NJ CLE 1.8 including Ethics 1.8 ; This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.8 hours of total CLE credit. Of these, 1.8 qualify as hours of credit for ethics/professional responsibility. NY CLE 1.5 including Ethics and Professionalism 1.5
The Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE) acts as the investigative and prosecutorial arm of the Supreme Court of New Jersey in discharging the Court's constitutional responsibility to supervise and discipline New Jersey attorneys. The OAE assists and manages 18 district ethics committees and 17 district fee arbitration committees throughout the state.
1.1 Competence. (a) Handle or neglect a matter entrusted to the lawyer in such manner that the lawyer’s conduct constitutes gross negligence. (b) Exhibit a pattern of negligence or neglect in the lawyer’s handling of legal matters generally. Note: Adopted July 12, 1984 to be effective September 10, 1984. RPC 1.2.
NJ Attorneys are Now Required to take 2 Hours of Ethics Focused on Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias. Course Title: Eliminating Bias in the Legal Profession Detailed Brochure Preview Course $59 1 Hr. NJ CLE Ethics / Prof Credit Focused on …
(a) When lawyers are associated in a firm, none of them shall knowingly represent a client when any one of them practicing alone would be prohibited from doing so by RPC 1.7 or RPC 1.9, unless the prohibition is based on a personal interest of the prohibited lawyer and does not present a significant risk of materially limiting the representation of the client by the remaining lawyers in the firm.
(a) A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to representation of a client unless the client consents after consultation, except for disclosures that are impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation, and except as stated in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d).#N#(b) A lawyer shall reveal such information to the proper authorities, as soon as, and to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary, to prevent the client or another person:#N#(1) from committing a criminal, illegal or fraudulent act that the lawyer reasonably believes is likely to result in death or substantial bodily harm or substantial injury to the financial interest or property of another;#N#(2) from committing a criminal, illegal or fraudulent act that the lawyer reasonably believes is likely to perpetrate a fraud upon a tribunal.#N#(c) If a lawyer reveals information pursuant to RPC 1.6 (b), the lawyer also may reveal the information to the person threatened to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes is necessary to protect that person from death, substantial bodily harm, substantial financial injury, or substantial property loss.#N#(d) A lawyer may reveal such information to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary:#N#(1) to rectify the consequences of a client’s criminal, illegal or fraudulent act in the furtherance of which the lawyer’s services had been used;#N#(2) to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the client, or to establish a defense to a criminal charge, civil claim or disciplinary complaint against the lawyer based upon the conduct in which the client was involved; or#N#(3) to comply with other law.#N#(e) Reasonable belief for purposes of RPC 1.6 is the belief or conclusion of a reasonable lawyer that is based upon information that has some foundation in fact and constitutes prima facie evidence of the matters referred to in subsections (b), (c), or (d).
(2) a contingent fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case.
(3) when the interests of the private party are materially adverse to the appropriate government agency, provided, however, that the application of this provision shall be limited to a period of six months immediately following the termination of the attorney’s service as a government lawyer or public officer.
(a) A lawyer shall abide by a client’s decisions concerning the scope and objectives of representation, subject to paragraphs (c) and (d), and as required by RPC 1.4 shall consult with the client about the means to pursue them. A lawyer may take such action on behalf of the client as is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation. A lawyer shall abide by a client’s decision whether to settle a matter. In a criminal case, the lawyer shall consult with the client and, following consultation, shall abide by the client’s decision on the plea to be entered, jury trial, and whether the client will testify.#N#(b) A lawyer’s representation of a client, including representation by appointment, does not constitute an endorsement of the client’s political, economic, social or moral views or activities.#N#(c) A lawyer may limit the scope of the representation if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives informed consent.#N#(d) A lawyer shall not counsel or assist a client in conduct that the lawyer knows is illegal, criminal or fraudulent, or in the preparation of a written instrument containing terms the lawyer knows are expressly prohibited by law, but a lawyer may counsel or assist a client in a good faith effort to determine the validity, scope, meaning or application of the law.
