Nice Lawyers Finish First
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

It's been said that nice guys finish last. And while that might be true in the rough and tumble arenas of politics, professional prize fighting and marriage, nothing could be further from the truth in the practice of law. Zealous representation doesn't require us to be zealots. In fact, the most effective representation requires just the opposite. Nice lawyers finish first ... and so do their clients!

Yakety Yak! Do Call Back!: The Ethical Need for Prompt Client Communication
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

While it is important to comply with every obligation of the ethics canon, the obligation to promptly communicate with the client may be the most important. Lawyers who flaunt this rule leave their clients with no choice but to contact the state bar in a desperate attempt to seek answers to their questions. And, of course, by that point, the disciplinary authorities will have a long list of questions of their own.

In this insightful webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will provide lawyers with practical tips for how to meet the increasingly difficult of burden of talking, emailing and texting to each client's content.

Don't Be an Outlaw: The Ethical Imperative to Follow the Law
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Lawyers must not only have a fundamental understanding of the law, but also, a fundamental commitment to abiding by it. And while the necessity to avoid committing major felonies is obvious to everyone, some lawyers forget about the necessity to follow the "little laws" as well. In this eye-opening webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will recount the tales of past Ethy Award nominees (those who were recognized the best of the worst ethics violations). These lawyers learned, albeit too late, that if you do even a minor crime, you will do the disciplinary time.

I Think, Therefore I Am ... Biased: How Implicit Biases Manifest in the Legal Profession
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

The human brain is wired to recognize patterns and make generalizations, even those based on faulty or incomplete information. And contrary to popular opinion, lawyers are human as well and therefore, we are just as susceptible to forming biases and acting upon them. And it does not require that we harbor ill will or animus towards other people. In fact, most often, our biases are not even our own, but rather those that have been taught to us.

In this eye-opening presentation, the presenter will use videos to show lawyers just how easy it is to form these biases, how they manifest themselves in the way we treat clients, colleagues and opposing parties, and most importantly, how we can reduce the effect of these biases by recognizing and compensating for them.

The 2021 Ethy Awards
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Each year, Hollywood celebrates the best performances in motion pictures at the Oscars. Well, in this program, we note the worst ethics violations in the legal profession at the Ethys. Humorist Sean Carter will host the festivities and announce the award winners in such categories as: Worst Original Excuse, Best Courtroom Outburst, Most Creative Billing, Least Competent, and much more. In the process of recapping some of the most egregious instances of unethical behavior, Mr. Carter will demonstrate how the rest of us can avoid more common ethical violations.

May It Displease the Court?: Keeping Your Head (and Your Law License) in Court
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

In this hilarious webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter reviews some of the most outrageous breaches of lawyer decorum in recent years. In doing so, he will address the underlying reasons for lawyers to act out in this manner and provide tips to prevent losing control of our emotions (and our law licenses).

Ally McSteal: From the Don't Try This at Home Series
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Lawyers on our favorite TV legal dramas often act in ways that would cause significant trouble for actual lawyers. In this multimedia webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will use short video clips from the very popular series, Ally McBeal, to demonstrate some of the legal ethics violations that played out on the show. In doing so, Carter hopes to show you how to keep your professional life from imitating art.

Technical Fouls: Even Minor Ethics Violations Can Have Major Consequences
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

When it comes to ethics violations, there is no such thing as a minor or "technical" foul. All ethics violations are serious matters, evidencing a breach of the trust that has been placed in the lawyer. As a result, lawyers must avoid falling into the mindset that a particular violation is "no big deal."

To make this case, noted legal humorist Sean Carter will chronicle a number of recent ethics cases in which lawyers were surprised to discover that even minor ethics violations can have major consequences.

If You Can't Say Something Nice, Shut Up!: The Ethical Imperative for Civility
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

As children, we were all taught, "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all." Well, that advice holds especially true for lawyers. Whether in open court, a deposition, or contract negotiation, lawyers who choose to "go low," run a high risk of bar discipline. Increasingly, disciplinary authorities are treating the once aspirational goal of civility as a mandate. Therefore, it's important for all lawyers to be reminded of their obligation to "play nice."

Attorney, Heal Thyself: The Detection, Treatment and Prevention of Substance Abuse
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Substance abuse is a huge problem in the legal profession. Lawyers suffer among the highest rates of alcoholism, drug addiction and being shot in the face by the former Vice President. And while Mr. Carter can't do much about Dick Cheney's aim, he can show you how to detect, treat and prevent substance abuse within your organization.

