Robert L. Kehr spoke about ethical issues in practices of solo legal practitioners at a July 18 meeting of the California Lawyers Association.
His talk, “The Generalist Dilemma: Balancing Multiple Practice Areas and Maintaining Ethical Standards,” focused on how to handle ethical challenges that can arise for a sole practitioner who is busy handling numerous cases on diverse topics for multiple clients. Issues can include conflict of interest, competence, handling cases in multiple areas of law, and taking on a case outside the attorney’s primary area of expertise versus referring the client to another attorney.
Joining Bob on the panel was Carol Langford, whose San Francisco-based firm exclusively serves legal and other professionals in matters involving licensing and related issues, and who has authored numerous books and articles on legal ethics.
The discussion was part of a two-day conference, “Leveling Up Your Practice,” at Hotel Indigo in downtown Los Angeles.
Bob’s practice includes business and real estate transactions and estate planning, as well as providing legal ethics advice to lawyers, law firms, and businesses that work with lawyers, and serving as a consultant and expert witness concerning lawyer conduct and fiduciary issues.
He is an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School, a member of the American Law Institute, a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and for many years has been a volunteer fee arbitrator through California’s mandatory fee arbitration program. He is an author and a frequent speaker regarding the professional responsibilities of lawyers.