INSIDE COMPLIANCE

The legal profession has long emphasized a standard of professional responsibility. These rules have been “uniformly” applied to all licensed attorneys in the country. In practice, however, the realities of firm size can create what appears to be a two-tier system of professional responsibility. Large law firms operate under intense regulatory, reputational, and insurance oversight, while small firms and solo practitioners are often equipped with fewer resources which can expose them to disciplinary scrutiny more easily. These dynamics shape the ethical landscape of the legal profession.