What We Could Be Now: Civility and Ethics 2025

Lawyers always have an obligation to be civil — to one another, to opponents, to judges and other tribunals. But it can be difficult to balance civility and zealous advocacy, and to navigate changing environments and expectations. In this presentation, we’ll examine the ethical rules and principles that guide lawyers in crafting their approaches to each other and to the public, and we’ll examine what can happen when lines are crossed. We’ll review recent studies, proposals, and rules that seek to analyze and affect lawyers’ behavior, and we’ll examine what the boundaries of the profession’s regulation of civility are — and what they should be.

Topics covered include:

Legal Ethics Civility Law Practice

Agenda:

Introduction: Civility Generally

In this section, we will examine the concept of civility, including how it is referred to and refined in the Preamble to ABA Model Rules
We will also discuss zealous advocacy, and how it relates to — or sometimes conflicts with — civility

Incivility in Practice: Incidents and Cases

In this section, we will review fact patterns in which lawyers have had difficulty behaving in a civil matter
The speaker will provide an anecdote from his own practice involving an agitated attorney, and we will then discuss two disciplinary cases (In re Gomez; In re Cohn) in which lawyers were sanctioned for uncivil conduct

Developing Studies and Approaches to Civility

In this section, we will discuss the work of several studies and task forces bearing on lawyer civility
We will discuss the report of the California Civility Task Force and the Illinois study on bullying in the legal profession
Finally, we will review the recently-enacted Rule 8.4(j) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, and we will discuss what its implementation means for lawyer regulation nationwide

Civility in Responding to Negative Reviews

In this section, we will review relevant rules and commentary that guide lawyers in their responses to negative reviews
We will examine the definition of a “controversy” between a lawyer and client for purposes of Rule 1.6, and we will discuss common and accepted methods of handling negative reviews
We will also review two disciplinary cases (In re Conry; In re Tsamis) in which lawyers were sanctioned for incorrect responses to reviews

Questions & Answers (as time permits)

Duration of this webinar: 60 minutes

Originally broadcast: May 27, 2025 9:00 AM PT

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Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

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California CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Civility in the Legal Profession

South Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility

Difficulty: All Levels

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.00 Ethics

This presentation is approved for one hour of Civility in the Legal Profession CLE credit in California, one hour of Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility CLE credit in South Carolina (all levels), and one hour of Ethics CLE credit in North Carolina.

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At this time, Justia only offers CLE courses officially accredited in certain states. Lawyers may generate a generic attendance certificate to self-submit credit in their own jurisdiction, but Justia does not guarantee that lawyers will receive their desired CLE credit through the self-submission or reciprocity process.

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Speaker

Jim Doppke Partner
Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke, LLC

James A. Doppke, Jr. is a partner in the Chicago firm of Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke, LLC. Since 2013, he has concentrated his practice in professional responsibility issues of all kinds, including disciplinary defense and bar admissions, and consultation on legal ethics issues. Prior to that, Jim was Senior Counsel for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. There, he handled the investigation and prosecution of numerous attorney misconduct matters. He has also participated in presenting many MCLE- and PMCLE-accredited programs on legal ethics issues, including at ABA and ISBA conferences. Prior to working for the ARDC, Jim worked as a staff attorney at a legal aid agency in Will County. Jim is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and he received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Read More ›

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