The Professional Responsibility Practice Group at Buchalter focuses on the ethics, litigation and regulatory issues that impact professionals including lawyers, judges, medical doctors and staff, architects and design professionals, insurance agents, and lobbyists.
In the legal field, Buchalter’s lawyers have represented both lawyers and law firms, from solo practitioners to medium-sized and large law firms on the AmLaw 200, in addition to public entities, in-house departments, as well as judges and law students who are confronted with ethics or admissions issues. The Professional Responsibility Practice Group is able to advise clients on a wide range of issues, including: conflicts of interest, risk management, the attorney-client privilege and the duty of confidentiality, client management, fee disputes, data privacy and cybersecurity, cloud computing, mining metadata, using social media, internal investigations, law firm dissolutions and partnership disputes, malpractice and professional liability cases, and litigation issues, such as withdrawal, sanctions, and disqualification motions.
The Group has many decades of collective experience in ethics and regulatory matters, including a former bar prosecutor and defense attorneys who have handled hundreds of bar regulatory proceedings.
No two clients are alike, however, the Group can leverage its deep knowledge and experience to provide clients a unique and valuable level of representation.
The firm’s Professional Responsibility Group includes and works closely with professionals throughout Buchalter so that client needs can be addressed by the right person, whether the professional faces a real estate issue, wants to trademark a practice name, or needs a new partnership or operating agreement. Our goal is to make clients feel confident in the choices they make, develop sound strategy to reach their goals, and to sleep better at night.
Among the Group’s substantial body of representative experience, Mr. Elkanich briefed, argued and prevailed in recent precedent-setting state court cases involving lawyer ethics and professional responsibility:
- In re Conduct of Harris, 366 Or. 475, 466 P.3d 22 (2020): holding that attorney did not violate rules against unauthorized practice of law when he acted as in-house counsel in Oregon pending his reciprocal admission to the bar because he was engaged in the provision of legal services on a temporary basis (even though he had accepted permanent employment in Oregon). See Oregon RPC 5.5(a), (c).
- Matter of Admission of Halttunen, 367 Or. 360, 478 P.3d 488 (2020): holding that applicant’s conduct did not categorically bar applicant from admission to state bar and that applicant met his burden of showing he had sufficiently reformed his character to warrant admission to the bar.
- In re Conduct of Conry, 368 Or 349, — P.3d — (2021): in a matter of first impression, the Court set out a framework analyzing when a lawyer may respond to negative social media posts, holding that a lawyer may do so under RPC 1.6(b)(4) as long as the response is within reason and to the extent that the lawyer believes is reasonably necessary.
What We Do
- Legal Ethics & Risk Management
- Legal Malpractice Defense
- Fee Disputes, Mediations, Arbitrations
- Litigation Issues, such as Withdrawal, Sanctions & Disqualification
- Disciplinary (Bar) Defense
- Judicial Ethics
- Judicial Conduct Commission
- Licensing, Admissions, and Reciprocity
- In-House Counsel Ethics
- Law Firm Dissolution and Partnership Disputes
- Law Firm Training / Audits
- Culture and Risk Management Reviews
- Internal Investigations
- Lawyer and Law Firm Innovation
- Modern Legal / Electronic Practice Issues
- Expert Witness
- Administrative Regulation, Professionals
- Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Presentations
Our Clients
- Lawyers and Law firms
- Solo practitioners
- In-House Legal Departments
- Judges
- Judicial candidates
- Students
- Bar Applicants
- Public Entities / Government Bodies
- Grievants
Why Buchalter
- Demonstrated experience with legal ethics and professional experience
- Community involvement
- Extensive experience in trials and appeals
- Unique combination of insight from both regulators and practicing professionals
