Five for Friday #284

Welcome to Friday and the 284th legal ethics quiz!

I finished this much earlier but had issues posting it.  I apologize for the delay.

Yesterday was my Aunt Kate’s birthday.  If she were still with us – she died in 2003 – she’d have turned 117.  (About how old my cousins and I thought she was when we were kids.)  Late yesterday afternoon I posted this blog in which I mentioned that I might track down some Ballantine Ale – Aunt Kate’s favorite – and go visit her grave. 

Well, that’s exactly what I ended up doing after work.  Little did I expect it to turn into such an adventure.

First, why Ballantine?

Aunt Kate wasn’t a drinker. When she did, her drink of choice was not Ballantine Ale, but half a (small juice) glass of whiskey. According to family legend, my dad and his brother, Uncle Edmund, used to drink Ballantine. Aunt Kate thought it was gross, referring to it in language that’s probably not appropriate for this blog.  Let’s just say that Aunt Kate used a two-word phrase that likened Ballantine Ale to the outflow from a skunk’s urinary tract.  Nevertheless, and for reasons that I can’t recall, it became a tradition to show up at Aunt Kate’s with Ballantine Ale.  Maybe we just wanted to get a reaction out of her? Who knows. 

Anyhow, uncertain that it’s even made anymore, I didn’t think I’d be able to find any Ballantine Ale. However, less than a minute into the Beverage Warehouse, I spotted three six-packs. I grabbed one and headed for the register.

Aside: nobody ever confused my dad or his brother for big spenders. Still, I burst out laughing when the clerk announced, “that’ll be $7.98.”   I mean, seriously dad.  What was a 6-pack in your day?  A quarter? Anyway, I paid and proceeded on my mission.

The next stop was my condo.  You see, at Beverage Warehouse, Ballantine Ale doesn’t merit a spot in the cooler. Instead, it lives on a non-refrigerated shelf along with other beers that, I now assume, the professionals know aren’t likely to interest anyone.  So, I went home and put a single bottle in the freezer.  Twenty minutes later, I was back on the road.

Holy Family Cemetery in Essex isn’t very big. Thus, while I haven’t been a regular visitor in the 20 years since Aunt Kate passed – or even a visitor – I was confident that it wouldn’t take me long to find her grave.

Alas, upon arrival, I couldn’t find “the book.”  You know the book that I mean – the one a visitor uses to find a specific grave site.  I could’ve sworn such books were standard in cemeteries.  Apparently not. Momentarily chagrined, I wrote it off as a budget issue, karmic payback for me not always chipping in during the second collection.  Then, I started my hunt for Katherine Flynn’s headstone.

My plan was simple.  At HF, every grave faces the same direction: south.  So, I walked the grid back & forth from east to west as I scanned headstones.  Two minutes later, I spotted a “FLYNN” engraving.  Mission accomplished! 

Or so I thought.

As I drew closer, here’s what I saw:

Homer and Mary Flynn are Aunt Kate’s parents, my great-grandparents.  Great to see them, but they weren’t who I’d come to have a Ballantine with.  So, after saying a prayer in which I thanked great-grandpa for not insisting that his first name be passed on, I continued to search for Aunt Kate.

Thirty minutes later I’d walked past every single headstone at least twice.  No Flynns.  This was extremely frustrating.  Not only because I couldn’t find Aunt Kate, but because I hadn’t found her brothers – Mark & Harold Flynn – who I also knew to be buried in the same cemetery.  I was not a happy camper. Yes, I’d been excited to have a beer with Aunt Kate.  However, as when she was alive, I’d been looking forward to a cheery, but short, visit.

I was also getting a bit nervous.  There are signs all over the cemetery stating that it closes at dusk. The same signs warn against bringing all sorts of items into the cemetery.  Among them, “glass.”  For example, a glass bottle of Ballantine Ale.  At this point in my career, I really didn’t need to deal with the caretaker arriving to lock the cemetery and finding me wandering around with a bottle of beer.    

Right about then is when I gave up.

