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ARTICLE · 19 MARCH 2013

Avoiding Risk - There Are Few "Absolutes" In The Law

Fox Rothschild LLP
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Yesterday morning, I attended an excellent ethics CLE breakfast presented by Temple Law Professors Eleanor and John Myers: "Ripped from the Headlines: Ethics Issues in the News".

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Peter Buckley
Peter Buckley
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I recently attended an excellent ethics CLE breakfast presented by Temple Law Professors Eleanor and John Myers: "Ripped from the Headlines: Ethics Issues in the News".  Our discussion got me thinking about advice my colleague and co-editor Abe Reich often imparts about avoiding absolute or categorical statements about possible outcomes.

I've written about avoiding absolutes, guarantees and unrealistic expectations in Top 10: "Gifts" Not to Give the Plaintiffs' Malpractice Bar (Part II), noting that these sort of categorical statements by lawyers often become "bad facts" in a subsequent malpractice action.  But, absolutes should be avoided for another reason as well - they cause us to let our guard down and unknowingly encounter risk.

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