What rules did collins violate and how

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Reference no: EM133671369

Assignment

You are a law intern working for the PA Disciplinary Board, Office of Disciplinary Counsel. The Disciplinary Counsel-in-Charge, your boss, received numerous written complaints regarding a highly publicized personal injury attorney. She directs you to review the complaints and ascertain as to whether or not, on their face value, the complaints warrant in-depth investigation. Specifically, she wants to know what Rules of Professional Conduct, if any, the attorney may have violated, and if the attorney took proper remedial action when initially notified of the complaints.

Advertising and Soliciatation Review the following scenario and Model Rules 7.1 through 7.3 and 8.4.

Background: Attorney Collins is the principal attorney and sole shareholder of a regional personal injury law firm. Attorney Collins has 4 offices and employs 3 associate attorneys and 8 paralegals. His law firm accepts only personal injury (and wrongful death) cases. Attorney Collins is the epitome of bold and brash lawyers. His annual expenditure on print, billboard, radio, television, and internet advertising exceeds one million dollars. Attorney Collins' advertising slogans and use of third parties to refer cases and 'sign up' potential clients is well known and causes great hostility. His fellow personal injury attorneys loathe him, but they respect his business savvy.

Complaint: Attorney Collins pays for several obnoxious billboards along interstate highways. The billboards depict Attorney Collins in royal regalia complete with crown and scepter. The advertisements refer to Collins as the "King of Personal Injury," depict the court and opposing counsel as subservient, and 'paint' tort defendants as demons complete with © 2023 Post University, Waterbury, CT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED tail and horns. There are no disclaimers of any kind on the billboards, and no statements regarding responsibility or source of payment for the advertising. Attorney Collins also pays 'street kids' to approach drivers at accident scenes, in hospital emergency rooms, and at home to pass out his business cards. The business cards proclaim Collins as the "King of Personal Injury," and promise to make tort defendants pay "big bucks" for their negligence.

I. Based on the scenario presented above, answer the following questions:

II. Are Attorney Collins' billboard advertisements merely in bad taste, or do they violate ethical rules? If so, what rules did Collins violate and how? Be specific.

III. Does Attorney Collins' "puffery" regarding his status, credentials, or qualifications violate ethical rules? If so, what rules did Collins violate and how? Be specific.

IV. Does Attorney Collins' failure to indicate responsibility and source of payment on billboard advertising violate ethical rules? If so, what rules did Collins violate and how? Be specific.

V. Does Attorney Collins' payment to 'street kids' to approach potential new personal injury clients violate ethical rules? If so, what rules did Collins violate and how? Be specific.

Reference no: EM133671369

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