New Jersey (NJ) Ethics CLE Course Catalog

In the latest installment of this popular series, Zach McGee discusses the now infamous “ChatGPT lawyers sanctions” case where a New York federal district judge sanctioned two lawyers and their law firm under Rule 11 for submitting a brief that cited to six federal court decisions that did not in fact exist. In a case of seemingly first impression, ChatGPT had made up these cases out of whole cloth, and the lawyers failed to do any independent verification of those cases before filing their brief. This fascinating case is a cautionary tale for any lawyer who is tempted to use ChatGPT or other generative AI tools in their legal practice.

In the latest installment of this popular series, Zach McGee discusses Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and how this technology – particularly Generative AI that can generate content in the form of text, images, video, audio, etc. in response to prompts from a user – is poised to change how knowledge workers, including lawyers, do our jobs. But before you consider using ChatGPT or other Generative AI tools to assist in your law practice, you need to make sure you understand exactly how these tools work, what they can do and what they can’t, how reliable they are or aren’t, and most importantly, what legal ethics issues can arise. This program gives you the knowledge you need to perform that exercise for yourself as Generative AI tools continue to evolve.

We all know that CLE programs are boring and a chore to watch. But we’re breaking the rules – a CLE program that’s intentionally funny and (gasp) entertaining, yet somehow still informative. In the latest installment of this popular series, Mark Wooster examines the legal ethics duties of fictional lawyers who come to hate their clients while defending them in murder cases featured in two hit television series.

In the latest installment in the popular “Negotiation Ethics for Lawyers” series, Zach McGee switches gears to show how negotiations are portrayed in some popular films. In part one, the subject is the remarkable film “Hotel Rwanda” where the main character, Paul Rusesabagina, played by Don Cheadle, pulls out every negotiation “dirty trick” in the book while he literally negotiates for his life and the lives of his family during the Rwandan genocide. Zach draws lessons from these examples that you can use in your next real world negotiation and illustrates the legal ethics rules that apply to lawyers when we negotiate. Rules covered includes: ABA Model Rules 1.7 4.1 & 8.4; Cal. Business & Professions Code Sec. 6068.

We all know that CLE programs are boring and a chore to watch.  But we’re breaking the rules – aCLE program that’s intentionally funny and (gasp) entertaining, yet somehow still informative. In the latest installment of this popular series, Mark Wooster hosts the “It’s Never Too Late Show” with his featured guest, popular writer and stand-up comedian -- and recovering addict – Craig Shoemaker. During this funny yet compelling program, Craig shares his personal story of how he overcame addictions to alcohol, drugs and sex and set himself on a path to great success in his personal and professional lives, while teaching lawyers how to spot the signs of addiction and how to get help. Reserve your seat today!

So you’ve heard of this ChatGPT thing? I guess that means we should talk about it. Of course, this program isn’t only about ChatGPT. To properly understand the ethics issues in that program, we actually have to go a little deeper. So in this program we’ll be talking about the different ethics issues that impact both ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (generally), and a few other new technologies that are relevant to the discussion of generative AI.

We all know that CLE programs are boring and a chore to watch. But we’re breaking the rules – a CLE program that’s intentionally funny and (gasp) entertaining, yet somehow still informative. In this unique installment of this popular series, Mark Wooster is joined by Magician, Anthropologist, Cybersecurity Expert and Keynote Speaker Paul Draper. Drawing upon decades of experience working in cybersecurity consulting for Fortune 100 companies, Paul teaches you what you need to know about cybersecurity, privacy and data protection, all the while keeping you entertained with some awesome magic tricks. Mark connects the “what you need to know” with the “what you need to do” in order to fulfill your legal ethics obligations in the context of discussing some challenging hypotheticals arising from the use of technology in your law practice. Reserve your seat today and we’ll waive the two-drink minimum!

Rules covered include: ABA Model Rules 1.1 & 1.6; New York Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 & 1.6; California State Bar Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, Formal Opinion No. 2020-203; New York State Bar Association, Committee on Professional Ethics, Formal Opinion 1240.

Mr. Afrasiabi deftly guides lawyers through the rules and the key cases related to bias, disqualification and race-based bias charges, while at the same time offering practical advice to lawyers to help them avoid the pitfalls that could get them in trouble with the courts, the state bar and their clients. He also weaves in a bit of legal history as he recounts the fascinating tale of labor leader Harry Bridges, whose deportation proceedings sparked the most bitter court battle ever over the disqualification of the federal judge presiding over Mr. Bridges’ case.

What happens when a client sorta, kinda lies? Is it really even a lie? And what’s a lawyer to do about it? Well, it depends. ...is it in a tribunal or a negotiation? ...is it a statement of fact or law? In this program we’re going to try to help you keep your head afloat by explaining it all.