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Attorney Saxon is a member of PHC, a private hunting club founded by Attorney Saxon’s grandfather and 36 other men more than 100 years ago. PHC’s bylaws and membership policy restrict PHC’s membership to male descendants of the founders. Attorney Saxon played no role in formulating the policy, which does not violate state law. However, as chair of PHC’s membership committee, Attorney Saxon follows and enforces the membership policy. Attorney Saxon has never solicited clients through his PHC membership nor discussed his law practice with other PHC members. Attorney Saxon has also never entertained any clients or other lawyers at PHC’s facilities.  Is Attorney Saxon subject to discipline?

Attorney Albert represented Carlos Client as a plaintiff in a personal injury matter under a standard contingent fee contract. Carlos Client agreed to settle the case for $1,000,000, from which funds Attorney Albert would receive $250,000. Carlos Client informed Attorney Albert that he planned to take $25,000 of the settlement funds and spend the money purchasing lottery tickets. Attorney Albert told Carlos Client that he disagreed with this plan and encouraged Carlos Client to take some classes on investing money. Carlos Client agreed to take the classes but still insisted on playing the lottery. Attorney Albert received the check for $1,000,000 three days before Carlos Client was to attend the investing classes. Attorney Albert held the check for one week, giving Carlos Client at least a few days of classes. Attorney Albert then informed Carlos Client of the receipt of the funds, disbursed the funds according to the agreement, and also furnished Carlos Client with an accounting. Attorney Albert told Carlos Client that she had delayed notice to allow time for Carlos Client to come to his senses. Carlos Client laughed and said, “I guess your plan worked, because these classes have convinced me to invest my money in the stock market instead of playing the lottery.” Is Attorney Albert subject to discipline?

Attorney Alwin regularly appears before Judge Taylor, a trial court judge who is running for reelection in six months. Over the past year, Attorney Alwin has noticed that Judge Taylor has become increasingly ill-tempered on the bench. Not only is Judge Taylor abrupt and critical of lawyers appearing before her, she is also rude and abusive to litigants. On more than one occasion, Judge Taylor has thrown her gavel across the courtroom in a fit of temper. Judge Taylor’s conduct on the bench is often the subject of discussion whenever a group of lawyers meets. Some lawyers are automatically filing requests for judicial substitution whenever a case in which they are to appear is assigned to Judge Taylor. Attorney Alwin discussed the matter with his law partners, who rarely make court appearances. Attorney Alwin’s law partners suggested that he, too, file a request for judicial substitution whenever one of her cases is assigned to Judge Taylor. In addition, Attorney Alwin and her law partners discussed the possibility of reporting Judge Taylor to the appropriate disciplinary authority but are concerned that this would alienate the other judges to whom their cases are assigned. Attorney Alwin has reluctantly started filing for substitution of Judge Taylor in every one of his cases to which Judge Taylor is assigned, but he has taken no further action. Is Attorney Alwin subject to discipline?

Judge Martin took a case under advisement after both parties had completed the presentation of evidence and arguments. The case had been tried without a jury but involved a difficult fact issue of causation and a difficult issue of law. After the case had been under advisement for several weeks, Lawyer Lee, the plaintiff’s attorney, heard rumors that Judge Martin was having difficulty determining the issue of factual causation and was uncertain about the applicable law. Lawyer Lee telephoned Judge Martin, told her of the rumors he had heard, and asked Judge Martin if she would like to reopen the case for additional evidence and briefing from both parties. Thereafter, Judge Martin reopened the case for further testimony and requested supplementary briefs from both parties. Was it proper for Lawyer Lee to communicate with Judge Martin?

Lawyer Leroy represented a client, Cora, in commercial litigation that was scheduled to go to trial in four months. Recently, Client Cora had disagreed with almost every tactical decision that Lawyer Leroy had made. Frustrated, Lawyer Leroy finally said to Client Cora that if she did not like the way he was handling the lawsuit, she should get another lawyer. Client Cora, who had timely paid each of Lawyer Leroy’s invoices for services, was upset at the suggestion and accused Lawyer Leroy of trying to get out of the case. Reasonably believing that he could no longer work effectively with Client Cora, Lawyer Leroy sought Client Cora’s permission to withdraw from the representation, and Client Cora reluctantly agreed. After giving Client Cora sufficient notice to obtain replacement counsel, Lawyer Leroy requested the court’s permission to withdraw from the litigation, but the court denied the request. May Lawyer Leroy withdraw from the representation?

