EDITED BY:
Professor Michael H. Hoeflich, PhD, Editor-in-Chief
Carrie E. Parker, Legal Editor
Luzianne Stafford, Design & Publishing Editor
PUBLISHED BY: Joseph, Hollander & Craft LLC
PUBLICATION DATE: February 28, 2025
READ & DOWNLOAD FULL-TEXT PDF OF LEMR Vol. 6, No. 2
FEATURE ARTICLE: Time Passing: Legal Ethics & Time
When we think of ethical rules, we rarely think about the impact of time. There are no rules solely directed to questions of time. And yet lawyers’ lives are dominated by time in the form of deadlines, billing, communication, etc. This month, we are going to look at some of the basic Rules of Professional Responsibility in which time and timekeeping plays an essential role.
Diligence & Rule 1.3
Kansas Rule of Professional Conduct 1.3 reads:
A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.
. . .
NEW AUTHORITY: Legal Bravery
Shakespeare famously had one of the characters in Henry II, Part 2 urge a rebellious crowd to reform England:
DICK. The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.
JACK CADE. Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment, that parchment, being scribbl’d o’er, should undo a man? Some say the bee stings; but I say ’tis the bee’s wax, for I did but seal once to a thing, and I was never mine own man since.
Many readers satisfy themselves by understanding this quote as anti-lawyer sentiment in the extreme. But those who read more carefully realize that the complaint against the lawyers is focused as much on the rule of law that lawyers are sworn to defend as it is on the lawyers. The notion is that if you kill all the lawyers, then you also kill the law.
In the past several weeks the Trump administration has attempted to radically change our government and legal system in ways that challenge traditional legal and political norms. The administration also took direct action against lawyers in a manner perceived by many to be an improper use of political power.
The most recent example is the White House memorandum suspending active security clearances for lawyers who have been working as defense counsel for former Special Counsel Jack Smith (the attorney who unsuccessfully prosecuted Donald Trump on behalf of the Justice Department under the Biden administration). According to CNN:
White House aide Will Scharf said ahead of the signing, “One law firm that provided pro bono legal services to the special counsel’s office under Jack Smith’s leadership was Covington & Burling. As a result of those actions, we’re now going to be suspending and putting under review the security clearances for the attorneys and employees at that firm who worked with Jack Smith’s team.”
In response to the White House’s move, a Covington spokesman said on Tuesday: “We recently agreed to represent Jack Smith when it became apparent that he would become a subject of a government investigation. Covington serves as defense counsel to Jack Smith in his personal, individual capacity.”
Katelyn Polantz & Samantha Waldenberg, “White House suspending active security clearances of Covington & Burling lawyers who are working with Jack Smith,” CNN, Feb. 25, 2025.1
Legal ethicists should be concerned for how this executive action impacts the affected lawyers’ responsibilities under the Rules of Professional Conduct—and whether it may impair access to counsel for Mr. Smith and others by way of a chilling effect. The American legal system is adversarial and only functions properly when all litigants have the opportunity to have counsel. That is why the Rules of Professional Conduct include Rule 1.2(c), which states:
A lawyer’s representation of a client, including representation by appointment, does not constitute an endorsement of the client’s political, economic, social or moral views or activities.
Lawyers who resist efforts to limit or discourage their representation of clients with certain political, economic, social or moral views or activities should be congratulated for their bravery in upholding our system of laws.
1Available at https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/politics/jack-smith-covington-burling-security-clearances-trump/index.html.
ETHICS & MALPRACTICE RESEARCH TIP: New Articles from the Current Index to Legal Periodicals
1. Natalie A. Pierce & Stephanie L. Goutos, Why Lawyers Must Responsibly Embrace Generative AI, 21 Berkeley Bus. L.J. 469 (2024).
This is an interesting piece, but we are not sure that we agree.
2. Matthew Steilen, Genteel Culture, Legal Education, and Constitutional Controversy in Early National Virginia, 41 Law & Hist. Rev. 709 (2023).
While not terribly relevant to modern legal education, this article is nevertheless quite interesting from a historical perspective.
A BLAST FROM THE PAST: Trollope on the Lawyer-Client Relationship
Anthony Trollope, the great English novelist and commentator on society was much concerned with lawyers. On the lawyer-client relationship he commented:
There is no form of belief stronger than that which the ordinary English gentleman has in the discretion and honesty of his own family lawyer. What his lawyer tells him to do, he does. What his lawyer tells him to sign, he signs. He buys and sells in obedience to the same direction and feels perfectly comfortable in the possession of a guide who is responsible and all but divine.
—Anthony Trollope, The Eustace Diamonds (Oxford Univ. Press 91 1973) (1872), as quoted by James J. Fishman, “A Random Stroll Amongst Anthony Trollope’s Lawyers,” 11 Br. J. Am. Leg. Studies 1, 5 (2022).
Would that all clients were so trusting today!
READ & DOWNLOAD FULL-TEXT PDF OF LEMR Vol. 6, No. 2
About Joseph, Hollander & Craft LLC
Joseph, Hollander & Craft is a mid-size law firm representing criminal defense, civil defense, personal injury, and family law clients throughout Kansas and Missouri. From our offices in Kansas City, Lawrence, Overland Park, Topeka and Wichita, our team of 26 attorneys covers a lot of ground, both geographically and professionally.
We defend against life-changing criminal prosecutions. We protect children and property in divorce cases. We pursue relief for clients who have suffered catastrophic injuries or the death of a loved one due to the negligence of others. We fight allegations of professional misconduct against medical and legal practitioners, accountants, real estate agents, and others.
When your business, freedom, property, or career is at stake, you want the attorney standing beside you to be skilled, prepared, and relentless — Ready for Anything, come what may. At JHC, we pride ourselves on offering outstanding legal counsel and representation with the personal attention and professionalism our clients deserve. Learn more about our attorneys and their areas of practice, and locate a JHC office near you.