, may give rise to a different analysis and conclusion.