Mark Rubin

The U.S. Supreme Court and Ethics

June 22, 2023
Mark Rubin

The U.S. Supreme Court and Ethics

The U.S. Supreme Court and Ethics

U.S. Supreme Court

The Ethics Watch: Update

Here’s the latest on the ethics front. Justice Samuel Alito took a trip with a billionaire to go fishing in Alaska. No disclosures. Then, he ruled on a case that involved one of the billionaire’s entities, and claims he lacked knowledge about the connection.

Why I’m Writing

I write because, a few months ago, Justice Alito told the Wall Street Journal he thought lawyers should defend the Court, in the face of criticism about the justices’ ethics. I found the comment amusing for its suggestion that nine justices need the legal profession to validate their acts.

Now, with the speaker’s acts, it’s time to speak up. As

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Ethics Law aka The Law of Lawyering

November 25, 2018
Mark Rubin

Ethics Law aka The Law of Lawyering

ethics law

Mark Rubin

In part my law practice involves ethics law. The term fairly describes the practice area, but Law of Lawyering more completely defines it. Simply, I focus on issues which arise for lawyers as they practice law.*

The Rules of Professional Conduct govern lawyer conduct. The American Bar Association published Model Rules of Professional Conduct in the 1980s, to replace its Code of Professional Responsibility. Arizona had adopted the Code in 1970 and replaced it with its version of the ABA Model Rules in 1985. (For an excellent history of lawyer ethics in Arizona read The Short History of Arizona Legal Ethics by Keith Swisher.)

In 2003 Arizona adopted a rewritten version

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Professional Ethics for Attorneys

May 29, 2017
Mark Rubin

Professional Ethics for Attorneys

For many years the second quarter—April, May, and June—finds me talking. Yes, yes, I talk always, but the second quarter has me talking in public, mostly about professional ethics for attorneys. The State Bar of Arizona requires 15 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) between July 1 and June 30, and three of those hours must have ethics as their primary subject.

For reasons I don’t readily comprehend, many Arizona attorneys struggle to obtain their three hours of ethics. Whither, I—an attorney who devotes about one-third of his practice to ethics and related matters—get lots of opportunities to talk. My talking comprises some part of three hours, shared with one or more fellow panelists and, we

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Trump Appointees, Ethics, and a Tax Break

January 2, 2017
Mark Rubin

Trump Appointees, Ethics, and a Tax Break.

My law practice involves conflicts of interest. No, not because I allow them; instead, it’s on account of the fact that I do and have done legal ethics matters for almost 30 years, representing attorneys in discipline and professionalism matters, and suing and represent them in legal malpractice cases.

Federal government appointments and I don’t mix, but the principles associated with attorney conflicts and governmental conflicts differ not at all. Doing someone else’s bidding mandates that you focus only on that “client,” whether it’s an individual, a corporation, or the United States of America. With that in mind, I’ve been following with interest the staffing of the Trump Administration.

The people Donald Trump

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Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Attorney / Fiduciary

September 14, 2022
Mark Rubin

Mark Rubin: Problem Solver / Lawyer / Fiduciary

problem solver lawyer fiduciary

Mark Rubin

I’m 65 – and a day (as I have finished editing, having forgotten about this piece) – and I’ve been a lawyer for just about 41 years. People ask me what I do, regularly. They’re often other lawyers or legal services consumers. Usually, they’re looking for a cubbyhole. (Employment lawyer. ERISA expert. Estate planner. Etc.) Almost always, I fail them, for I do too many things. (Many years ago I talked with a large Phoenix firm about employment. After a wasted day the very rude managing partner said “We’re not interested. You don’t fit in anywhere.”)

Problem Solver

Tired of failing people, 60+ years old, and having spent 62.93% of

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Files and the Lawyer

October 10, 2021
Mark Rubin

Files and the Lawyer

files

Mark Rubin

Hey there! Yes, you. Lawyer? Client? (Both?) Doesn’t matter, for if you fall into either category, my words about files and storage matter.

When I started practicing law, 40 years ago this Friday, we had carbon paper, with Olivetti 351s on the near horizon. (A screen about three-eighths of an inch high and maybe three inches long, affording a typist a brief opportunity to correct a typo before the print hit the page.) And, everything that mattered got saved in a manila folder.

The firm with which I practiced from 1983 until 1999 had off-site storage, along with an interior room – Purgatory, to me – where we kept finished matters until the room

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More Reasons to Vote for Laura Conover

July 12, 2020
Mark Rubin

More Reasons to Vote for Laura Conover

Conover endorsement LB

Laura Conover

Hi there. I’m Leigh, and I’m visiting here. I share Mark’s views about the reasons why we need changes at the Pima County Attorney’s Office. I have some more, too.

In our tough economic times, we need a County Attorney who will better steward the substantial sum of money we spend in our community to prosecute criminals. Further, we need someone who will insist on running an office which focuses on justice, as opposed to convictions. Laura Conover meets these requirements.

The Office of the County Attorney as well as the Offices of the Public and Legal Defender serve the people of Pima County in many ways, not least of which

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Mark Rubin and The Best Lawyers in America©

August 16, 2019
Mark Rubin

Mark Rubin and The Best Lawyers in America©

best lawyers

Mark Rubin

I’m as pleased as Punch because I’m listed in the 26th edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Per Best Lawyers®, it recognizes roughly 60,000 U.S. lawyers, from among more than 1.3 million active lawyers. One in 20 or so!

Best Lawyers® listed me for my Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law practice. Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law, aka the Law of Lawyering, represents a small part of my practice—which focuses most heavily on business, real estate, elder law, and fiduciary work—but it’s a part of my practice I’m very proud of. (For more on what this area of law is all about, read Ethics Law

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Hurrah, Hurrah: Rubin & Bernstein PLLC

May 24, 2018
Mark Rubin

Hurrah, Hurrah: Rubin & Bernstein PLLC

We’re Here … Finally!

382 S. Convent Ave.

382 S. Convent Ave.

Well, gentle readers, you’ve certainly gotten teasers, here and here. (Candidly, I thought there were more.) Rubin & Bernstein PLLC is, like, the real deal! As of May 29th we’re located at 382 S. Convent Ave., with an annex office at 307 S. Convent. The picture shows 382, and we’ve got lots of parking. (Moving today, May 24!)

The Lawyers

Leigh Bernstein—my partner—devotes herself to the needs of elderly people and those who surround them in their later years. She provides estate planning services for people of all ages. Her practice also includes guardian/conservatorship cases involving people with dementia or mental illness. She handles trusts

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Confidentiality and Hannity the Client

April 17, 2018
Mark Rubin

Confidentiality and Hannity the Client

New York’s version of ER 1.6 of the Rules of Professional Conduct got shredded yesterday. Oh well … but for the fact that confidentiality represents a core aspect of the attorney-client relationship.

Some background might be helpful. Search warrants, executed last Monday, generated a bunch of material from Michael Cohen. He’s an attorney who works for President Donald J. Trump. And Everett Broidy. And one more client, Sean Hannity.

The government and Judge Kimba Wood needed to know who Mr. Cohen represented. Why? To determine the scope of the claimed attorney-client privilege. The privilege only applies to communications between Mr. Cohen and his clients; whither, the need to know the identity of

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