Bonnie Frost Explains How a Lawyer’s Personal Behavior Can Lead to Violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, in New Jersey Lawyer Magazine

In the New Jersey Lawyer magazine article “Can My Personal Behavior Land Me in Ethical Trouble?”  Einhorn Barbarito partner Bonnie C. Frost discusses the New Jersey Supreme Court’s stance that an attorney can be disciplined as a result from behavior involving an attorney’s activities outside the practice of law. 

Citing the Court’s statement that “An attorney’s conduct [that] did not involve the practice of law or arise from a client relationship will not excuse the ethics transgression or lessen the degree of sanction,” Bonnie shares examples of RPC violations including:

• road rage
• inappropriate behavior using social media
• tax evasion

While the practice of law can be stressful and lead to mistakes outside the scope of the day-to-day environment as a lawyer, Bonnie states, “the personal behavior of a lawyer is not outside the reach of the ethics system.”

To read Bonnie’s New Jersey Lawyer magazine article click here.

This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue of New Jersey Lawyer and is being republished herein with permission of the New Jersey State Bar Association.