Dan Ebner participated on a panel entitled “Model Rules of Professional Responsibility: Adopted Model Rules – Where Do We Go from Here?” for the American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law.

The ABA House of Delegates has approved Resolution 109 to amend Model Rule 8.4 to bring into the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct an anti-harassment and anti discrimination provision. The amendment has engendered a significant amount of comment and controversy. In addition, the ABA adopted Resolution 113, which encourages all providers of legal services, including law firms and corporations, to expand and create opportunities for diverse attorneys, and for clients of legal services to assist in achieving these goals. Recent published reports indicate that women and diverse attorneys continue to be underrepresented in law firms, and these reports have proposed a number of measures to address the situation.

The panel will discuss these updates and address next steps to achieve diversity, inclusion and fairness for all in the legal profession.