REGISTER In-PERSON (lunch will be served)

REGISTER TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY

The Rappaport Center panel will examine the use of attorney disciplinary complaints as a tool for upholding the rule of law.  Against the backdrop of recent high-profile cases in Massachusetts and nationally, the discussion will explore how the profession enforces its own ethical standards and where the line lies between zealous advocacy and misconduct.  Do ethics complaints in high-profile or politically charged cases protect the integrity of the legal system and preserve public trust?  Or do they chill advocacy and weaponize ethics rules for political ends?  By bringing together experts from enforcement, defense, and non-profit or advocacy, the panel aims to shed light on the strengths and limits of this accountability mechanism, and to consider its role in safeguarding democracy in times of political, disciplinary, and institutional strain. 

Moderated by Professor Michael Cassidy, the outgoing Chair of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, this panel includes: Stacey Best, Executive Director, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, and Fmr. Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and Fmr. Asst. Bar Counsel, MA Board of Bar Overseers; Hal Lieberman, Partner, Partner, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, and Fmr. Chief Counsel, Departmental Disciplinary Comm., NY State Supreme Court; and Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Executive Director, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, Fmr. Vice-Chair, Advisory Comm. to the ABA Task Force on American Democracy, and Fmr. President, Boston Bar Assoc.