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Legal Ethics Roundup: Upholding Integrity in the Legal Profession

September 3, 2024 By WKC Law

In today’s rapidly changing societal landscape, where transparency, ethics and accountability are critical, the legal profession can serve as a beacon. Legal ethics and its importance cannot be overstated. It often forms a bedrock of trust placed in lawyers by clients, the courts, and the public. Oftentimes civility can play a crucial role in embodying and encouraging ethical behavior. This was the central theme of a recent Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Continuing Legal Education (CLE) session titled “Legal Ethics Roundup,” recently co-presented by Weber Kracht and Chellew attorney Rick Howard and PBA Chief Ethics Counsel Victoria White.

During this insightful session, the discussion emphasized the vital role of the PBA Ethics Committee in guiding lawyers to adhere to the Rules of Professional Conduct. The Committee and its hotline are designed to help lawyers fulfill their ethical responsibilities in their future conduct. Ethics often encompasses many actions by a lawyer. From setting reasonable expectations with clients to maintaining credibility in interactions and adhering to your commitments. In a world where most everything is overly scrutinized, consistently reinforcing our professional standards is crucial. The best lawyers whom we know uphold not only their own reputation, but contribute to an overall perception of the legal system as a just and fair institution.

Mr. Howard and Ms. White’s session also underscored the value of direct, respectful communication in an era where digital communication can often lead to misinterpretations and conflicts. Picking up the phone as a helpful tool instead of relying solely on emails can resolve issues more efficiently and foster a more collaborative environment between opposing parties. Civility is not just a matter of courtesy; it can serve as a strategic advantage which often leads to more favorable client outcomes.

Professional ethics also requires that lawyers correct material errors promptly and move forward. Acknowledging and rectifying mistakes is not a sign of weakness but a demonstration of professionalism and strength. Most clients, judges, and even opposing counsel will respect a lawyer who can admit to an honest error and take swift corrective action. This approach not only protects the lawyer’s credibility but also strengthens the trust relationship with all parties involved.

This Legal Ethics Roundup was a powerful reminder of the fundamental principles that must guide every legal professional. As we navigate an increasingly complex legal landscape, maintaining a steadfast commitment to ethics, civility, and professionalism is more important than ever. These are the values that will continue to uphold the integrity of the legal profession and ensure that justice is served with the highest standards of fairness and respect.

Here at Weber Kracht and Chellew, we are committed to representing clients throughout Bucks, Montgomery, and Lehigh Counties with the greatest attention to detail and ethical standards. Contact us for a consultation if we may be of service.

This article is designed for general information only. The information presented should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

Filed Under: "The Usual Suspects", Ethics, Rick Howard

Richard C. Howard, Jr. to Co-Present Program at the Bucks County Bar Association’s Fifth Annual Business Law Institute Spotlight

May 2, 2023 By WKC Law

We are proud to announce that Richard C. Howard, Jr. will be co-presenting a program at the Bucks County Bar Association’s Fifth Annual Business Law Institute Spotlight entitled,  “Civility and Its Scarcity – What’s At Stake for Clients and Legal Professionals.”

We plan to share more about his presentation here on the WKC Law blog. In the meantime, learn more about the event at BucksBar.org/calendar.

Bucks Bar spotlight on civility

Filed Under: "The Usual Suspects", Rick Howard

Attorney Richard C. Howard, Jr. Receives 2023 Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating for 10th Consecutive Year

January 30, 2023 By WKC Law

Please join us in congratulating Richard C. Howard, Jr., Weber Kracht and Chellew partner and CFO, on receiving the 2023 AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

This is Martindale-Hubbell’s highest designation and is the result of a thorough peer review survey on an attorney’s ethical standards and legal ability. Rick has received the AV Preeminent® Peer Review rating for 10 consecutive years.

Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent

Filed Under: "The Usual Suspects", Rick Howard

Benefit Concert for The Drop – Saturday, July 23, 2022

July 13, 2022 By WKC Law

Please consider attending a concertThe Drop logo Saturday, July 23, 2022 at the Univest Performance Center to benefit The Drop – Quakertown. Learn more about the concert here.

Attorney Rick Howard is one of the board members of The Drop, a service of the Quakertown Community Center that provides a safe, supervised space for area youth to hang out, do homework, and have fun. Learn more about The Drop here.

