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Overview
The duty of competency is a fundamental professional obligation; indeed, the decision of the drafters of the ABA Model Rules to make this obligation the first Model Rule, Rule 1.1, was hardly accidental. While the existence and importance of the duty of competency are clear, compliance with this obligation is difficult, particularly given the rapidly changing technological environment in which lawyers practice. The discussion will focus on the Rules of Professional Conduct but will also include references to the Lawyer’s Creed and Aspirational Statement of Professionalism adopted by the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism of the State of Georgia. As stated in the Lawyer’s Creed “To my clients, I offer faithfulness, competence, diligence, and good judgment. I will strive to represent you as I would want to be represented and to be worthy of your trust.”
Please join Nathan M. Crystal of Crystal & Giannoni-Crystal, LLC and Kenneth Craig Dobson of Dobson Law LLC as they discuss, among other issues:
- Competence as a concept, including the lawyer’s commitment to competence and self-appraisal of competence – 5 minutes.
- The rapidly change legal environment in which lawyers practice, including the duty to “keep abreast” of legal and technological changes; thinking about how to keep current; how to handle international law and other multijurisdictional work, including developing fields, such as artificial intelligence, the metaverse, and space law – 10 minutes
- Using limited engagement agreements to limit the duty of competency – 15 minutes
- The obligation of supervision and the duty of competency – 15 minutes
- Protecting your insurance coverage – 10 minutes
- Arbitration as a method of limiting liability flowing from the duty of competency – 5 minutes
Program Level: Update
Prerequisites: None
Advanced Preparation: None