In December, the Minnesota Supreme Court clarified the rules about “nonrefundable” retainers. These amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5 (Fees) and 1.15 (Safekeeping Property) go into effect on July 1, 2011. Read the full opinion and amendments here. The new rules aren’t so much a change as a clarification. The Lawyer’s Board …
Ethics Scramble
You all know it… you are reminded by the Minnesota Board of Continung Legal Education that you need to report compliance by June 30. Then you remember that three years ago, you were going to keep a running total of the CLEs you attended, what sessions you went to, so when reporting time rolled around, you’d be all set. But of course, few are.
Coffee Shop Ethics
This isn’t about fair trade or organic coffee. Rather, what are the ethics of the lawyer working in a coffee shop? Whether you like meeting clients somewhere casual or just want to get out of the office, hopefully you’ve thought through these issues. While this kind of practice is becoming more commonplace — even desired …
Free eBook: Minnesota Legal Ethics by William J. Wernz
OK, disclaimer and a bit of promotion here. I just spent the better part of the last six weeks helping to put together the final technical pieces of Minnesota Legal Ethics, the MSBA’s first electronic book. It’s a doozy, for at least four reasons.
Don’t Right Click This Post
The Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility has been busy with its opinions in the last year, amending two prior opinions, proposing and approving two new opinions, and proposing a third new opinion that is currently open for comment. The two relatively new opinions cover the use of the term “& Associates” in a firm’s …