Shameless Repost: "Texas Tries to Cockblock Lawyers"

Sorry guys, I'm going on vacation so this is a repost from our pals at Above the Law. This is an interesting case because the lawyers who object are using the "False Rape Accusations" handbook to fight against this proposed rule. First they try to ban cowboy boots in the courtroom and now sex with clients? What the hell good is going to law school anymore? Read more below.

"Stud lawyers in Texas could have a more difficult time mating with their own clients.

Today many people made time to talk about Texas legal ethics — specifically, a proposal in front of the Texas bar that would prohibit lawyers from having sex with their clients. It’s a rule most jurisdictions have in one form or another. It’s not obvious that getting this rule enacted in Texas would be a huge problem.

But to paraphrase Louis Gossett Jr., “only two things come from Texas, steers and [a horribly anachronistic term that rhymes with 'steers'].”

Let’s deal with the steers first. It seems that the people against the new Texas Bar proposal are afraid that clients might just make up tales of affairs, and Texas lawyers — you know, people specially trained in methods of recognizing and producing evidence — will have no way to defend themselves…

The Dallas Morning News did a full report on the proposed rule, which prompted additional coverage from the ABA Journal and the WSJ Law Blog. The Dallas paper has this summary of the new rule:

As written, the rule states that lawyers (a) won’t condition representation on having a client engage in sexual relations, (b) won’t solicit sex as payment of fees and (c) won’t have sex with someone the lawyer is personally representing unless the sexual relationship is consensual and began before the attorney-client relationship began. It also excepts spouses.

Seem straightforward to you? Well, it seems like a straightforward invitation for more malpractice lawsuits, according to one Texas lawyer:" Read more by clicking here!