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California Lawyers Only Have Two Months Before They Have To Rat On Their Colleagues

On Your Marks, Get Set, Snitch!

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swear oathCalifornia lawyers know two things: how to party and that snitches get stitches. But that last one is about to change. As it turns out, God isn’t the only one that can judge them — they also have to deal with the Bar. And, since the Bar would rather avoid the reckoning of having another Tom Girardi on its hands, the ethical expectations for California’s lawyers is about to be standardized.

From Reuters:

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday adopted a lawyer professional misconduct reporting rule that brings it in line with every other state. Lawyers in California starting on Aug. 1 will be required to report fraud, misappropriation of funds and other criminal acts or conduct that raise “a substantial question” about another lawyer’s “honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer.”

…

In addition to adding the professional misconduct reporting rule, the California Supreme Court has recently ordered the State Bar to require lawyers who have been suspended for 90 days or less to inform their clients and the courts. It also ordered the State Bar to bolster its conflict of interest procedures with candidates for top positions within the organization.

The only real question here is how California avoided this baseline expectation all these years. California has earned a reputation for its low bar passage rates, but they’ve also got an ethical reputation to uphold — they are tied with Utah for having the highest required score to pass the MPRE.

In short, you’ve only got about two more months to pass a blind eye toward your fellow esquires’ fraud, misappropriations, and general moral mishaps. That’s also just enough time for you to recommend your friends to put a lawyer on call for when the charges catch up to them.

‘Snitch’ Rule Adopted By California Bar Amid Ethics Scandals [Reuters]

Earlier: California’s State Bar Is Trying To Save Face By Mandating Attorneys Snitch On Each Other

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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