From Suits to Stripes: Why You Should Not Do What TV Lawyers Do
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

For years, television programs such as LA Law, The Practice and Boston Legal have shown lawyers skirting ethical boundaries and playing fast and loose with the rules. However, in 2011, USA Networks jumped the proverbial shark when it began airing Suits, a show that is literally built on the premise of the unauthorized practice of law. And, over the next several seasons, it highlighted lawyers engaging in continuous and increasingly serious ethical violations.

In this multi-media themed webinar, noted legal humorist Sean Carter will revisit some of the highlights (and ethical lowlights) of this sometimes astonishing television series. Moreover, he will illustrate the ways that life sometimes imitates art and how real lawyers have managed to trade their business suits for prisoner's stripes by engaging in similar conduct.

Discipline or No Discipline (Episode 402): A CLE Game Show
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

In this interactive game modeled after the popular television game show, you will be presented with 30 briefcases. Each briefcase contains the details of an actual disciplinary case that was filed against a U.S. lawyer. When you select a case, you will hear the facts of the case and then, as counsel for the respondent, you will be offered a "deal" (e.g., a reprimand, 1-year suspension, etc.). You will then be asked to accept the proposed discipline or to reject it, in hopes that the actual sanction imposed was less severe than the proposed sanction. If you choose correctly (accepting a good deal or rejecting a bad deal), you will be awarded the points contained in that briefcase.

At the end of the hour, you will see how your score compares to other lawyers across the country.

Gameshow Three-Packs #2103
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Join Sean Carter, America's Funniest Lawyer, for three (3) fun-filled CLE hours of legal ethics-related game shows, as follows:

TimeProgram
5:00-6:00pm ETDiscipline or No Discipline - Ep 402
6:15-7:15pm ETEthical Jeopardy
7:30pm-8:30pm ETWho Wants To Be Disbarred?

Ethical Jeopardy: A CLE Game Show
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

In Ethical Jeopardy, you will compete against lawyers from across the country in answering legal ethics-related questions, such as the one below:

Which of the following is NOT grounds to disclose client information?

  • To prevent death or harm to another person
  • To defend oneself against civil, criminal or disciplinary charges
  • To impress prospective clients
  • To prevent fraud

    Through the polling feature on our platform, lawyers will be allowed to make their selections. At the end of the program, each participant will receive their score, along with their "player ranking." Oh yeah, and you just might learn something in the process.

Who Wants to be Disbarred?: A CLE Game Show
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

In Who Wants to be Disbarred?, you will compete against lawyers from across the country in answering legal ethics-related questions, such as the one below:

Which of the following conflicts of interest is prohibited by the ethics canon?

  • Being related to the client
  • Going to the same high school as the judge
  • Being close friends with opposing counsel
  • Lending money to the client

    Through the polling feature on our platform, lawyers will be allowed to make their selections. At the end of the program, each participant will receive their score, along with their "player ranking." Oh yeah, and you just might learn something in the process.

The Ties That Bind: Avoiding Inappropriate Entanglements in the Practice of Law
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

To be an effective advocate, a lawyer must maintain a fair degree of dispassionate objectivity. The lawyer who becomes personally involved in the representation does the client a disservice. This is even more true for the lawyer who becomes personally involved with the client. In this webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will explain the importance of avoiding this most basic conflict of interest and will relate the tragic (but sometimes fascinating) tales of lawyers who learned this lesson too late.

The 2021 Ethy Awards
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Each year, Hollywood celebrates the best performances in motion pictures at the Oscars. Well, in this program, we note the worst ethics violations in the legal profession at the Ethys. Humorist Sean Carter will host the festivities and announce the award winners in such categories as: Worst Original Excuse, Best Courtroom Outburst, Most Creative Billing, Least Competent, and much more. In the process of recapping some of the most egregious instances of unethical behavior, Mr. Carter will demonstrate how the rest of us can avoid more common ethical violations.

LA Law(less): Don't Be Like Mike Kuzak
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Lawyers on our favorite TV legal dramas often act in ways that would cause significant trouble for actual lawyers. In this multimedia webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will use short video clips from the very popular series, LA Law, to demonstrate some of the legal ethics violations that played out on the show. In doing so, Carter hopes to show you how to keep your professional life from imitating art.

TV Ethics Three-Pack #2104
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Join Sean Carter, America's Funniest Lawyer, for three (3) fun-filled CLE hours of looking at our favorite legal TV dramas to remind ourselves why we should never emulate TV lawyers in the practice of law:

TimeProgram
Noon-1:00pm ETLA Law(less)
1:15-2:15pm ETThe (Mal)Practice
2:30-3:30pm ETBoston (Il)Legal

The (Mal)Practice: From the Don't Try This At Home Series
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Lawyers on our favorite TV legal dramas often act in ways that would cause significant trouble for actual lawyers. In this multimedia webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will use short video clips from the very popular series, The Practice, to demonstrate some of the legal ethics violations that played out on the show. In doing so, Carter hopes to show you how to keep your professional life from imitating art.

