We had a rule at my law firm for all lawyers: If, at any time, you believe a client is

[Raven]

asking or expecting you to violate the rules of ethics or the rule of law, you may dismiss that client, no questions asked.

It was always interesting to me to see the look of surprise and relief on the face of a new hire when we told them that.

I would like to believe that for every one lawyer representing Trump, there are dozens who turned him down or walked away before they got burned.

[FoxNewsSucks]

1. I would probably have that look of surprise

The sleazebags, ambulance-chasers and Roy Cohn-types have given the legal profession a bad reputation.

[fightforfreedom]

2. I have no doubt there are more honest lawyers than corrupt, however

Trump proved to me it is real easy to find a corrupt lawyer in America and the process to hold corrupt lawyers accountable seems very lame.

[LiberalFighter]

4. Lawyers need to be held accountable.

They should be required to explain to the client what they can't do. And the mor corruptible a client the more the retainer fee should be. If the client is unhappy with the attorney in representing them they can fire the attorney. And lose the retainer fee.

[Ms. Toad]

33. Keeping the retainer fee is, in most instances, unethical.

Retainer fees are deposited into an IOLTA account (a trust account which holds money you have not yet earned). Lawyers are only able to withdraw that money to pay themselves AFTER the work is done. When the relationship ends, any money remaining in the IOLTA account from that client is returned to the client.

(e) A lawyer who withdraws from employment shall refund promptly any part of a
fee paid in advance that has not been earned, except when withdrawal is pursuant toRule 1.17 (sale of law practice).

. . .

The reasonableness requirement and the application of the factors in division (a) may mean that a client is entitled to a refund of an advance fee payment even though it has been denominated “nonrefundable,” “earned upon receipt,” or in similar terms that imply the client would never receive a refund.

(Ohio ethics)

It is also unethical to base the retainer fee on the character of the client. It has to be a reasonable estimate of the amount of work to be done in a reasonable period of time.

(I can't quickly locate the source of that requirement - but it's drummed into our heads in the annual mandatory CLEs on ethics - and our firm regularly reviewed the retainers in our IOLTA accounts to make sure we were in compliance)

[Dustlawyer]

5. There are not as many as it might seem, but the corrupt ones are attracted to a guy

like Trump like flies are to shite! They flock to him. They are the ones that are not very smart and will lose their ticket (license).

[cab67]

30. there's an old saying -

it's only 95 percent of lawyers who give the rest a bad name.

Having gotten to know some lawyers, I now know the bad actors are few in number - but they tend to attract a lot of attention.

[benfranklin1776]

3. Great Rule, and exactly what ethical and professional lawyers do.

The ones who willingly sold their souls and professional integrity to be Trump’s tools in his boundless criminality are neither.

[Joinfortmill]

6. It appears they did.

[Native]

7. I would bet he's turned down more for his history of nonpayment than criming.

Sad to say.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Trump is a cunning manipulator who attracts people who are willing to break the law for him.

People who know better.

[SouthernDem4ever]

43. Every day trump and his minions give new meaning to

basket of deplorables.

[Irish_Dem]

44. Hillary was right about everything.

She knew the score decades ago.

[musclecar6]

9. Why

Anyone would work for him is beyond me. We know how he operates especially a lawyer who if he or she is any good has got to have this guy figured out six ways to Sunday. Why in the fuck you would go to work for him knowing that he’s gonna lie to you he’s gonna try and cheat you he’s going to be hard to work with he’s a fucking know it all I mean Jesus how much more do you need to stay the fuck away.

Of course not to mention, nobody is gonna have any respect for you at this stage of the game. I would think you would be thinking about your future rather than I don’t know what. .

[GopherGal]

27. Trying to empathize with the kind of person who'd work for TFG...

is leaving me feeling dirty. But...

I imagine they're expecting generous compensation from the RNC and/or other groups of TFG's delusional donors. Perhaps along with numerous appearances on Faux Snooze to build up a certain level of fame to help drum up future business, inevitably similarly slimy business, but hopefully from slimy clients who can/will pay.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

34. Or they think they'll outsmart him or so impress him they will be the exception.

[soldierant]

37. THIS

[Irish_Dem]

45. They tell themselves it won't happen to them, they are special, too smart, etc.

Trump is not that bad of a guy, Trump is a good guy, it is the rest of the world which is screwed up.

The usual delusional thoughts which surround a cult leader.

[Botany]

10. After he lost the election in 2020 and he was trying to stop Biden from taking power .....

..... all of his "real lawyers" from Porter Wright quit because they were being asked to
perjure themselves or suborn perjury in trying to convince courts that the election had
been "stolen from him."

[State the Obvious]

11. You are talking about, and giving us.... HOPE

IMO, the average American is searching for these tiny glimmers of hope that we ALL need to move forward. Your last sentence gives us that hope.

As a country, we DO REMEMBER who we are. By supporting honesty, integrity and the rule of law, I AM showing you who I am. " Believe me...the first time."






"People do what they know...and when they know better, they DO better."
~Maya Angelou

[llmart]

23. Two of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes.

I have used them many times. Wish I would have heard the one about when people show you who they are, believe them earlier in my life. But then I forgive myself for being young at the time that I ignored some people's behavior.

