Ethics

There have been significant challenges to the roles that counsel to debtors and creditors have played in chapter 13 cases since the enactment of BAPCPA, with little recognition that the success in completing a case through discharge is directly proportional to the efforts of the professionals involved in the proceeding, often in the face of contending with very difficult clients and circumstances. Many programs focus on the poor behaviors of counsel in an effort to provide examples or what “not to do.” This interactive ethics panel will require the panelists to take on role-reversals and encourage audience participation and debate about what can be done to support experienced professionals, and to avoid the continued diminution of the practice by having parties take on the challenges of the “other side.”

This session will be an interactive program that will inform participants and provide guidance concerning fundamental issues and best practices surrounding professional responsibility and ethical conduct. Part trivia, part panel presentation, the session will engage participants to self-select “answers” from several Jeopardy categories focused on issues of interest, then provide the corresponding “questions” (prizes will be awarded). For each answer/question, our panel will provide analysis and commentary. Plus, you get ethics credit just for showing up!

This interactive session will feature fact patterns and scenarios designed to engage the audience with real-world issues that illustrate ethical problems faced by bankruptcy professionals. The session will focus on identifying and resolving these issues before you find yourself in hot water. [Note: Please pardon the audio quality as there was a glitch in the recording process.]

Panelists will discuss ethical issues relating to due diligence and debtor and creditor actions online as well as practice pointers for engaging in social media.

Oftentimes lawyers must deal with people in vulnerable positions- and there are a whole host of rules that govern our behavior in those instances. Cheating (misrepresentation, rule 4.1 and 3.3), Preying (deceptive practices, rule 8.4), and Shoving (fairness to opposing parties and counsel, rule 3.4) are prohibited by the attorney ethics rules...and why not learn about them with a little humor? Join internationally recognized speaker Stuart Teicher, Esq., (the "CLE Performer") as he alerts us to the issues that should concern us when interacting with people who might be at a competitive disadvantage when facing a lawyer.