Description

This two-part workshop will provide an update on attorney legal ethics and is approved for 2.5 hours of Attorney Professional Conduct credit.

Part I – Collateral Consequences of Attorney Discipline (1.0 hour)

Based on a scholarly paper in progress, this segment will examine the often-overlooked collateral consequences that accompany attorney disciplinary sanctions. While the discipline system aims to protect the public, sanctions can impose long term harms beyond formal penalties which affect lawyers’ reputations, insurance costs, career mobility, public service opportunities, and mental health. These burdens disproportionately impact solo and rural practitioners and can undermine access to justice in legal deserts. Drawing parallels to collateral consequences in the criminal justice system, the article argues for reforms including diversion programs, proactive regulation, expanded lawyer assistance resources, and limited access to older disciplinary records to better balance public protection with fairness to lawyers.

Part II – Legal Ethics Update (1.5 hours)

This interactive segment will provide an overview of emerging issues in legal ethics and professional responsibility. Through live audience polling, participants may share their opinions about alternative pathways to bar licensure and civility and bullying in the profession. Other topics include ethics in the use of artificial intelligence, recent updates to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, recent ABA Advisory Opinions, and how the ABA’s recent releases may influence changes to the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.

Instructors

Heather Zirke

Assistant Professor of Law and Director of The Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center for Professional Responsibility at the University of Akron School of Law

Workshop Location

Youngstown State University, The Williamson College of Business Administration Room 3422

221 N. Hazel Street, Youngstown, OH 44503

Continuing Education

This course is approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 2.50 Attorney Professional Conduct hours.