Loose Lips Sink Ships for Attorneys in Trayvon Martin Case

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 05 No. 2012 Pg. 05
• Publication year: 2012
• Pages: 05
• Year: 2012
• topic: Business of Law

California Bar Journal 2012.

CBJ - May 2012 #05. Loose lips sink ships for attorneys in Trayvon Martin case

The California Lawyer
May 2012

Loose lips sink ships for attorneys in Trayvon Martin case

By Diane Karpman

The death of Trayvon Martin is a terrible tragedy. A couple months ago we considered media manipulation. It is ironic that this month we have two highly questionable press conferences by lawyers in the prosecution of Mr. Zimmerman, the shooter now accused of the second'degree murder of Mr. Martin.

This case is a free-for-all or a "giving tree" in the ethics community. You can join the dialog by clicking on various legal ethics forums linked below. It's like watching the Titanic. You can't take your eyes off the horror of the ethics ship sinking. Let's consider some of the more remarkable foibles.

The withdrawal of the two star-struck Florida lawyers was in itself a teaching moment. What were they thinking? The overarching mantra for withdrawal is the avoidance of foreseeable prejudice to the interests of the clients. (Rule 3'700) Improper withdrawal frequently leads to claims of legal malpractice or complaints to the State...