Mark Dubois

Mark Dubois is counsel with the New London firm of Geraghty & Bonnano. He was Connecticut’s first Chief Disciplinary Counsel from 2003 until 2001. In that position he established an office that investigated and prosecuted attorney misconduct and the unauthorized practice of law. He is co-author of Connecticut Legal Ethics and Malpractice, the first book devoted to the topic of attorney ethics in Connecticut. He is a weekly contributor to the Connecticut Law Tribune where he writes the Ethics Matters column. Attorney Dubois represents individuals accused of ethical misconduct and malpractice. He also serves as an expert witness on matters of ethics and malpractice. He teaches ethics at UConn Law School and has taught ethics as Quinnipiac University School of Law where he was Distinguished Practitioner in Residence in 2011. He has lectured in Connecticut and nationally on attorney ethics and has given or participated in over 75 presentations and symposia on attorney ethics and malpractice. He has also taught trial advocacy and legal research and writing. Attorney Dubois has been board certified in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification for over 20 years. He is presently president-elect of the Connecticut Bar Association and will be president in 2014. In addition to being an officer of the Bar Association, he is a member of the Professional Discipline, Unauthorized Practice, Pro Bono and Mentoring committees. He is a member of the New Britain, New London, and American Bar Associations as well as the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. He is the recipient of the Quintin Johnstone Service to the Profession Award in 2012 and the American Board of Trial Advocacy, Connecticut Chapter, Annual Award in 2007.

April 11, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: Resist Urge To Respond To Flaming Ex-Clients

The Internet is a cool thing. With a few clicks of the mouse, I can order groceries, pay bills, and find just about anyone I need to contact for my work. Unfortunately, it also provides a ready (too ready, perhaps!) platform for clients and nuts to take shots at us for our real or perceived shortcomings.

By Mark Dubois

4 minute read

April 10, 2014 | New Jersey Law Journal

Outside Investment in Law Firms Won't Cause Sky To Fall

Nonlawyer investment in law firms has been a real success in Great Britain. It may be time for the practice to start here.

By Mark Dubois

5 minute read

April 03, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: Overwhelmed By Old Papers

I am engaged in an epic project. As part of my duties as incoming president of the Connecticut Bar Association, I have been working in the basement of CBA global headquarters in New Britain trying to winnow essential records and historically significant ephemera from the heaps, piles, drifts and dumpsters of paper accumulated over the last century or so.

By Mark Dubois

4 minute read

March 26, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: Courts May Let Paralegals Serve As 'Guides' For Pro Ses

I heard that New York is going to adopt a system where "guides" or "concierges" pair with self-represented parties in certain courts in order to facilitate the movement of business and allow the judges to return to being neutral arbiters instead of trying to be both judge and advocate for those without attorneys.

By MARK DUBOIS

4 minute read

March 18, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: Self-Represented Parties And Their Histrionic Agendas

Imagine Mr. Macy (or Mr. Bloomingdale, or Sam Walton) faced with a gang of nutty customers who show up at their stores unprepared to shop for what they need, walk up the down escalators, shop for men's clothes in garden supplies and for children's clothes in automotive, and who confuse underwear and cookware.

By Mark Dubois

4 minute read

March 11, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: Outside Investment In Law Firms Won't Cause Sky To Fall

I had the privilege of hearing Chris Kenny of England's Legal Services Board speak a few weeks ago at Harvard Law. He is the first administrator of the English government-based lawyer regulation system which recently replaced the traditional model where judges and courts regulate the bar.

By MARK DUBOIS

5 minute read

March 05, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: Hey Buddy, Wanna Buy A Lead

Computers now have an unsettling ability to offer you goods or services apparently based on the fact that you once searched for something. Thus, it seems that every time I go online to read the New York Times, I will see side-bar and pop-up ads for bicycles, tattoos, and (I have no idea why) body part enhancement. Lately, folks have been offering me "leads" to clients who need legal services.

By Mark Dubois

4 minute read

February 26, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: Technology and the Irreversible Trend

Here's more from my recent infection with the tech bug at the ReInvent Law symposium in New York. As a guy who has practiced our craft for 36 years and is about to become president of the state's biggest bar association, I am keenly interested in where the delivery of legal services is going.

By Mark Dubois

4 minute read

February 19, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: The Democratization Of The Third Branch Of Government

I was at a meeting of something called the Council of Bar Presidents the other day. It is part of my duties as president-in-waiting of the Connecticut Bar Association. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing ideas with the leaders of different bar groups about what is working, what needs to be fixed and how we can all remain relevant to the professional lives of our members.

By Mark Dubois

5 minute read

February 11, 2014 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Mark Dubois: I Have Seen The Future

I spent a memorable recent Friday in New York glimpsing the future of the legal profession at the Reinvent Law convocation held at the Cooper Union. This was the second time that Professors Daniel Katz and Renee Knake of Michigan State University Law School invited the thinkers and the doers involved in the burgeoning movement to integrate technology and law together in one place.

By Mark Dubois

5 minute read

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