No matter how long you practice law in a California or federal court, you can still make mistakes. Many of them are minor and do not affect the outcome of the case or cost your client money.
On the other hand, some mistakes could result in negative consequences that end up jeopardizing your license. One of those is missing deadlines. Fortunately, if it happens in a federal case, you may be able to fix it if you act fast enough.
As an attorney, you know that the misappropriation of a client's funds is one of the most serious things that can happen. If it happens in your firm, you can expect the Bar Association to come down hard on anybody that was even remotely involved.
It's always wisest to avoid problems before they start. While all businesses are vulnerable to fraud, law firms tend to be among the most susceptible -- simply because they deal with so much money on a regular basis.
As a doctor, you know that a romantic relationship with a current patient is absolutely off-limits -- but what about former patients? Is it really a breach of ethics if there's no current physician-patient relationship?
According to the American Medical Association (AMA), doctors need to end their physician-patient relationship before they begin any kind of romance with a patient. On the surface, that might seem like doctors are being given a green light when it comes to relationships with former patients. However, that's not quite the case.
Imagine this: You're a doctor with a thriving practice and you would never, ever pass out painkillers to a patient without a good reason. You have a solid reputation as a compassionate physician, however, so patients in pain have sought you out -- hoping for relief. You carefully screen them all, make sure that they have a real need for pain relief and watch for signs of addiction. If you see signs of addiction, you wean patients off opioids and look for alternatives.
Then, one day, you find the Medical Board of California knocking on your practice door (probably with a warrant), accusing you of prescribing opioid drugs recklessly -- leading patients to addiction and even death. Those patients were long out of your care and had moved on from your practice possibly years before -- but the Medical Board says that you're the doctor that's responsible for putting them on the road to their addiction.
One of the worst nightmares an attorney can experience is an accusation of malpractice -- and that can happen very easily if you make a mistake during the discovery process. Aside from putting your client in a bad position, you could be putting your career in jeopardy as well.
Here's some well-considered advice about things that every attorney needs to keep in mind when filing discovery motions:
Working through law school may have been the most challenging yet rewarding time in your life. You may have studied hard, but also found time to go out with your friends. You may not have thought too much about how those outings could affect your future career, but if the California Bar Association believes that you have demonstrated poor moral character, you could face a number of issues.
You may not think that moral character should play a substantial role in whether you the Bar accepts you. However, moral character is important, especially when working closely with clients in sensitive situations as attorneys do. Therefore, you may want to understand the importance of moral character.
"Hey, you're an attorney! I have a question for you!"
If you have a law degree, that's probably a familiar statement. You likely hear it from time to time from close family members, distant family members, neighbors, friends, friends of friends and casual acquaintances alike. Even when you aren't facing someone directly, you may find yourself being peppered with questions via text, email and other forms of electronic communication.
One small oversight is all it takes to put your nursing license -- and your entire career -- in danger. So, what can you do to protect yourself?
Follow this guide:
An attorney's job isn't always the easiest. No matter which area of law you practice, you probably have a first-hand look at people who are going through some of the darkest days of their lives. All too frequently, you may have to deliver clients the bad news that they can't get exactly what they want.
It's a stressful position to be in. Between the emotional aspects of the job, the pressure to succeed, the long hours and other stressors, is it any wonder that a total of 36 percent -- more than one out of three attorneys -- is considered a problem drinker? A total of 21 percent are full-blown alcoholics, which is a dismal comparison to the 6.8 percent of alcoholics in the general population.
Lawyers are not immune to trouble. Like any other job, you deal with success and failure, reward and frustration. You may find ways to celebrate the good days and deal with the bad ones, and that may include the use of alcohol. In fact, including alcohol in your coping strategies may be something you learned from your days in law school.
Unfortunately, the odds may be against you when it comes to avoiding falling into addiction. The pressure of the job, its brutal hours, the emotional outcome of your cases and your own driven personality may be just a few of the factors that set you up for addiction. Even if you are ready to admit you need help, you may fear for your future if you take that step.
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