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*Nebraska MCLE #194108. 1.0
Ethics Hour (OnDemand credit)**
**This program has been
approved for 1.0 hours of distance-learning CLE, including 1.0 hours of ethics.
You may claim 1.0 hours of credit total for this program.
Representing a Nonprofit – Are the Ethics Rules the Same?Yes, they are – but sometimes the facts are different enough to throw you off. This session will review common ethics issues which can arise whenever you have an organization as a client, with a particular view to how the issue might look when representing a nonprofit. Topics will include:
The attorney client privilege is controlled by the rules of evidence, but counsel's duty to protect the privilege implicates several Rules of Professional Conduct including at least Rules 1.1, 1.4 and 1.6. What privilege traps exist when communicating with the Board of Directors? What about the Members if yours is a membership organization? And what if you, the organization's attorney, are also a member of the Board or even the Board Chair? Are there steps you can take to maximize confidentiality and minimize the risk of an unplanned privilege waiver?
Doing business with clients. Rule 1.8(a) is extremely clear about what steps you must take before entering into a business transaction with a client, yet the rule itself is unfamiliar to many lawyers, and frequently overlooked. We will look at several recent cases where lawyers have violated the rule, and the problems they have faced as a result. Can this happen in representing a nonprofit?
Who's your client? The Board? The Executive Director? It is, of course, the organization itself, but that does not always tell you who you report to or take direction from, and it can get confusing. Also, Rule 1.13(g) says that a lawyer representing an organization may also represent any of its directors, officers, employees, members, shareholders or other constituents, subject to the conflict requirements of Rule 1.7, but that is not always as easy as it sounds. We will look at a lawsuit recently filed against outside counsel for a major corporation, who allegedly protected the CEO's personal interests to the detriment of the company, and see what lessons it holds for anyone representing an organization, including a nonprofit.
Jonathan R. Breuning, Baird Holm LLP:Jon Breuning is a 1979 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, and is currently General Counsel at Baird Holm, LLP. In that role, Jon advises the firm and its attorneys on matters of legal ethics, professional responsibility and risk management. Jon represents external business clients on a wide range of legal issues, with particular focus on labor and employment law. Jon previously served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for a technology company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, where his responsibilities included all legal, human resource and facilities operations, and serving as the company's chief ethics officer. Jon has been active in the Omaha business community for more than 35 years and has served on the Boards of Directors of Community Alliance, Inc., Community Alliance Housing Corporation, Heartland Family Service, the American Lung Association of Nebraska, the Combined Health Agencies Drive, Creighton University Medical Center, and Omaha Morning Rotary.
___________________________________________________________________________If you have any questions for the presenter(s) of this webinar, please send your question via email to Allyson Felt at afelt@nebar.com. She will forward your question to the presenter(s), who will provide an answer promptly.
Active Nebraska attorneys are
required to complete 10 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) each year.
Two of those 10 hours must be in the field of professional responsibility
(ethics). Nebraska attorneys may claim only 5 hours of distance-learning CLE
per year. Webinars viewed on this portal are considered distance-learning.
After completing a viewing of a webinar on this portal, you must self-report
your CLE credit on the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Attorney Services Division’s
website at https://mcle.wcc.ne.gov.
For more information about Nebraska CLE requirements, see the MCLE Commission’s website at https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/13449/mandatory-continuing-legal-education-mcle. For questions about CLE requirements, your own CLE transcript, or about reporting CLE credit online, contact the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Attorney Services Division at (402) 471-3137. For questions about this portal, contact the Nebraska State Bar Association at (402) 475-7091.