Robinson Stewart Montgomery & Doppke, LLC

For over 25 years, we have been involved in every aspect of lawyer ethics issues. We’ve advised, taught, practiced and developed law in the field. We are dedicated to helping Illinois attorneys who seek experienced guidance on ethical matters.

Website: https://rsmdlaw.com/
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Latest from Robinson Stewart Montgomery & Doppke, LLC - Page 2

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The new year is well underway, and lawyers are already looking ahead, planning and executing and looking to grow. One thing our firm always does at this time of year is look around at the regulatory environment. We analyze what we’ve seen and heard, what our experiences have been, and what data – especially the data representing we know about ARDC’s enforcement efforts over the past year – can tell us.
It can be hard to tell exactly when we know the number of formal disciplinary complaints that the Administrator of the ARDC has filed during a given calendar year.
Continue Reading Closing the Books on 2019?

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RSMD’s Jim Doppke will address the Chicago Bar Association Professional Responsibility Committee at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 16. He’ll discuss limited scope representation agreements, which the Illinois Supreme Court formally introduced as part of its 2013 amendment of Rule 13. But what’s the state of the law now? Jim will examine current views on the benefits and pitfalls of limited scope, and he’ll provide thoughts about best limited scope practices for 2020 and beyond.
Continue Reading RSMD’s Jim Doppke at CBA 1/16/20: Limited Scope Agreements

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On November 20, Mary Robinson and Sari Montgomery gave presentations to the Chicago Bar Association’s Unauthorized Practice and Multidisciplinary Practice Committee. Sari addressed the rules and pitfalls of cross-border practice, in particular reviewing scenarios involving states bordering Illinois. Mary addressed the operation of law-related businesses, including tax and immigration consulting services, heir finder and genealogical businesses, and foreclosure surplus fund distribution entities.
RSMD’s lawyers are always pleased to give presentations to groups of all sizes, and to help raise awareness of developing professionalism issues. If your organization has a need for an in-depth ethics discussion, please contact the firm to…
Continue Reading RSMD Lawyers Discuss UPL at CBA

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“Garden Fence,” George Tan
by Jim Doppke
Since my earlier post relating to Rule 5.4 and the several new proposals that call for its modification, a new one has arisen: the October 4, 2019 report of the Arizona Task Force on the Delivery of Legal Services, which suggests (among many other things) that Rule 5.4 be eliminated entirely.

I previously focused on the question of how we have been enforcing the Rule in recent years; the Arizona report, fascinatingly, reaches back to the origins of Rule 5.4 as part of its analysis of whether the Rule should continue to…
Continue Reading Protection From What?

Sari Montgomery was pleased to participate in a panel discussion, “Liar, Liar: Managing Truth and Lies in Law Firms,” at Holland & Knight’s General Counsel Summit on September 27. Also on the panel were CNA’s Tracy Kepler, Holland & Knight’s Colin Smith, and certified forensic analyst Andy Jacobs. The summit, and Sari’s panel, provided practical insights into risk management at firms employing up to 250 lawyers.
Sari also recently moderated a presentation to the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) on dishonesty in the practice of law. In Illinois, most of the disciplinary complaints that the ARDC files each year…
Continue Reading Sari Montgomery a Featured Panelist at Holland & Knight’s General Counsel Summit

“No Admittance,” Eva Critescu (CC-BY-2.0)
by Jim Doppke
A recent blog post by Brian Faughnan concerning potential changes to Tennessee’s disciplinary system highlighted disbarment and reinstatement – what they mean, and whether and how lawyers can return to practice after discipline. Faughnan discusses a proposal to create permanent disbarment in his state, and to lengthen times within which certain lawyers can seek reinstatement. Thankfully, no such proposal appears to be on the horizon here, meaning that even lawyers receiving the ultimate penalty of disbarment can petition to be reinstated after five years have elapsed from the effective date…
Continue Reading Reinstatement: Small Change, Still Tough

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by Jim Doppke
In my last post, I wrote about In re Karavidas, the ways in which it changed attorney regulation in Illinois, and how it can be seen as the foundation for future reform efforts. The profession – in Illinois and elsewhere – is beginning the discussion of “re-regulation,” and asking how we can change regulation in the future to best meet the needs of an innovating landscape while also protecting the public from ethical violations. I’ll have some viewpoints on that in coming posts; but for now I’d like to focus on the present…
Continue Reading My Impression Now: Data on Rule 5.4