Boston (Il)legal: From the Don't Try This At Home Series
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Lawyers on our favorite TV legal dramas often act in ways that would cause significant trouble for actual lawyers. In this multimedia webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will use short video clips from the very popular series, Boston Legal, to demonstrate some of the legal ethics violations that played out on the show. In doing so, Carter hopes to show you how to keep your professional life from imitating art.

From Competence to Excellence: The Ethical Imperative for Excellent Client Service
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

The very first rule of the ethics canon calls for lawyers to provide competent representation to clients. Yet, mere competence isn't enough to satisfy our ethical obligations to our clients. We must instead strive for excellence. In this unique webinar, noted legal humorist Sean Carter will highlight the need for excellence in client service and demonstrate the consequences of mediocrity by recounting the sagas of past Ethy Award nominees -- lawyers who earned CLE infamy for the failure to provide excellent client service.

The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth: The Ethical Imperative for Honesty in Law Practice
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Dr. Martin Luther King once said, "A fact is the absence of contradiction, but the truth is the presence of coherence." As lawyers, we are duty bound to be more than just factual. Lawyers must tell the truth to clients, judges, and even opposing counsel and third parties. In this eye-opening webinar, legal humorist Sean Carter will deal frankly with the very human inclination for dishonesty and explain how to avoid the traps from which dishonesty most often springs. In doing so, he will draw upon current and past nominees from his annual Ethy Awards to show the consequences of dishonesty.

Enough is Enough: Avoiding Vexatious Lawyering
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

While lawyers are expected to provide their clients with zealous representation, we are not allowed to become outright zealots in pursuit of our client's objectives. Yet, time and again, this is precisely what happens as lawyers become fixated on winning at all costs. And as a result, they end up paying the ultimate price -- the loss of their license to practice law.

In this sobering but surprisingly funny presentation, legal humorist Sean Carter will distinguish permissible zealous legal practices from unethical legal zealotry.

It's Not the Fruit, It's the Root: Getting to the Bottom of Our Ethical Ills
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

In this unique legal ethics seminar, Sean goes beyond the "dos" and "don'ts" of the Rules of Professional Conduct to get to the heart of the matter -- the common mindsets that result in ethical violations in the first place. Furthermore, he will provide tips and insights on how to heal ourselves from these mindsets so that the ethical canons become guide posts and not obstacles in our drive to become successful lawyers.

Show Me The Ethics!: The Ethical Way to Bill for Legal Services
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

While it is important for lawyers to be compensated for their services, it is even more important for lawyers to use ethical billing and collection practices in securing such compensation. Drawing on examples provided by current and past nominees from his annual Ethy Awards for the worst ethical behavior, legal humorist Sean Carter will provide a poignant reminder of how NOT to bill clients and collect fees. And in the process, he will reinforce the relevant legal ethics principles underlying such practices.

Attorney, Heal Thyself: The Detection, Treatment and Prevention of Substance Abuse
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Substance abuse is a huge problem in the legal profession. Lawyers suffer among the highest rates of alcoholism, drug addiction and being shot in the face by the former Vice President. And while Mr. Carter can't do much about Dick Cheney's aim, he can show you how to detect, treat and prevent substance abuse within your organization.

I Think, Therefore I Am ... Biased: How Implicit Biases Manifest in the Legal Profession
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

The human brain is wired to recognize patterns and make generalizations, even those based on faulty or incomplete information. And contrary to popular opinion, lawyers are human as well and therefore, we are just as susceptible to forming biases and acting upon them. And it does not require that we harbor ill will or animus towards other people. In fact, most often, our biases are not even our own, but rather those that have been taught to us.

In this eye-opening presentation, the presenter will use videos to show lawyers just how easy it is to form these biases, how they manifest themselves in the way we treat clients, colleagues and opposing parties, and most importantly, how we can reduce the effect of these biases by recognizing and compensating for them.

The 2022 Ethy Awards
Presented by: Legal Humorist Sean Carter

Each year, Hollywood celebrates the best performances in motion pictures at the Oscars. Well, in this program, we note the worst ethics violations in the legal profession at the Ethys. Humorist Sean Carter will host the festivities and announce the award winners in such categories as: Worst Original Excuse, Best Courtroom Outburst, Most Creative Billing, Least Competent, and much more. In the process of recapping some of the most egregious instances of unethical behavior, Mr. Carter will demonstrate how the rest of us can avoid more common ethical violations.

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