Evolution of Legal-Ethics Standards and Enforcement

This program will refresh knowledge of the evolution of the legal profession, legal ethics standards, civil liability standards, and modes of enforcement of such standards, all of which make the legal profession uniquely distinguishable from all other professions or occupations.

Attendees will learn (or be reminded of) the extent to which) legal-ethics standards gradually changed from being case-law-based to a uniform state-by-state set of "canons" and then uniform state-by-state codes, which gradually lost uniformity among the states. This program will also discuss the least-uniform standards in the form of the current set of Rules of Professional Conduct.

The format of this program combines the lecture method with the Socratic method, fostering extensive interactive participation and critical analysis of a broad range of issues relevant to the seminar's subject matter. This approach goes beyond merely chronological descriptions of specific topics and subtopics. The content of each workshop (and the order and extent of emphasis upon particular topics and subtopics) will be substantially influenced by the nature and extent of interactive participation regarding specific aspects thereof. Depending on the number of participants in a particular seminar, the format typically results in most, if not all, participants engaging in conversational-style, interactive discussions and analyses of specific topics during the seminar, and also permits interruptions, questions, challenges, and other contributions throughout the seminar. This program employs a form of learning that involves thinking while interactively participating, rather than learning solely by listening (the latter of which is the lecture method).

This course is designed for any attorney desiring to learn, or reacquire an in-depth understanding of what makes the legal profession uniquely vital to democracy, which is designed to protect liberty writ large.

Learning Objectives:

1. Refresh what should be every lawyer's common knowledge of unique aspects of our profession in contrast to all other professions, occupations, etc.: It's the effect of our Constitution's (and each state constitution's) vesting of "the judicial power" of the sovereign in its "Supreme Court" and its thereby incorporation of the evolutionary nature of the judiciary's common law inherent judicial power (i.e., sui generis power) to define, prescribe, and enforce educational, moral, ethical and civil standards for the practice of law and the status of lawyers as officers of the courts.
2. Evaluate how the interpretation and enforcement of legal ethics standards have become more dynamic, making it vital for lawyers to not only keep abreast of changes in the law in their fields of practice but also changes in the ethical regulation of our profession.
3. Explore how the judiciary generally encourages lawyers to participate actively in the regulatory control over our profession and the conduct of lawyers individually. Therefore, each of us as a lawyer must keep abreast of such disciplinary and regulatory activities and, as much as possible, actively participate (pro bono, of course) in and support such activities.
4. Assess how to maximize one's objectivity in the process of seeking a thorough analysis of all relevant and material facts, issues, and laws in determining how to solve an ethics problem or dilemma.
5. Evaluate intrinsic conflicts between "justice" (or what's "morally right") on the one hand and our ethical duties on the other, and then analyze them to determine when we must, or sometimes must not, implement an ethically correct solution that is a polar opposite of "justice." 
6. Analyze the best way to prevent self-interest in desiring to avoid damage to the legal professional's standing in solving an ethics problem, and an attorney’s professional responsibility to derive an ethically proper solution.

Course Time Schedule:

Eastern Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Central Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Mountain Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Pacific Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alaska Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Hawaii-Aleutian Time: 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

This course is also being presented on the following dates:

Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Wednesday, February 18, 2026