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Mar. 5, 2025

Tone at the top: The ethics of wellness and the duty to supervise

See more on Tone at the top: The ethics of wellness and the duty to supervise

Wendy L. Patrick

Wendy is a California lawyer, past chair and advisor of the California State Bar Ethics Committee (Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct), and past chair of the San Diego County Bar Association Legal Ethics Committee. Any opinions expressed here are her own, and do not reflect that of her employer. This article does not constitute legal advice.

Tone at the top: The ethics of wellness and the duty to supervise

Whether you are the managing partner of a law firm or the supervisor of one or more associate lawyers, you have a duty to mind the store. One of the trending ethical issues in an era of budget cuts, burnout, and backlog, involves State Bar prosecutions against lawyers who fail to recognize and rectify incompetence in the ranks - which can compromise case preparation and lead to injustice for clients.

FROM VERDICTS TO VACATIONS

Supervising attorneys can protect the integrit...

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