My 57 years are showing, for now I have to scroll through posts to make sure I’m not repeating myself too badly. Alas, I find no post about using an attorney effectively.

Attorneys can be sliced and diced in many ways. Most of us are specialists of one sort or another, using the notion of specialization in a very elastic way. (Arizona ethics rules do not permit an attorney to claim he or she specializes, absent being a Certified Specialist in one of the State Bar’s eight specialization categories. So, think, “focus” or “practice area,” for no one wants a bar problem.)

My reach is broad, touching on estate planning and probate, real estate, business, and representing attorneys with bar

Last week I wrote about confidentiality. Another core element of attorney ethics is conflicts of interest.

While confidentiality comes within one rule—ER 1.6—with a few touches elsewhere, conflicts of interest take up ERs 1.7-1.12 and lots of subparts. The structure is pretty simple. Current client issues are in ER 1.7, ER 1.8 addresses a dozen special situations, ER 1.9 describes duties owed to former clients, ER 1.10 focuses on indirect conflicts of interest faced by law firms, and ERs 1.11 and 1.12 deal with government attorneys and judges/mediators, respectively. (Lots of material here; you’re getting a “broad brush overview,” and if you have questions about particular situations, please contact me or someone else with expertise regarding the Rules of Professional

Attorneys are regulated in several ways. In Arizona we must pass the bar exam after graduating from law school. We must pass a professional responsibility exam. (That requirement came along after I started practicing, so I missed the privilege.) The Arizona Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness must bless each applicant, deciding whether he or she has sufficient character and fitness to practice law.

Once we’re admitted, we must adhere to the Rules of Professional Conduct, a set of about 55 substantive rules, most with subparts and all with comments. (Between 2001 and 2003 I spent almost two years on a committee of 17 attorneys and judges who rewrote these rules. Fourteen full-day sessions in Phoenix, plus lots of

The 150^th anniversary of the Civil War passed three years ago. It brought to mind another “Attic-Moment” involving Abraham Lincoln. Notes for a Law Lecture, written by Abraham Lincoln, are dated July 1, 1850, making them, now, more than 160 years old.

Age aside, the Notes are worthy of attention for attorneys and non-attorneys, for Mr. Lincoln focuses on four major, timeless themes:  Diligence; Litigiousness; Fees; and Honesty. He also offers a quick digression on the limited value of the silver tongue.

Mr. Lincoln calls diligence “the leading rule” for lawyers. Arizona attorney discipline reports bear out this opinion, as many modern-day discipline problems relate to a lack of diligence.[1] Mr. Lincoln offers several