Filed Under: Community Events, Rick Howard

When Legal History Gets Personal: Getting to Know Samuel Lowery and Belva Lockwood

March 22, 2021 By WKC Law

With February’s annual commemoration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month in March, now seems an ideal time to share these recent activities and some discoveries.

As chair of the Bucks County Bar Association’s Mandatory Continued Legal Education Committee (MCLE), my duties include interaction with other committee chairs and coordinating programs of value to our membership and to educate the public.

Having read and studied recent issues brought to the forefront of our national conscience, I have come to some appreciation of the depths to which my own experiences have been in many ways formed, as well as almost embarrassingly insulated. This recently determined me to seek out and join the Bucks County Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

The Diversity and Inclusion Committee consists of a fine group of lawyers, whose mission is to promote inclusion.  Diversity is not a zero sum. It is not to the exclusion of any, but rather to promote all.  Gaining a firmer understanding inspired me to join their committee. The research which follows helps bring to light a fascinating and exciting personal discovery, and causes me to look for ways to overcome my own  biases as well as prejudices to help contribute to my profession?  My community?  My Nation?

In the Diversity Committee’s efforts to recognize and celebrate February’s Black History month, we highlighted Samuel Lowery. Lowery had been born into slavery, and his mother was Cherokee.  In 1849, he successfully purchased his family’s freedom.  He later served in the Civil War, was a preacher and a lawyer. Later in his life, he became a prominent member of the silk manufacturing industry. At this later stage of his life he also traveled to Boston for meetings with Booker T. Washington. Those meetings later help found what became known as the National Negro Business League. On February 2, 1880, Lowery became the first African-American attorney to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court.

Samuel Lowery Supreme Court admissionThis period illustration from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, shows Lowery’s Supreme Court bar admission. The woman pictured standing toward the left, with hand determinedly placed on the table, is Belva Ann Lockwood.  Lockwood was the first female attorney ever to appear to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.  A trailblazer in her own right, it was she who sponsored Lowery’s appearance before our nation’s highest court.

Lockwood’s story is also compelling. On February 15, 1879, President Rutherford Hayes had signed a law which would permit women to be admitted as members of the Supreme Court Bar. This law, passed thanks to the lobbying efforts by female attorneys, led by Belva Lockwood, cleared the way for her to become the first female attorney ever to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. Three years earlier, her admission had been denied, but in 1879, she was sworn in amidst “a bating of breath and craning of necks.”

Lockwood also ran for President of the United States two times, each time on the “National Equal Rights Party” ticket. Her motto: “I cannot vote, but can be voted for.”

It comes as no surprise that late Supreme Court Justice Ruther Bader Ginsburg was a fan of Lockwood’s. RBG contributed the foreword to historian Jill Norgren’s 2007 book, Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President.  During a 2008 Supreme Court Fellows dinner speech, Ginsburg spoke in honor of Lockwood. I also recall reading that RBG had prominently displayed a picture of a replica of the court’s refusal to admit Lockwood along with some satirical time-period cartoons, as a reminder of the discriminatory obstacles faced.

Belva Lockwood signatureThroughout her legal career, Lockwood represented hundreds of Civil War pension applicants, including many widows of veterans who needed the pension money to help support themselves and their families. This aspect of Lockwood’s professional life brings us to my family’s connection to Belva Lockwood. My father’s great-grandmother was a lady by the name of Elizabeth Coxen.  Her husband, a Civil War Union veteran, had been denied a disability pension during his lifetime.  Following his death, Elizabeth applied for a Widow’s Pension, which eventually was awarded.  Her attorney, whose signature you can see appears on the application, is none other than Belva Lockwood.

 

Richard Howard, Jr. is one of the most respected, dedicated and hard-working litigation attorneys in Bucks County. As a trusted advocate and counsel for his clients, Rick draws upon his strong judgment, undaunted work ethic, and over 25 years’ experience handling wide varieties of challenging and simple civil litigation matters, to effectively handle each client’s most difficult legal matters in today’s world. Rick prides himself on getting to the “real issue,” in truly relating to each situation, and doing what is “right” for his clients and in accordance with the Golden Rule.

 

This article is designed for general information only. The information presented should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

Belva
elva Lockwood Presidential flyer
Coxen Declaration
Coxen widows claim for pension
Coxen Widows Claim emphasis
Samuel Lowery Supreme Court admission
Belva Lockwood signature

Filed Under: Black History Month, Rick Howard, Women's History Month

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