(a) A lawyer’s fee shall be reasonable. The factors to be considered in determining the reasonableness of a fee include the following:#N#(1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;#N#(2) the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer;#N#(3) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services;#N#(4) the amount involved and the results obtained;#N#(5) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances;#N#(6) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;#N#(7) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services;#N#(8) whether the fee is fixed or contingent.#N#(b) When the lawyer has not regularly represented the client, the basis or rate of the fee shall be communicated in writing to the client before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation.#N#(c) A fee may be contingent on the outcome of the matter for which the service is rendered, except in a matter in which a contingent fee is prohibited by law or by these rules. A contingent fee agreement shall be in writing and shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal, litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery, and whether such expenses are to be deducted before or after the contingent fee is calculated. Upon conclusion of a contingent fee matter, the lawyer shall provide the client with a written statement stating the outcome of the matter and, if there is a recovery, showing the remittance to the client and the method of its determination.#N#(d) A lawyer shall not enter into an arrangement for, charge, or collect:#N#(1) any fee in a domestic relations matter, the payment or amount of which is contingent upon the securing of a divorce or upon the amount of alimony or support, or property settlement in lieu thereof; or#N#(2) a contingent fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case.#N#(e) Except as otherwise provided by the Court Rules, a division of fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm may be made only if:#N#(1) the division is in proportion to the services performed by each lawyer, or, by written agreement with the client, each lawyer assumes joint responsibility for the representation; and#N#(2) the client is notified of the fee division; and#N#(3) the client consents to the participation of all the lawyers involved; and#N#(4) the total fee is reasonable.
(3) the client gives informed consent, in a writing signed by the client, to the essential terms of the transaction and the lawyer’s role in the transaction, including whether the lawyer is representing the client in the transaction.
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Note: Although Build Your Bundle’s include access to specialty hours (i.e. Ethics, Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession, etc.) they do not automatically include them. If they are needed, customers must be sure to add them, our recommendation is to add the specialty hours first.
Each municipality of the State may, by ordinance, establish a municipal ethics board consisting of six members who are residents of the municipality, at least two of whom shall be public members. The members of the ethics board shall be appointed by the governing body of the municipality. The members shall be chosen by virtue of their known and consistent reputation for integrity and their knowledge of local government affairs. No more than three members of the ethics board shall be of the same political party.
A municipal or county ethics board, established pursuant to the Local Government Ethics Law, which has before it a request for an advisory opinion from a local government employee or officer regulated by its code of ethics and which is unable to act on the request because a majority of the board has a conflict of interest or is otherwise precluded by ethical considerations from rendering an advisory opinion, shall request the Local Finance Board to assume original jurisdiction.
A local government employee or officer not regulated by a county or municipal code of ethics may request from the Local Finance Board an advisory opinion as to whether any proposed activity or conduct constitutes a violation of the Local Government Ethics Law.
The Local Finance Board in the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall have jurisdiction to govern and guide the conduct of local government officers or employees regarding violations of the provisions of this act who are not otherwise regulated by a county or municipal code of ethics promulgated by a county or municipal ethics board in accordance with the provisions of this act . Local government officers or employees serving a local government agency created by more than one county or municipality and officers or employees of county colleges established pursuant to N.J.S. 18A:64A-1 et seq. shall be under the jurisdiction of the board. The board in interpreting and applying the provisions of this act shall recognize that under the principles of democracy, public officers and employees cannot and should not be expected to be without any personal interest in the decisions and policies of government; that citizens who are government officers and employees have a right to private interests of a personal, financial and economic nature; and that standards of conduct shall distinguish between those conflicts of interest which are legitimate and unavoidable in a free society and those conflicts of interest which are prejudicial and material and are, therefore, corruptive of democracy and free society.
All financial disclosure statements filed pursuant to this act shall include the following information which shall specify, where applicable, the name and address of each source of income and the local government officer’s job title:
All statements, complaints, requests or other written materials filed pursuant to this act, and any rulings, opinions, judgments, transcripts or other official papers prepared pursuant to this act shall be preserved for a period of at least five years from the date of filing or preparation, as the case may be.
The governing body of the county shall provide the county ethics board with offices for the conduct of its business and the preservation of its records, and shall supply equipment and supplies as may be necessary.