Legal Ethics and Malpractice

“Kaiser has the pedigree of a large firm – smart attorneys with outstanding credentials and vast legal experience – but it provides one-on-one attention like you would get from a small firm.” – The Legal 500

We represent clients in legal ethics and malpractice cases. There are two kinds of work we do in this area.

First, we help lawyers.

We help and advise lawyers with how to comply with their legal obligations and their professional lives. Our lawyers have represented lawyers who are departing law firms or where law firms are dissolving. We have advised lawyers who are forming new law firms. And we’ve helped lawyers understand what their ethical obligations are as they practice law.

Second, we help clients.

We believe that when a client has a dispute with her lawyer, that client deserves representation too. We represent clients in malpractice claims against their prior lawyers. If a lawyer makes a mistake, it shouldn’t be the client who pays the price.

Both kinds of cases require that we understand the specialized and evolving laws and regulations that govern the professional responsibility obligations of lawyers.

Matt Kaiser leads this practice group and is experienced with the unique challenges and law associated with this practice. Matt routinely advises lawyers, law firms, and legal services organizations about legal ethics issues. He has also served as an expert witness on questions of legal ethics and litigated legal malpractice cases, both defending law firms and bringing claims against them. Matt Kaiser is active locally and nationally in the professional responsibility community. He is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches legal ethics. He is the former Chair of D.C.’s Board on Professional Responsibility, a nine-member board charged with administering DC’s attorney discipline system by the D.C. Court of Appeals. He also serves on committees relating to legal ethics with both the D.C. Bar and the American Bar Association.

Bill Zapf represents and counsels clients in cases where their lawyers have either committed malpractice or breached their fiduciary duties to the client. With deep experience as a civil litigator, he is adept at both negotiating favorable resolutions for clients who have been wronged or taking a case the distance in litigation. He has also represented lawyers accused of wrongdoing, both in disciplinary cases and government investigations.

Bill Pittard is an experienced civil litigator who has represented lawyers – and other professionals – in civil cases alleging that they have violated their duties to their clients.  And he has represented clients seeking justice for the harm caused by professionals who violated those duties.  As the former Acting General Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, Bill has a particular experience advising on compliance with legal ethics responsibilities in the government setting.

Law 360 – “Handling Corporate Congressional Probes In The Trump Era” co-authored by Bill Pittard

Law360 – “The Latest On Sexual Harassment Reform On The Hill” by Bill Pittard

Matt Kaiser Publishes Op-Ed for The Washington Post: Lawyers: DeVos is bringing due process to campus sexual assault cases

Law 360 – “When Russia Investigations Collide” by Bill Pittard

Matt Kaiser Co-Authors Op-Ed in Los Angeles Times: Absurdity Reigns in Campus Sexual Assault Trials.

Matt Kaiser Guest Blogs on Washington Legal Foundation The Legal Pulse: Overcriminalization Timeline: Mens Rea, Public Welfare Offenses and Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine

Matt Kaiser Co-Authors Editorial in the Los Angeles Times: How to Punish Campus Sexual Assault

Matt Kaiser Publishes an Editorial in The Washington Times: Being an Executive is not a Crime

Matt Kaiser Publishes Editorial in LA Times: Why It’s Unfair for Colleges to Use Outside Investigators in Rape Cases.

Matt Kaiser Co-Authors Op-Ed in the National Law Journal: The DOJ’s Crackdown on White-Collar Crime Creates ‘Cruel Alternative’

Matt Kaiser Publishes Op-ed in The Weekly Standard: The Campus Sex Scene: How Congress Can Make It Worse

Matt Kaiser Co-Authors Op-ed in The Washington Post: We’ve defended lots of campus sexual assault cases, so we know just how unfair they are

Matt Kaiser Publishes Editorial in Baltimore Sun: A Minimum of Reform

Matt Kaiser Co-Authors Op-Ed in San Diego Union-Tribune: California Bill Won’t Solve Sexual Assault Problem on Campus

Matt Kaiser Publishes Op-Ed in Boston Herald: College Courts Flunks Fairness Test

Matt Kaiser Publishes an Article for Time Magazine: Some Rules about Consent are “Unfair” to Male Students”

Matt Kaiser Publishes an Editorial in the Wall Street Journal: The White House Flunks a Test on Sexual Assault

Matt Kaiser Co-Authors Opinion for The Wall Street Journal: The White House Flunks a Test on Sexual Assault

Matt Kaiser Co-Authors a Letter to the Editor in the New York Times: The Rights of the Accused

Media Coverage
Matt Kaiser Quoted In Bloomberg News Article

Should I sue my lawyer? — Matt Kaiser

Would a law firm I want to sue most likely want to settle, rather than go public? — Matt Kaiser