A narrow drive weaves throughout the cemetery. I’d parked on it, right next to Homer & Mary’s headstone. I headed for my car, resigned to the fact that the best I’d be able to do would be to sneak a beer in the front seat while I looked at my great grandparents’ grave and hoped that Aunt Kate understood.

As I approached my car, the backside of Homer & Mary’s grave caught my eye.  There appeared to be engravings barely visible under a lot of moss and dirt. I wondered what they could be.

In my original post about Aunt Kate, I wrote how she “scrimped and saved” her whole life.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m forever thankful that she did.  She made sacrifices that continue to pay dividends today. However, little did I know that her “scrimping and saving” extended, literally, to the grave! 

That’s right.  Aunt Kate and her brothers don’t have their own graves. Their names are engraved on the back of their parents’ headstone. 

I sat down and had my beer with her.  I told her “Come on Aunt Kate!  The back??? I spent so long walking around this damned cemetery looking for you that our beer isn’t even cold anymore!!!”

And then, I sensed her start to laugh.  That beautiful laugh that causes her eyes to crinkle, shine, and even water as she laughs so hard that she almost cries. 

Why was she laughing? Because, at that moment that I sipped my beer, Aunt Kate knew that I’d realized that she’d been right all these years:

Ballantine Ale tastes really does taste like “skunk ____.”

Onto the quiz!

Rules

• None.  Open book, open search engine, text-a-friend.
• Exception:  Question 5.  We try to play that one honest.
• Unless stated otherwise, the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct apply.
• Please do not post answers as a “comment” to this post.
• E-mail answers to michael.kennedy@vermont.gov
• Team entries welcome, creative team names even more welcome.
• I’ll post the answers & Honor Roll on Monday,
• Please consider sharing the quiz with friends & colleagues.
• Share on social media.  Hashtag it – #fiveforfriday.

Questions 1 & 2

You are not required to provide the exact language that is missing. However, generally, which two of the 7 Cs of Legal Ethics properly fill in the blanks.  Yes, a different C goes in each blank.

A comment to one of the rules states:

• “This rule sets forth the special duties of lawyers as officers of the court to avoid conduct that undermines the integrity of the adjudicative process. A lawyer acting as an advocate in an adjudicative proceeding has an obligation to present the client’s case with persuasive force. Performance of that duty while maintaining ____________, however, is qualified by the advocate’s duty of __________.”

Question 3

There’s a rule that prohibits a lawyer from giving “anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services.”  The rule includes several exceptions, including one that allows a lawyer to pay ___________:

• A.  the reasonable costs of advertisements & communications about the lawyer’s services.
• B.  straight referral fees.
• C.  A & B.

Question 4:

Lawyer works at Firm.  Tomorrow, Lawyer intends to participate in a short-term legal clinic that will be put on under the auspices of a joint effort by the Vermont Bar Association and the Judiciary.  At the clinic, Lawyer will provide pro bono legal services. Neither Lawyer nor the people who Lawyer assists will have an expectation of continuing representation.

Given the circumstances, which of Lawyer’s professional duties will be somewhat relaxed?

• A.  The duty of competence.
• B.  The duty to avoid conflicts of interest.
• C.  The duty to maintain client confidences.
• D.  Trick question.  None of Lawyer’s professional duties will be relaxed.

Question 5

One of the most watched Netflix shows of the summer is about a criminal defense attorney who is loyal to a particular brand of vehicle.  The current season, which is Season 2, finds the attorney confronted with various ethical dilemmas. Indeed, episode titles from this season include The Rules of Professional Conduct, Obligations, Conflicts, and Withdrawal. 

Season 1 touched on wellness.  Early on, viewers learned that the attorney spent 18 months away from the law after becoming addicted to pain killers following a surfing accident.

The show is based on a series of novels.  Years ago, one of the novels was turned into a movie in which Matthew McConaughey played the attorney.  In the movie, McConaughey’s character confronted the ethical dilemma caused by learning that a current client actually committed the crime for which a former client was convicted.

Name the show.

Super Double Bonus: an LAPD Detective is the subject of a separate series of novels by the same author that was also adapted into a streaming show.  In the canon, the detective is the attorney’s half-brother.  Name the detective.