Ethics in Brief – The Duty of Candor: A Refresher
By Katie Parker
During a Zoom hearing last week in federal court in the Northern District of California, the judge blasted statements by one team of attorneys as “certainly at risk of being misleading” and described the tactics used as “pretty low-grade lawyering.” Bonnie Eslinger, ‘Low-Grade Lawyering’: Quinn Emanual Attys Draw Judge’s Ire, Law360.com (July 27, 2024, 12:01 AM), https://www.law360.com/articles/1862818. The court directed further inquiry into the falsity of the attorneys’ statements in order to determine whether to impose sanctions. At issue is what information an expert witness had received and when he had received it for purposes of determining whether a supplemental expert report was appropriate. Regardless of whether sanctions are ultimately imposed in that case, public rebukes like these are a stark reminder of our “duty of candor to the tribunal” and a good opportunity to brush up on some of the rule’s nuances.