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“Change,” Ben Chun (CC BY-SA 2.0)
by Jim Doppke
As I prepare to attend the #MAKELAWBETTER conference tomorrow, I reflect on the all the talk of innovation in law – talk we sorely need. The ethics and professional responsibility realm should be, and often is, at the forefront of the discussion. As we ponder changes in methods, we should also ponder changes in norms and standards. The Illinois ethical landscape should change with the changing times, too. We have the fifth-largest active attorney population in the United States, and as Prof. Daniel B. Rodriguez pointed out at…
Continue Reading Innovation Foundation

“Inquiry,” Naotake Murayama, licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.0
by Jim Doppke
Because many ARDC procedures are subject to the confidentiality requirements of Supreme Court Rule 766, the structures that support those procedures often seem opaque. Many Illinois lawyers don’t know exactly how a confidential investigation becomes a formal, and public, disciplinary complaint. This post will examine the body that authorizes the filing of formal cases: the Inquiry Board.
Like a Grand Jury
Supreme Court Rule 753(a), which authorizes the creation of the Inquiry Board, provides that “[t]he Board shall inquire into and investigate matters referred to it by the Administrator,” and…
Continue Reading Inquiring Into Inquiry

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On June 27, the Lawyers Trust Fund honored Sari W. Montgomery with its pro bono service award. The award recognizes Sari’s pro bono work with LTF, and with the Lawyers’​ Committee for Better Housing, on a project geared toward increasing access to justice for Illinois tenants in our state. Sari’s work and dedication illuminates the ways in which legal ethics lawyers can contribute to the profession and to society, and RSMD is most proud of Sari’s accomplishment.
Continue Reading RSMD’s Sari Montgomery Honored by Lawyers Trust Fund

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Sari Montgomery was a featured presenter at the ABA’s June 6, 2019 Young Professionals Event. She participated in a panel discussion on the professional responsibility implications of evolving technologies. Sari was pleased to be among other distinguished speakers, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and to help provide professional guidance to young practitioners.
Continue Reading RSMD’s Sari Montgomery Presents at ABA Young Professionals Event

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by Jim Doppke

In this post, we’ll take a look at two orders recently entered by the Supreme Court that affect the ARDC and its operations. One of the orders also affects lawyers who are being or have already been prosecuted, and the other affects lawyers who may be at risk of becoming the subject of an investigation.
Amendments to Supreme Court Rules 767 and 773
In its May 23, 2019 order, the Court amended Rules 767 and 773 to increase the amounts that disciplined lawyers are be required to pay in two contexts. Rule 767 pertains to reinstatement…
Continue Reading ARDC Rule Changes and Updates: Costs and Intermediaries

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by Jim Doppke

As Rhys Saunders recently posted, the ARDC released its 2018 Annual Report a couple of weeks ago. I’m still digesting some of the information in it, but there are some observations about the Illinois disciplinary system that can be gleaned from the basic data.
Number of Investigations Continues to Decline
This year, the Administrator of the ARDC docketed 5,029 investigations. Last year, there were 5,199. The year before that: 5,401. The Report itself notes a downward trend dating back to 2014, when there were 5,835. But despite that downward trend, the number of investigations can fluctuate; as…
Continue Reading Inside the Numbers: ARDC Annual Report

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by Jim Doppke

No. 6: What do you want?
No. 2: Information.
No. 6: Whose side are you on?
No. 2: That would be telling. We want information…information… information!!!
No. 6: You won’t get it!
– Opening Sequence, The Prisoner

Supreme Court Rule 766 provides that several phases and kinds of Illinois disciplinary proceedings “shall be private and confidential” – including the approximately 5,200 investigations the Administrator initiates per year. Seems simple enough: the investigations are confidential, and the formal charges are public. But how does it work in practice?

ARDC investigations can become, among other things, warehouses of information.
Continue Reading ARDC Confidentiality: How Does It Work?

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by Jim Doppke
In my last blog post (further installments of which will appear here, on our new firm’s website), I discussed proposed Supreme Court Rule 781, which sets forth the responsibilities and authority of designated representatives of another lawyer’s practice in the event of that lawyer’s disappearance, death, disability, or other such event.
In this post, I will examine how the proposed Rule could raise questions about the potential disciplinary liability of the representative. I’ll also suggest a potential amendment to the proposed Rule that might help to ease concerns about that potential liability.
Lawyers acting as representatives…
Continue Reading Succession Planning: Representatives’ Risks

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On April 5, 2019, RSMD’s Mary Robinson presented the 26th annual Francis X. Riley Lecture on Professionalism at Northern Illinois University School of Law in DeKalb, IL. This lecture series was established in 1994 to honor the late Professor Emeritus Riley, who devoted his life to the law and legal education. It brings distinguished speakers to the NIU College of Law to discuss current issues relating to the legal profession.
Continue Reading Mary Robinson Presents at NIU Law