East Bay Law P.C.
Ethics Advice & Preventive Risk Management
Practical, on-call guidance for California lawyers facing real-time ethics questions—paired with proactive audits and compliance planning that prevent problems before they escalate. We help you navigate conflicts, trust accounting (IOLTA), advertising, sanctions exposure, confidentiality, and more with clear, defensible advice.
Ethics Counseling for Daily Practice
Clear answers on short timelines—grounded in the California Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act.
- Conflicts & screening: identifying current/former client conflicts, waivers, and ethical walls.
- Client trust accounting (IOLTA): deposits/disbursements, reconciliations, documentation, and remediation plans.
- Fees & engagement terms: retainers, flat fees, lien language, refunds, and fee-splitting.
- Advertising & solicitation: websites, landing pages, testimonials, and “specialist” claims.
- Confidentiality & privilege: protective measures, subpoenas, metadata, and inadvertent disclosures.
- Candor & sanctions risk: court obligations, discovery conduct, and mitigation strategy.
Preventive Risk Management
We design systems that make compliance the default—so isolated mistakes don’t become discipline.
- Ethics & trust-account audits: diagnostic reviews with prioritized remediation checklists.
- Policies & procedures: conflict checks, intake/close-out, calendaring, billing, file retention.
- Training & MCLE planning: tailored sessions and curricula for teams and new hires.
- Incident response playbooks: templates for complaints, data events, missed deadlines, and sanctions orders.
- Documentation frameworks: model engagement agreements, consent letters, and corrective-action memos.
Our Approach
- Rapid access: time-sensitive answers when a decision can’t wait.
- Issue mapping: we isolate the actual rule(s) at stake, the facts that matter, and the safest path forward.
- Document-first: we leave a clear paper trail—memos, checklists, and forms you can rely on.
- Remediation mindset: when something has gone wrong, we pair advice with concrete corrective steps.
- Defense-ready: advice is written to stand up if later scrutinized in an OCTC investigation or court.
Common Questions We Handle
- Can I represent this client given my firm’s prior work for a related party?
- How should we correct a trust-accounting error without compounding risk?
- Is my fee agreement compliant—and does my marketing copy raise concerns?
- What can I disclose to respond to an unfair online review?
- How do we respond to a sanctions order to minimize collateral exposure?
When to Call Us
- A prospective client raises a potential conflict or prior adverse role.
- A reconciliation flags an IOLTA discrepancy or missing documentation.
- Opposing counsel threatens sanctions or reports to the State Bar.
- Your marketing vendor proposes testimonials or “guarantee” language.
- You need a short-turnaround memo that will withstand scrutiny.
Why East Bay Law P.C.
Our practice is focused on California State Bar discipline and lawyer ethics. We combine day-to-day counseling with investigation-stage defense, so our advice reflects what actually happens when things are scrutinized. You’ll get practical guidance, well-documented recommendations, and a clear path to implement improvements.