On October 8, 2025, ECBAWM Partner, Hal Lieberman will be speaking on a bar discipline panel sponsored by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Boston College Law School. For more information on the event, please see the blurb below or click this link here.

“Sword or Shield? Bar Discipline in a Polarized Era:

The Rappaport Center panel will examine the use of attorney disciplinary complaints as a tool for upholding the rule of law.  Against the backdrop of recent high-profile cases in Massachusetts and nationally, the discussion will explore how the profession enforces its own ethical standards and where the line lies between zealous advocacy and misconduct.  Do ethics complaints in high-profile or politically charged cases protect the integrity of the legal system and preserve public trust?  Or do they chill advocacy and weaponize ethics rules for political ends?  By bringing together experts from enforcement, defense, and non-profit or advocacy, the panel aims to shed light on the strengths and limits of this accountability mechanism, and to consider its role in safeguarding democracy in times of political, disciplinary, and institutional strain. “