COURSE DESCRIPTION
When communication with a client suddenly ceases, attorneys face a complex intersection of ethical duties, practical challenges, and professional risk. This program examines best practices for handling unresponsive clients, documenting communication efforts, and determining when withdrawal may be appropriate under applicable rules of professional conduct. Learn how to protect both client interests and your practice while navigating the legal and ethical implications of communication breakdowns.
- Identify ethical obligations and professional responsibilities when clients become unresponsive during representation
- Implement effective communication and documentation strategies to demonstrate reasonable efforts to contact clients
- Evaluate when permissive or mandatory withdrawal may be appropriate under applicable rules of professional conduct
- Manage court procedures, client file issues, and risk mitigation considerations associated with attorney withdrawal
Speaker:
Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections. For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation. Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.