Litigation Ethics (Online Seminar)

This program uses hypotheticals to explore topics of interest to litigators (and transactional lawyers whose clients might face litigation) including such issues as: (1) lawyers’ communications (including talking to the press about cases and criticizing judges); (2) deceptive discovery tactics (including recording telephone calls, and use of admittedly deceptive tactics in public interest investigations such as housing discrimination tests, and in purely commercial investigations); (3) dealing with fact witnesses (including the permissibility of paying fact witnesses for their time, and preparing them for testimony); (4) claims (including “ghostwriting” pleadings, and filing knowingly time-barred claims); (5) settlements (including acceptable levels of deception during settlement negotiations, silence about the law and facts, and the enforceability of settlement agreements); (6) dealing with courts (including the duty to disclose unfavorable facts and law).

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Bernard J. DiMuro, DiMuroGinsberg, P.C. / Alexandria

Bernard J. DiMuro is the managing partner of the Alexandria law firm of DiMuroGinsberg, P.C. He represents corporate and individual clients in complex civil litigation and professional responsibility cases. He has served on countless Bar committees, task forces, and boards as a member and chair throughout his career. From 2002 - 2003, Mr. DiMuro served as President of the Virginia State Bar. He lectures on professional responsibility and ethics, and litigation for Virginia CLE and many other organizations. Mr. DiMuro is a Fellow of the American Bar Association and the Virginia Law Foundation and he was recently named to the Virginia Lawyers Inaugural Hall of Fame.

Thomas E. Spahn, McGuireWoods / McLean

Thomas E. Spahn practices as a commercial litigator with McGuireWoods in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Tom was selected as the 2013 metro-Washington DC "Lawyer of the Year" for "Bet the Company Litigation" by The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, Inc.). He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Tom has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 1,800 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries. Through links on his website bio, Tom has made available to the public: his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis. Tom graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School.