Attorneys who supervise other attorneys have direct and special responsibility for ensuring that subordinate attorneys are practicing ethically. When the subordinate attorney’s conduct is improper, the supervising attorney may be personally liable for the subordinate attorney’s misconduct. These rules also apply where in-house attorneys supervise the work done for a company by outside counsel. For subordinate attorneys, there are also ethical tensions in these rules – they may rely on the resolution of certain ethical issues by a supervising attorney, but still have an independent duty of judgment. This program will examine the ethics rules governing supervising and subordinate attorneys, the real-world ethical tensions it creates for supervisory and subordinate attorneys, and best practices for both to avoid liability. Sources of ethical rules for supervising and subordinate attorneys - how they differ and the ethical tensions created between the two Responsibilities of supervisory attorneys to ensure ethics rules compliance by subordinate attorneys In-house counsel supervision of outside counsel Special ethics rules for associate attorneys and reliance on decision-making of supervisory attorneys Ethical issues in billing involving supervisory and subordinate attorneys Best practices for supervisory and subordinate attorneys to avoid ethical liabilitySpeaker:Brian S. Faughnan is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams and Reese, LLP, where he represents clients in a wide variety of matters at the trial level and on appeal. He counsels lawyers and law firms on a wide variety of issues surrounding legal ethics and professional responsibility. He is the chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, a reporter for the committee’s rules revision project, a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and a member of the Media Law Resource Center’s Ethics Committee. Mr. Faughnan received his B.A. from Rhodes College and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Memphis School of Law.
Attorneys who supervise other attorneys have direct and special responsibility for ensuring that subordinate attorneys are practicing ethically. When the subordinate attorney’s conduct is improper, the supervising attorney may be personally liable for the subordinate attorney’s misconduct. These rules also apply where in-house attorneys supervise the work done for a company by outside counsel. For subordinate attorneys, there are also ethical tensions in these rules – they may rely on the resolution of certain ethical issues by a supervising attorney, but still have an independent duty of judgment.
This program will examine the ethics rules governing supervising and subordinate attorneys, the real-world ethical tensions it creates for supervisory and subordinate attorneys, and best practices for both to avoid liability.
Speaker:
Brian S. Faughnan is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams and Reese, LLP, where he represents clients in a wide variety of matters at the trial level and on appeal. He counsels lawyers and law firms on a wide variety of issues surrounding legal ethics and professional responsibility. He is the chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, a reporter for the committee’s rules revision project, a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and a member of the Media Law Resource Center’s Ethics Committee. Mr. Faughnan received his B.A. from Rhodes College and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Memphis School of Law.