Sex with a Client – Is It Ever Okay?
As a Research Lawyer, my job is to give advice to fellow lawyers. Fortunately, in my 30-year career there’s one topic on which I’ve never had to give an opinion: Whether it’s ever acceptable for a lawyer to have sex with a client. You may have a “gut instinct” for the prudent answer. But a few Law Society disciplinary hearings address this question specifically. In each of them, the lawyer had a consensual sexual relationship with a client – and in each of them the lawye
Acting for a Seller: Does a Murder Need to be Disclosed? What About "Nude Bodies Next Door"?
If you’re a lawyer acting for a seller, do potential buyers need to know there was a murder on the property? What about the fact there’s a nudist beach next door? While unusual, these are gray-area questions can plague a lawyer for the seller in a real estate transaction. Whether the deal is routine or unique, there always comes the moment to decide exactly what information about the home – good or bad – must be given to the intended buyer. The old adage of caveat emptor not
Celebrating Women and the Law
March 8, 2022 heralded International Women’s Day. There’s perhaps no better time to reflect on some of the hurdles women have faced – and the progress they have made – in gaining access to justice. These hurdles have taken various forms. The first one is financial: Women have been historically disadvantaged from a lack of earning opportunities, diminished economic power, and unchecked family duress or even abuse. This has put them in a place of great hardship when trying
