Every lawyer must learn the Rules of Professional Conduct in order to run an ethical practice. But putting the Rules into everyday practice can sometimes be a daunting task. Between running their business and serving their clients, attorneys can find it challenging to do what it takes to meet their ethical obligations. A law practice can pose many different ethical problems, and while the Rules can tell an attorney generally what is and isn t ethical, they don t offer substantive best practices for dealing with these real-life issues. Author Kevin Dornan has spent much of his career advising attorneys on professional responsibility and risk management, and now is bringing those years of experience to Lessons Learned. He takes these issues and puts the focus on practicing ethics in simple, everyday ways. The book presents a series of real-life situations that happened to real lawyers, and uses these studies to provide practical and relatable advice on navigating the everyday ethical pitfalls of the legal industry. Topics include: Avoiding unintended clients Writing solid and ethical fee agreements Ensuring that referral fees comply with the Rules Maintaining confidentiality and communication Being aware of and dealing with conflicts of interest Senior lawyers pressuring subordinates for unethical behavior"
About the Author: Kevin W. Dornan has practiced law for more than twenty-five years. Since April 2015 he has served as Deputy General Counsel at Gunster, a large law firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, after seven years as the firm s Ethics Counsel. Mr. Dornan advises the firm s lawyers on issues of attorney professional responsibility and risk management. Prior to this, he practiced corporate and securities law in Ocala, Florida (2001 2008), including serving as securities counsel to a publicly reporting company (2001 2004). From 1996 to 2001, he was in-house counsel for a telecommunications company in St. Augustine, Florida. He also practiced from 1987 to 1996 as a litigation and transactional attorney in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Mr. Dornan did his undergraduate work at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and holds an M.A. in Philosophy (Ethics) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his J.D. in 1987 from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Maryland Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Board. Mr. Dornan was a Senior Adjunct Instructor in Business Ethics at St. Leo University, St. Leo, Florida, from 1996 to 2007, and an Adjunct Instructor in Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida, during the same time period. Mr. Dornan is admitted to practice in Florida, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. He is a member of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility and Law Practice Division and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL)."