[State the Obvious]

32. Media paraphrase this quote

I believe some networks (like MSNBC) paraphase this quote as a lead-in to some programing. "THIS IS WHO WE ARE" (Ali Velshi also implies this quote from time to time as well.)

[Tadpole Raisin]

12. Michael Cohen said one time that with new lawyers TFG would ask them to do something

which was small, unusual, maybe close but not over the line. Then the next time it would be a little more sketchy. He would up the ante every time to see what the person was willing to do and watch for any sign the lawyer was uncomfortable or stated that the action was not ethical or legal.

When this happened he would never use that lawyer again. cunning little F$&@.

Double down, attack, lie…He learned the lessons Roy Cohn taught him. Textbook narcissistic sociopath. Psych classes will use him for decades. Ironic that in that way he will be famous forever.

[FakeNoose]

13. The word was out on Chump (and his entire family) long before he ran for Potus

I believe the lawyers in Manhattan all knew he was bad news - a wannabe petty mobster even during his casino days. Chump's father was known in Queens as the guy who paid bribes to certain judges and county officials. The Chump family always got the court rulings they wanted while old Fred was alive. I believe after Daddy died, Donald wasn't so generous with the bribes and gifts, and the Manhattan lawyers and judges weren't as friendly as those in Queens.

I've read some of the investigative books by David Cay Johnston and Wayne Barrett before him, it's easy to see why the Chump family had no friends in New York. Especially among the lawyers.

[Tadpole Raisin]

14. David K is the man!!

Even though he has facts, documents, and civil court judgements backing up everything he says media barely touch the surface of what he knows and when he is brought on to speak and says something that begs for a follow up, they just go to the next guest with another question.

[Warpy]

17. One of my dubious claims to fame is that I had dinner at a fancy LI yacht club

that had refused him entrance even as a guest of a member.

Yeah, broke-ass me vs. Mr. Billionaire. I've always loved that.

[Jade Fox]

41. Curious- how long ago was that?

You do mean that Donald Trump was refused at this club, right?

Thanks!

[Warpy]

42. Forty some years ago

and I think he'd have done just about anything to get into that place.

I was friends of friends, that's how I ended up there. Yeah, broke-assed me.

[Bristlecone]

15. Some lawyers view their profession as consultative to how to work around the law

How to break or bend the rules/laws without getting caught; or in the vein of risk/reward. Ethics are for the weak, in their minds.

I know one exactly like this. And he is universally an a-hole all the time.

[Oppaloopa]

22. Yes we have a law school here in Florida with the highest number of lawyer criminals Stentson

[llmart]

24. I'm curious.

Which law school is it, if you don't mind my asking?

[soldierant]

38. I would assume it's College of Law - Stetson University

(Google was my friend, though I had to tweak it a bit0

[llmart]

39. Thanks.

I guess I didn't understand that Stetson was a college the poster was referring to. I thought maybe it was some guy.

[soldierant]

40. YVW.

I did assume it was the college but the extra "ne" threw me of a little. I don't always ask Google the right thing the first time - and this was no exception.

[Oppaloopa]

47. Yes it is Stetson University

[treestar]

29. True and that is what a lot of clients think

of the lawyer function. They are to help you get what you want. That's why they won't listen to advice telling them they cannot get what they want within the law. They will just see the lawyer as not being a good one, one who "gets results."

[calimary]

16. I can't help but suspect that every lawyer who gets involved with trump

is rock-solid certain that “it’s not gonna happen to them.” That, somehow, they’ll escape ruining their careers and reputations when everybody who came before them has wound up having to GET lawyers of their own.

[yardwork]

18. Like attracts like.

Anybody still willing to work with Trump is running cons of their own.

[multigraincracker]

19. Someone recommended a young lawyer named Tammy to me.

She was the most expensive lawyer on my list, and turned out the be the best in the State. Worth every penny.
She changed my opinion of lawyers.

[Heather MC]

20. All the good ones, turned him down and walked away

The only lawyers he can get are the ambulance chasers

[KS Toronado]

21. Only ones willing to work for tfg

probably came right out of Hillary's "Basket of Deplorables"

[SWBTATTReg]

25. Nice and shows that they indeed respect you enough too, to do that, dismiss, etc. a client.

I felt the same way w/ my company when I dealt with software contractors, that I had the right to fire them if needed (had over 20+ plus working at the time). Trust from your own company in your decisions is certainly a good thing to have.

I think you're right about the dozens that probably turned him down when he went looking for one. Seems like when you burn one bridge, and then keep doing it, word gets around.

[ultralite001]

26. Amen...

That is all...

[treestar]

28. TFG does not listen to advice and counsel

the lawyer-client relationship is impossible to maintain.

[Shermann]

31. It's not what the rule says, it's how the rule is enforced

Clients shall not obligate us to violate the rules of ethics or the rule of law!

*Nudge, Nudge*

*Wink, Wink*

[Ponietz]

46. Rod Rosenstein wrote that book

[Martin68]

35. But they would have made an excuse of some kind like "we're too busy" because Trump is very

good at public attacks that can seriously damage reputations and careers, not to mention the expense of going to court to defend against a frivolous suit. I doubt anybody ever said, "we won't work for you because you are suggesting we do something unethical or illegal."

[Chellee]

36. Oh, absolutely they did.

He wouldn't have such craptacular lawyers if any good ones were willing to work for him. All the people with ethics said no.