My latest column on legal ethics for the flagship publication of the American Inns of Court, The Bencher, addresses the titular topic. During the more than 25 years that I have penned the legal ethics column, this topic may be among the most challenging. That is, do the rules of legal ethics provide any
Selected Articles by Francis
Prosecutorial (Lack of) Discretion
I have written an ethics column over the last quarter of a century for the flagship publication of the American Inns of Court. About 7 years ago I wrote about prosecutorial discretion, and the lack thereof, in connection with a California travesty of a prosecution. I thought it was useful to “dust it off”.
Criteria for Judicial Recusal
This short overview provides the basic criteria to be considered when an issue is presented about judicial recusal…
Continue Reading Criteria for Judicial Recusal
Third Circuit Upholds Refusal to Disqualify Law Firm Under Legal Ethics Rules 1.9 and 1.10
In my latest ethics column for The Bencher, the publication of the American Inns of Court, I highlighted a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which upheld the refusal to disqualify a law firm based on legal ethics rules 1.9 and 1.10.
In sum, those rules codify the fundamental…
The Standard for Individual Contempt for Corporate Actions
The Delaware Supreme Court recently addressed the standard to determine when an individual may be held in contempt for the violation of a court order by a company that person controls. I provided an overview of the decision for my latest article for the current issue of The Bencher, the flagship publication of the…
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Pro Hac Vice Standards
My latest ethics column for the publication of the American Inns of Court, The Bencher, appears in the current edition regarding the titular topic, and is reprinted on these pages with the courtesy of the publisher. (I have been writing the ethics column for more than 20 years for The Bencher.)
Delaware Supreme…
Resources for Judicial Ethics Research
For the last 24 years or so I have written an ethics column for The Bencher, the flagship publication of The American Inns of Court. My current column is entitled: Resources for Judicial Ethics Research.
Most readers will not have a frequent need for the research sources that I have compiled on this topic, but…
Chancery Declines to Follow First-Filed Rule in Advancement Case
The current issue of the Delaware Business Court Insider includes an article on the titular topic by yours truly and my colleague Cheneise Wright. Courtesy of the good folks at the Delaware Business Court Insider, and with their permission, it appears below.
Chancery Declines to Follow First-Filed Rule in Advancement Case
By: Francis…
Supreme Court Clarifies Authority to Enforce Legal Ethics Rules
In my most recent ethics column appearing in the current issue of The Bencher, the publication of the American Inns of Court, I highlighted a recent Delaware Supreme Court decision which confirmed prior decisions that established Delaware’s High Court as the only body in the First State with the authority to enforce the Delaware…
Chancery Describes Claims Barred by Standard Integration Clause
The Delaware Business Court Insider‘s current edition includes an article I co-authored with Chauna Abner that highlights a recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision that explains the types of claims that are barred by a standard integration clause–as compared to the more robust anti-reliance clause that is required to preclude most typical claims arising…