Ethics
of independent legal counsel regarding any claim or potential claim she may have against him. As if all of the above omissions were not enough, the
respondent in Bleecker exacerbated the resulting disciplinary complaint by failing to respond to Bar Counsel’s lawful demands for information, thereby violating 8.1(b). Te Court of Appeals determined that the appropriate sanction for the respondent’s misconduct, even after taking into consideration certain mitigation findings, was disbarment. Te Bleecker case exemplifies how not to deal with a client’s potential negligence claim that may also become the subject of a grievance. A negligently blown statute of limitations will not, in and of itself, result in disbarment and may not result in formal discipline of any kind, but dishonesty when communicating with the client about the status of a matter will place a lawyer on the path to disbarment.
Conclusion It is impossible in an article of this length to review
every ethical imperative set forth in the Rules of Professional Conduct. As a good starting point to avoid grievances, a lawyer should strive, as stated in the Preamble, to be “competent, prompt and diligent,” and to “maintain communication
with a client concerning the representation.” A client who is treated respectfully and kept informed throughout the representation is far less likely to file a grievance than one who feels ignored and uninformed. Additional information about specific ethical imperatives in a personal injury practice setting can be obtained through periodic review of the Rules of Professional Conduct and by attending continuing legal education and risk management programs.
In all areas of
practicing law, however, lawyers who practice with a personal and professional conscience already have the necessary foundation for avoiding grievances.
Biography Raymond A. Hein has worked for the Attorney
Grievance Commission in the office of Bar Counsel since 1993 and is currently Deputy Bar Counsel. He is a 1983 graduate of Te John Hopkins University and obtained his law degree in 1986 from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he served on the editorial staff of the Maryland Law Review. Following law school, Mr. Hein clerked for Judge Robert Karwacki of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and worked in private law practice in Baltimore from 1987 to 1993 before joining the staff of Bar Counsel.
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