Solo Practitioner Sandy was appointed to represent Chuck, a criminal defendant, on appeal. Rick, a recently admitted lawyer, agreed to write the brief if Solo Practitioner Sandy would pay him one-half of the statutory fee. Chuck agreed to the arrangement in writing, after full consultation. Rick entered an appearance as co-counsel for Chuck and, with Solo Practitioner Sandy’s knowledge, applied for and received several extensions of time to file the brief. Subsequently, the appellate court dismissed the appeal for failure to pursue the appeal. A third lawyer was later appointed to represent Chuck, whose conviction was affirmed after the appeal was reinstated. Is Solo Practitioner Sandy subject to discipline?

Restaurant Owner Robin and Attorney Kevin entered into a reciprocal referral arrangement. While Attorney Kevin agreed to prominently display ads for the restaurant in his office, and to mention the restaurant to all of his clients who requested a recommendation of a nearby place to eat, Restaurant Owner Robin agreed to prominently display ads for Attorney Kevin’s firm in the restaurant and to recommend Attorney Kevin to any of his customers who indicated a need for legal services. The reciprocal referral agreement was not exclusive, and the clients and customers would be informed of the existence and nature of the agreement. Is Attorney Kevin subject to discipline for entering into this agreement?

Defendant Darius was convicted of homicide five years ago in a county court and sentenced to life in prison. Petra, the chief county prosecutor, who had previously secured Defendant Darius’s conviction, recently learned of new forensic tests that provided clear and convincing evidence of Defendant Darius’s innocence. Prosecutor Petra disclosed this new evidence to the court, which appointed a lawyer to represent Defendant Darius. Prosecutor Petra also disclosed the new evidence to Defendant Darius’s lawyer. Defendant Darius’s lawyer moved to set aside the conviction under a new state law that requires the court to vacate a criminal conviction when newly discovered evidence or information establishes that a convicted defendant did not commit the crime of which he was convicted. However, Prosecutor Petra opposed the motion. Although Prosecutor Petra knew that there was clear and convincing evidence of Defendant Darius’s innocence, Prosecutor Petra believed that she had a professional obligation to advocate in favor of upholding Defendant Darius’s conviction. Although the court eventually ruled in Defendant Darius’s favor and ordered the state to release him from prison, Defendant Darius remained in prison for a substantial period of time while the motion was litigated. Was Prosecutor Petra’s conduct proper?

A zoning law prohibited stores from selling alcoholic beverages before noon on Sundays. Failure to comply was a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $150. Ariana Attorney was hired by Cathy Client who owned several liquor stores. Cathy Client called Ariana Attorney to ask whether any store owners had been prosecuted for violating the law and whether the fine could be imposed for every sale on a Sunday before noon or only for every Sunday on which alcohol was sold before noon. Cathy Client also asked what he could do to minimize the risk that she would be detected. Ariana Attorney accurately told Cathy Client that the fine could only be imposed for each Sunday on which he sold alcoholic beverages before noon, not for each transaction, and that no one had been prosecuted under the law as yet. Ariana Attorney also told her that she thought it would be improper to advise her about how to avoid detection. Cathy Client thanked Ariana Attorney for the information and hung up. Several weeks later, Ariana Attorney learned that Cathy Client had begun to open her stores for business on Sundays at 9 a.m. Was Ariana Attorney’s conduct proper?

Attorney Andrew agreed to represent Client Cindy in a lawsuit. Attorney Andrew and Client Cindy executed Attorney Andrew’s preprinted retainer form that provides, in part: “Client Cindy agrees to promptly pay Attorney Andrew’s fee for services. In addition, Client Cindy and Attorney Andrew agree to release each other from any and all liability arising from the representation. Client Cindy agrees that Attorney Andrew need not return Client Cindy’s file prior to receiving Client Cindy’s executed release. Upon full payment, Attorney Andrew will return the file to Client Cindy.” Although Attorney Andrew recommended that Client Cindy consult independent counsel before signing the retainer agreement, Client Cindy chose not to do so. Attorney Andrew reasonably believes that his fee is fair and that the quality of his work will be competent. Is Attorney Andrew’s retainer agreement with Client Cindy proper?