“As I look out at the audience this morning, I see a lot more salt than pepper…” That’s how I opened a talk I gave a few weeks ago to the Connecticut Trial Lawyers’ criminal law section. I get invited to give these sessions because (a) I’m available, (b) the price is right (usually a sandwich if food is being served), and (c) if you suffer through an hour of me, you get an hour of ethics CLE.

When I prepare for a talk, I usually give some thought to the audience; are these young or new lawyers?, have I spoken to them before?, what ethics issues might be relevant to their practice area? The funny thing about doing lawyer discipline is that you need to learn about all sorts of specialized practice areas, their substantive and administrative law and procedures, their protocols and unwritten rules, and what issues might be bedeviling them.