Ethics in Labor & Employment Law: Understanding Trends Through Insights from Plaintiffs' Counsel

The digital age has heightened public awareness of various employment law issues in recent years. From the #MeToo movement, to high-profile racial bias incidents, to Title VII protections for the LGBTQ+ community and more, these issues are thrusting many employment attorneys and their clients into the spotlight. Greater attention to such issues, however, often means increased scrutiny of employment lawyers' ethical responsibilities.

Employment lawyers must navigate a wide range of ethics issues in their daily practices. Conversely, the litigation process frequently results in the issuance of formal ethics opinions by judges and state bar associations that determine the scope of the ethical rules within the context of employment law. By staying abreast of these formal opinions, employment litigators and in-house counsel can be fully prepared to provide their clients with the most effective legal solutions.

This course, presented by Michael J. Willemin, Partner at Wigdor LLP, offers insights from plaintiffs' counsel on some common ways in which ethics issues arise when practicing employment law. The course will also provide tips for employment lawyers on how to identify and respond to potential ethical pitfalls during the course of litigation.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review commonly implicated ethics rules in employment law practice, generally and in some specific states
2. Identify common scenarios that present ethical challenges for employment lawyers
3. Provide practical guidance on how to prevent an ethics violation
4. Discuss how employment lawyers should address and respond to ethical pitfalls that may arise during the course of employment litigation