RSMD’s Sari Montgomery recently collaborated with prominent ethics counsel from across the country on a Bloomberg Law article urging a fulsome review of American legal ethics systems and regulatory structures.
In the article, the seven authors strongly recommend that the American Bar Association “renew its historic role in leadership in lawyer discipline.” They honor the ABA’s prior committees and commissions that reshaped attorney discipline, suggesting that the profession needs a similar initiative now.
But the authors steer away from suggesting that the ABA use this opportunity to address current hot-button issues of non-lawyer ownership of law firms and sharing fees with non-lawyers.
Instead, they call upon the ABA to help the profession reimagine the regulation for the modern era. They focus on multijurisdictional practice, alternative legal service providers, disciplinary procedural rules, and the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Discipline as the issues in greatest need of reform.
Sari and her co-authors note that ethics authorities can differ on approaches and strategies. But they agree that “it’s time to be conscious and intentional about defining the proper frontiers of legal professional regulation for the 21st Century, as well as about identifying and developing the tools regulators need for the new world.”
Sari’s continued work as a thought leader in legal ethics is a great source of pride for our firm, and we all benefit from her insight. As a firm, we draw on that as a resource as we help our clients navigate ethical challenges. If we can help you with an emergent ethics issue in your practice, please contact us to schedule a consultation.
