Highway to the Danger Zone: A Romantic Comedy of Love and Ethics

The Honorable Lee Yeakel IP Inn of Court held its sixth CLE-approved meeting of this Inn year on February 21, 2019 at The Headliner’s Club in Austin. The program for the meeting was Highway to the Danger Zone: A Romantic Comedy of Love and Ethics and included four ethics-based legal presentations paired with four vignettes inspired by four romantic comedies implicating the ethical issues discussed in the legal presentations, all in a Top Gun wrapper and rounded out with live musical performances. Specific issues discussed included the distinction between federal and state approaches to the rules of professional behavior, the obligation of confidentiality, conflicts of interest, ex parte communications, the duty of candor, the duty to report misconduct, the very real challenge presented by alcohol abuse within the profession, and the features of approved peer assistance programs that make them uniquely effective. The overarching message of the presentation was to remind attorneys that the rules of professional conduct are a starting point for ethical behavior, not an ending point, and that an attorney’s conscience may well demand more than the rules do. Special thanks to Veritext for their videography services and Alice in Pearls for their assistance in the live musical performances.