Massachusetts Law About Lawyers
Admission
Applying to Take the Bar Exam, Board of Bar Examiners.
Applying for Admission on Motion, Board of Bar Examiners.
Mitchell v. Board of Bar Examiners, 452 Mass. 582 (2008). A graduate of a wholly-online law school (which was thus unqualified for ABA accreditation) could sit for the Massachusetts bar exam.
Rules Pertaining to Bar Admission: SJC Rule 3:01, and BBE Rules, Board of Bar Examiners.
Practice of Law
Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, Board of Bar Overseers. Rules governing the practice of law in Massachusetts.
Board of Bar Overseers. "The Board of Bar Overseers was established by the Supreme Judicial Court in 1974 as an independent administrative body to investigate and evaluate complaints against lawyers." They have over eighty articles on their site about ethical issues for lawyers. This is the place to start research on an ethical issue. Articles include:
- Conflicts, Competence and Confidentiality in Will Drafting
- False testimony by a defendant in a criminal case: What do you know and when do you know it?
- Talking Trash--Recycled (How long must documents be kept)
- The Worst-Laid Plans: What Do I Do When Privileged Material Reaches Me by Mistake?
- and Many More
DOI Bulletin 2007-15: Written Notice to Claimants of Payment of Claims in Third Party Settlements. Insurance companies are directed to notify clients when payment of settlement of $5000 or more has been made to the client's attorney.
E-Mail and Attorney-Client Confidentiality, Mass. Bar Association Ethics Opinion 00-01. "A lawyer's use of unencrypted Internet e-mail to engage in confidential communications with his or her client does not violate Massachusetts Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6(a) in usual circumstances. Legal and technical hurdles to the interception of Internet e-mail give rise to a reasonable expectation on the part of lawyer and client that such communications will remain private. The lawyer must be careful, however, to ensure that confidential messages are not sent to e-mail addresses that are reasonably accessible to persons other than the client, and to avoid using unencrypted Internet e-mail in contravention of the client's express instructions."
Featured Practice Tips from the Superior Court Bench, MCLE. A "series of short video briefings offering practical and sage advice from more than forty active and alumni members of the Massachusetts Superior Court." 
IOLTA Guideline Amendments, Mass. Supreme Judicial Court. Effective July 1, 2009. These amendments provide "clearer language about proper investment of IOLTA funds reserved in a stabilization fund. In Sections 5(d), 5(e) and 4(c), [the amendments provide] a more complete Guideline regarding the amounts of funds that may be reserved by and how such funds are to be accounted for by the three charities which receive IOLTA funds. In Sections 5(e), 5(f), 4(a) and 4(b), [the amendments provide] related procedural changes to reflect the new Guidelines."
Mass. Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics Opinions. Opinions published since 1973.
Massachusetts IOLTA. Includes information and guidelines for both attorneys and financial institutions.
Metadata: What is it, and what are my ethical duties?, LLRX.com, 2009. Metadata is the information you don't see when you open a document, but is retained and can be viewed. Includes previous versions, comments, authors and more. This article discusses the dangers of metadata in digital files, the ethical responsibilities for attorneys both in their own documents and in viewing documents sent by others, and how to avoid metadata issues.
Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts v. National Real Estate Information Services, 459 Mass. 512 (2011). The "closing or settlement of real property conveyances requires not only the presence but the substantive participation of an attorney on behalf of the mortgage lender, and that certain services connected with real property conveyances constituted the practice of law in Massachusetts." Outlines what constitutes unauthorized practice of law in real estate transactions.
Limited Assistance Representation
Limited Assistance Representation, Mass. Supreme Judicial Court. Massachusetts courts may allow attorneys to assist self-represented litigants with selected documents or appearances without taking on full representation.
Boston Municipal Court
Limited Assistance Representation, Boston Municipal Court. Includes:
- Boston Municipal Court Standing Order 1-10: Limited Assistance Representation in Civil Matters Only.
- Frequently Asked Questions for Litigants
- Frequently Asked Questions For Judges, Court Personnel and Attorneys
- Attorneys Participating in Limited Assistance Representation (LAR)
- Forms
District Court
- District Court Standing Order 1-11: Limited Assistance Representation and Substitute Counsel Pilot Project
- Form: Notice of Limited Appearance
Housing Court
Limited Assistance Representation, Housing Court. Includes:
- Housing Court Standing Order 1-10: Limited Assistance Representation.
- Frequently Asked Questions for Litigants
- Frequently Asked Questions For Judges, Court Personnel and Attorneys
- Forms
Probate and Family Court
Limited Assistance Representation, Probate and Family Court. Substantial section includes:
- Frequently Asked Questions for Litigants
- Frequently Asked Questions For Judges, Court Personnel and Attorneys
- Finding a Qualified LAR Attorney
- Forms
Print Sources
Building Your Practice with Limited Assistance Representation, MCLE, 2009.
Choosing, Hiring and Working with a Lawyer
Choosing a Lawyer, Mass. Bar Association. What do they do, and how do they charge. A good synopsis of the ways a lawyer might structure her fee. Includes a brief description of your right to a court appointed attorney.
Legal and Consumer Referral, Mass. Trial Court Law Libraries. Links to find free or reduced fee legal aid, lawyer referral agencies by lawyer specialty, and other law related consumer sites.
Complaints and Attorney Discipline
Bar Discipline: SJC Rule 4:01. Rules governing attorney discipline.
Clients' Security Board of the Supreme Judicial Court. "Board members manage and distribute the monies in the Fund to members of the public who have sustained a financial loss caused by the dishonest conduct of a member of the bar acting as an attorney or a fiduciary." Site includes information on filing a claim, including forms, as well as their rules and annual report.
How to File A Complaint, Board of Bar Overseers. Explains the process in pursuing an ethical complaint against an attorney regarding professional conduct. They also attempt assist in resolving attorney-client disputes.
Legal Fee Arbitration Board, Mass. Bar Association. The Massachusetts Bar Association Legal Fee Arbitration Board (FAB) is organized primarily to help resolve legal fee disputes between attorneys and between attorneys and their clients.