When a Lawyer Becomes Mentally Impaired

  A partner in a law firm has cause to believe that another member of the firm is mentally impaired and may not be able to competently and diligently represent his clients.   In such a scenario, issues such as these may arise:
 -- What obligations does a partner or supervisory lawyer have to an impaired lawyer?
-- Do any disclosures need to be made to an impaired lawyer's clients?
-- Does a lawyer have a duty to report a rule violation by an impaired lawyer?
-- What are a lawyer's obligations when the impaired lawyer is not a member of the lawyer's firm?

Peter H. Geraghty, Director, ABA EthicSearch, addresses these questions in the June 2006 issue of the ABA's Eye on Ethics.  Geraghty notes that two ABA ethics opinons, 03-429 Obligations with Respect to Mentally Impaired Lawyer in the Firm (2003) and 03-431 Lawyer's Duty to Report Rule Violations by Another Lawyer Who may Suffer from Disability or Impairment (2003) address some of the issues implicated in the scenario above.  The article also mentions several state and local bar ethics opinions which have discussed ethical concerns related to impaired lawyers.   

Questions about legal ethics can be addressed to ETHICSearch, a quick and economical way to find anwers to legal ethics questions.  Materials for Research in Legal Ethics are also available.

Posted by Faye Jones