Often, when you need to defend yourself to the state bar, it is due to a suspected violation of the professional rules of conduct. These rules apply to all attorneys in the state and help to dictate how you should behave to live up to the expectations in place for...
How Does The State Bar Evaluate Complaints?
Given the highly emotional nature of the situations that a lawyer's clients find themselves in, it's not unusual for a client to turn their pain and suffering into resentment towards their counsel. Most attorneys will have to respond to a Bar complaint at some time in...
Be conscious of unconscionable fees
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct, followed by most states, hold that lawyers should refrain from charging their clients “unreasonable” fees. However, as you well know, California goes its own way when it comes to professional conduct rules. Rule 1.5 of the...
Saving your reputation after criminal allegations
Facing criminal allegations in California can impact the way people view your credibility as a law professional. With questions and doubts at the forefront of people's minds, your reputation may suffer considerably. Watching your conduct and committing to...
The consequences of a lawyer misconduct case
If you are an attorney facing allegations of wrongdoing, it is imperative to understand what is at stake and do everything in your power to protect your career, reputation and future. When accusations of attorney misconduct surface, they bring the possibility of harsh...
When are you obligated to report ethical violations?
Like most legal professionals in California, you likely go to great lengths to ensure that your business-related conduct does not warrant scrutiny from state bar officials. The perception is that focusing on your own actions essentially guarantees that you avoid the...
Defining moral turpitude in law license disciplinary matters
As an attorney, you probably already know that the concept of "moral turpitude" is not easy to define. Besides the subjective nature of moral turpitude, it comes up in several legal areas, including professional license defense. So it is a good idea to have a basic...
What if I’m reported for a state bar violation?
As an attorney, you should want to do the best job for your clients as much as possible. Yet, attorneys can fail their clients, sometimes enough that a client reports their attorney for a state bar violation. That violation can be anything from relaying confidential...
What is moral character to the state bar?
If you are a law student or a practicing attorney in a state other than California and you aspire to practice law in California, you will want to educate yourself about the licensing process in the state. The California State Bar standards for licensing include a...
Conflict of interest cases explained
When dealing with the issue of your standing with the state bar association, you no doubt will want to know the exact parameters in which legal authorities expect you to operate. As many of our past clients here at The Law Office of Zachary D. Weschler, APC can attest...