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Reports on the loss of civility among lawyers in the United States. Personal and professional camaraderie; Promulgation of codes of civility; Public views of the legal process; Insinuations and accusations; Leadership by example.

Presents advice on courtroom conduct for lawyers. Tips on body language; Factors to consider when addressing the judge; Tips on introducing exhibits.

Discusses situations in which the lawyer enmeshed in the intricacies of litigation should take the blame and accept responsibility. Helping of the witness; Witness control; Talking to the judge; Talking to the jury; Controlling the damage.

The article presents discussion on the conduct of judges and lawyers. District judge Verla Sue Holland and district attorney Thomas S. O'connell Jr. are mentioned of being in intimate relationship for years. Both were involved in the criminal case where Charles Dean Hood was found guilty of murder and was awarded death sentence. Hood's lawyer stayed the scheduled execution on the basis of the relationship. The article discusses the guidelines required for disqualification of judges.

The article focuses on the legal and ethical implications of creating a case-specific website in the U.S. It notes that legal ethicists and marketers expressed their concerns regarding such sites saying that they could violate professional conduct and that using the site as a marketing tool is unsuitable for a lawyer. It mentions professor Jack Sammons who said that the site has a negative effect on the legal conversation.

The article provides information on the top ten ethics traps for lawyers, presented by "ABA Journals." Some of these ethics traps might seem a bit arcane, while others obvious. But according to experts, lawyers in all practice fields fall into them regularly, sometimes with disastrous effects. Lawyers should consult the specific professional conduct rules that apply in their own jurisdictions. Each trap was researched and written by Stephanie Francis Ward, a legal affairs writer at the ABA Journal.

This article explains that in a recent opinion, the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility indicated that ethics rules give lawyers some leeway in what they say during the course of negotiations. But the committee also cautioned that there is an ethical line a lawyer may not cross. Formal Opinion 06-439 dates April 12, 2006 focuses primarily on the application of Rule 4.1, which is Truthfulness in Statements to Others of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct to lawyers negotiating on behalf of clients. Rule 4.1 states that a lawyer may not, in the course of representing a client, knowingly make a false statement of material fact or law to a third person.

Reveals the activity of Myrna Gay Parrish, a temporary court reporter in the Muskogee courtroom of Special District Judge Farley Ward, during a hearing for a multiple-defendant drug manufacturing case in September. Observation of Joe Denney, public information officer for the Haskell County Sheriff's Department, on the people in the courtroom; Actions taken by the sheriff's department when a bystander noticed that Parrish smelled of alcohol; Effect of the incident on the case.

Reports on the effort of the American Bar Association to review its Model Code of Judicial Conduct to address changes in the justice system. Need to address issues on how judges should deal with pro se litigants; Approaches to domestic relations or drug abuse cases; Regulation of judicial speech.

Presents the view of civil court judge Chancellor Bob Lowery of De Queen, Arkansas with respect to his objection over the wearing of Mickey Mouse T-shirts to his courtroom.

Focuses on the lawyers' courtesy creed under review at the Texas Supreme Court in September 1989 to address abusive litigation practices. Lawyers' tactics targeted by the creed; Components of the creed; Provisions dealing with lawyers' professional relationships.