In Re Anonymous Member of the South Carolina Bar

As the result of our consideration of an attorney disciplinary matter in which an attorney was charged with commission of misconduct based on alleged discovery abuse, for the benefit of the bar we take this opportunity to address a senior attorney’s duty to supervise junior attorneys and attorney conduct in depositions.

I. Rule 407, SCACR, Rule 5.1 1

A. Overview of Rule 5.1

Rule 5.1 2 governs the responsibilities of partners and lawyers who, directly or indirectly, supervise other lawyers. Attorneys in South Carolina do not have “vicarious liability” 3 for the ethical violations of other…