OBLIC news, events and updates.
Proposed Changes to Rules for Attorney Specialization and Rule of Practice and Procedure
Proposed amendments to the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar and Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct would impact specialization for Ohio attorneys. Prof.Cond.R 7.4 now provides that a lawyer shall not state or imply that they are a specialist in a particular field of law unless the lawyer has been certified as […]
An OBLIC Update on Generative AI in the Legal Industry: Recent Court Rulings on AI and Copyright
This week, we’ve synthesized some current legal news in the realm of artificial intelligence and machine learning to keep you up to date. In a post earlier this year, we shared how Natural Language Processing applications like ChatGPT, Google’s Bard AI, and Meta’s LLaMa have advanced the ability of computer processing to generate human-like written […]
Best Practices – Closed Client Files
Handling closed client files is not a favorite topic for most lawyers. Depending on the type of case, at the conclusion of the representation the lawyer and the client may be ready to move on. At OBLIC, we often get calls about closed client files. The Ohio Office of Disciplinary Counsel has an excellent brochure […]
Ethical Considerations for Office Sharing
As law firms continue to adapt to our post-COVID world, office sharing is in the mix of options. Whether a solo attorney looking to maximize an office location or a multi-location firm seeking to economize unused offices, there are ethical duties that apply. The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility recently issued Formal […]
Do This One Thing to Reduce Your Risk
That pit in your stomach? The flushed feeling rushing over your face? Chances are if you’ve been in practice long enough, you’ve felt a similar sensation upon realizing the deadline is (oh no!) TODAY and not next Friday. But you caught it, and now you’ve got enough time to either meet the deadline (like filing […]
Best Practices
Estate Administrator Pitfalls Analyzing trends over the previous five years, the broad practice area of estate planning, trust, and probate has become one of the top areas of practice for malpractice claims. Most errors fall into one of three categories: competence, conflicts, and clients. This week we’ll focus on a couple of issues involving substantive […]
Board of Professional Conduct Opinions Address Practice Issues
Four recent Opinions by the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct addressed a variety of practice issues. We reported these Opinions in the Summer Malpractice Alert and the following are brief summaries. Opinion 2023-03 Application of Code of Judicial Conduct to Mayor’s Court Magistrates will be of particular interest to those who practice before Mayor’s Court, […]
An OBLIC Update on Generative AI in the Legal Industry
The use of Artificial Intelligence in the legal industry continues to be an evolving and highly discussed topic. While you may be getting updates from other sources on news and developments, we wanted to synthesize a few important developments on the generative AI front. 1. Lawyers sanctioned for sloppy use of ChatGPT and reaction from […]
When to Call OBLIC
A recent crime drama series sparked a plethora of “Better Call” references in popular culture. We conclude most of our OBLICAlerts and publications to our policyholders with an invitation to call OBLIC. Unfortunately, we continue to encounter situations where an insured attorney hesitated to call, often aggravating issues that could have been avoided or mitigated […]
Hotline Question: Simultaneous Employment
Like other industries, attorneys are adapting to changing workforce trends. This includes greater flexibility facilitated by developments in technology and remote work capabilities. A recent hotline call posted a question regarding simultaneous employment at different firms. While we’ve previously addressed a similar question regarding of-counsel relationships, this one had a new twist: can a licensed […]
