NJSBA Family Law Section

Good afternoon Family Law Section members,

On Friday, Dec. 30, NJICLE will present Webcast- LAWghter is the Best Medicine- Sean Carter from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Earn ethics and diversity and inclusion credits at this seminar!

Who said CLE can’t be funny? Join America’s foremost legal humorist Sean Carter for a fun day of legal ethics and diversity.

FEATURING
Sean Carter, Esq.
Humorist at Law

PROGRAM AGENDA
9:00 Attorneys Are Not Accomplices
In our efforts to provide the best possible service to their clients, lawyers sometimes forget that we owe an even greater duty of fidelity to the law and the proper administration of justice. As a result, lawyers who “pull out all the stops” for a client run the risk of putting a stop to their law careers and even their very freedom.

In this surprisingly funny webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will use real-life disciplinary cases to demonstrate the myriad of ways in which lawyers have gone from counselor to co-conspirator in their efforts to serve the client. And even when lawyers don't run afoul of the criminal law and serve jail time, they are often forced to serve suspensions from the practice of law for ethical lapses involving:

• Assisting in client fraud
• Bribing judges, public officials, and witnesses
• Fabricating, altering, and deleting evidence
• Harboring fugitives
• Smuggling contraband into jail for clients
• Suborning perjury
• Taking untenable legal positions

9:50 Lawyers serve a vital role in society -- to help others resolve their disputes peacefully. And while lawyers do so through use of the adversarial process, we must not ever lose sight of the fact that we are not "fighting" for our clients. We are striving to help them reach a peaceful solution to their problem.

Sadly, quite often, lawyers get so hung up in the confrontational manner of depositions, cross-examinations, contract negotiations, and the like, that we develop a "fighting" mentality. This mentality does not serve the best of interest of our clients and nor does it serve our personal or professional interests.

10:45 Break

11:00 Caution: Hands Off
It's been said that the entire legal ethics canon can be summed up in two rules: (1) Keep your hands off the money; and (2) Keep your hands off the client. And while this is a gross oversimplification of the legal ethics rules, it is true that these two breaches of fiduciary trust are among the gravest transgressions that a lawyer can make. Moreover, as they are often amongst the most heavily punished violations, they often start a cascading effect of rule-breaking as lawyers desperately attempt to avoid their detection. As a result, it never hurts to review these all-important ethical limitations on lawyer conduct.

In this laugh-out-loud funny webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will do just that as he goes through the ins and outs of these two ethical principals, specifically as they apply to:

• Stealing (and "borrowing") client funds
• Using undue influence to inherit client wealth
• Premature withdrawal of earned fees
• Coercing desperate clients into physical relationships
• Sending lewd texts and messages to clients
• Impermissible “quid pro NO” fee arrangements
• And more

12:00 Fail Better
In this surprisingly funny seminar, Sean Carter will illustrate how even hidden and seemingly benign biases prevent lawyers from effectively representing clients and creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. And while these biases are somewhat unavoidable, it is possible for lawyers to "fail better" in a continuing effort to eliminate bias in the legal profession.

CLE Credits:
NJ CLE information: This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 4.6 hours of total CLE credit. Of these, 1.2 qualify as hours of credit for diversity and inclusion and 3.4 qualify as hours of ethics/professionalism.
NJ CLE: This program has been approved for 4.6 credits (50 minute hour), including 1.2 diversity and inclusion and 3.4 ethics/professionalism credits (50 minute hour)
PA CLE: 3.5 ethics credits pending ($16 fee – separate check payable to NJICLE must be submitted at the end of the program)
NY CLE (t): 3.0 ethics credits, and 1.0 diversity and inclusion credits

The tuition for NJSBA members is $172. The general tuition is $215.

Click here to register for Webcast- LAWghter is the Best Medicine- Sean Carter.

For questions or to register by phone, please contact an association representative at 732-214-8500, or by email at [email protected].

Get the details on some upcoming events, and information about hitting those MCLE compliance goals.

The NJSBA's Annual Reception for Diverse Judges honoring jurists with the Justice Thurgood Marshall Award is back in person after three years on Nov. 30! This year’s honorees are U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas and Superior Court Judge Stephen L. Petrillo. All are welcome to attend. Register today.

Early December brings a fascinating, fast-paced, and entertaining conversation with internationally renowned constitutional expert Professor Akhil Reed Amar. On Dec. 6, hear his unique perspectives and analysis, as well as insights from his latest book, “The Words that Made Us – America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840.”

This year’s Annual Workers’ Compensation Bench-Bar Conference – Moving Forward Together in a Time of Change is set for Dec. 13. It will feature opening remarks by the Hon. Maria Del-Valle Koch, the new Director and Chief Judge of the Division. Then, there will be exciting, up-to-the-minute topics, including a vital medical segment and an important segment on diversity, inclusion and the elimination of bias.

The annual Family Law Symposium is THE premier family law event of the year. It’s back in-person this year and will feature thought-provoking and insightful presentations from many of the state’s leading lawyers and judges, and a chance to network with colleagues and other family law professionals. Here is information about Friday night's program. And here is the Saturday registration information.

The Women’s Leadership Conference on Feb. 20 brings together an Olympic Gold Medalist, noted jurists and groundbreaking thought leaders for a day of insightful conversations, inspirational stories and motivating guidance from women who have reached the pinnacle of their careers.

Need ethics or diversity and inclusion credits before the MCLE compliance period ends? We’ve got you covered.

Link pack: 8 fun links for you to enjoy.

Ways to show your friends you care. 

The Onion filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on the power of parody. 

A very good read. 

Coffee or tea?

How to make a Steinway Piano. (Long but meditative.)

Tell us how you are doing. Please complete our survey measuring attorney well-being so we know how to help our colleagues in the profession.

Y'all reply all is not your friend.  

Unlikely simultaneous events. Mind blowing. 

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Barbara Straczynski
Director of New Media and Promotions
New Jersey State Bar Association
New Brunswick NJ
(732) 937-7524
[email protected]
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