Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct and Discussion Group Etiquette (for the ICLE Community)

Thank you for being part of the ICLE Community.  By accessing the ICLE Community, you agree to adhere to this Code of Conduct and Discussion Group Etiquette.

The ICLE Community is a learning community where lawyers can discuss topics relevant to their practice with each other.  The Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) does not actively monitor this site for inappropriate postings or undertake editorial control of postings.  ICLE does not check the content in the Community for accuracy or edit it.  The user assumes all responsibility for determining the reliability of the information provided.  These services and information do not constitute legal advice, and their use is not a substitute for a lawyer’s or a law firm’s independent professional judgment.

However, if an inappropriate posting is brought to ICLE’s attention, ICLE may remove the material or suspend or terminate the user’s access to the ICLE Community.

Rules of Conduct

  1. You must be a lawyer (licensed to practice law in Michigan or another jurisdiction) to participate in the ICLE Community. ICLE reserves the right to invite a few nonlawyer experts to participate in the ICLE Community to share their expertise. Selected ICLE nonlawyer customer service staff will also have access to the Community. 
  2. These rules of conduct apply to all content in the ICLE Community, whether comments, discussion, blogs or other material. 
  3. You must post under your own name. ICLE encourages you to add your photo to your profile. A photo is not required, but “avatars”, logos or “icons” in place of a photo are not allowed. 
  4. All posts must be civil. This is a learning community of your colleagues. 
  5. Do not disclose confidential client information, and avoid potential conflicts of interest. 
  6. Do not use or post any disparaging, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, or obscene language or material.
  7. Do not engage in political discussion. This includes taking positions on political issues or candidates. Avoid topics that may have some legal relevance but may be perceived by your colleagues as political. 
  8. Respect copyright. Do not copy or reproduce significant portions of copyrighted materials owned by others unless you have the owner’s permission or it is permitted by the law of fair use. By posting material, you represent that your post adheres to this rule. 
  9. Do not post messages that encourage or facilitate users to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct that could reasonably be interpreted as illegally restricting free trade. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate and not allowed: prices or fees, discounts, terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers. 
  10. Do not post commercial messages on any discussion group, blogs, shared docs area, or other area where others might see it. If you recommend a product or service provider, you must disclose any personal interest or relationship you have with the product or service that might be interpreted as a conflict of interest. 
  11. Do not copy or post material (including posts, blogs, comments, and materials) from the ICLE Community outside the Community. Lawyers must feel comfortable discussing topics relevant to their practices or the profession. 
  12. Do not use the blogs or discussion groups to directly solicit clients or business. You may, however, include your contact information and a link to your website in your posts. Avoid including your biography in posts; instead, put biographical information in your profile.
  13. ICLE reserves the right to delete or modify any message for any reason, including violation of these rules or failure to follow discussion group etiquette. ICLE also reserves the right to suspend or terminate Community access to any user who does not abide by these rules and etiquette. 

Discussion Group Etiquette

  • Do your own legal and factual research before asking a question. The Community is not a substitute for checking the court rules or statutes, and you’ll quickly annoy others if you try to use it this way. 
  • Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate Groups. Do not spam several Groups with the same message. 
  • Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name and firm name. 
  • State the topic of your comments concisely and clearly in the subject line. This allows others to respond appropriately to your posting and makes it easier to search the archives by subject. 
  • Correct errors in a comment quickly and, if appropriate, modify an earlier comment to clarify that you have corrected an error. 
  • Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the Group.” Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a Group. 
  • Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals—not to the entire Group. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link to the left of every message." 
  • If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the Group and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings. 
     

Disclaimer; Limitation of Liability

The ICLE Community is provided as a service for ICLE Partners who are practicing lawyers. ICLE is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site. ICLE disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by ICLE or any third party; this disclaimer includes implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. ICLE (including ICLE's employees, officers, agents, sponsoring organizations, and contributors) is not liable for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage resulting from errors or omissions in postings and material in the ICLE Community or any interruption in providing access to the Community. ICLE is not liable for any direct, special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages of any kind arising in connection with the use of the Community. Your use of the Community constitutes your agreement to release ICLE and its members from all liability for the same. THESE SERVICES AND INFORMATION DO NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, AND THEIR USE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A LAWYER’S OR A LAW FIRM’S INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.