Ethics in the Key of Referrals: Playing It Smart with Clients, Co-Counsel & Solicitation

Tracy L. Kepler | CNA

Tracy L. Kepler is the Director of Risk Control for CNA’s Lawyers’ Insurance Program. In this role, she leads the lawyers’ professional liability team, is accountable for business results through delivery of risk control services and designs and develops content and distribution of risk control initiatives relevant to the practice of law. Tracy reviews and directs the evaluation and assessment of loss exposures and the application of risk control policies, guidelines, regulations, and drives the resolution of risk control issues and problems. She also collaborates with the underwriting and claims teams to develop and execute strategies for the profitable growth of the program. Tracy lectures frequently at CNA-sponsored events and at state and local bar associations and national seminars hosted by industry-leading organizations. She also writes articles focusing on law firm risk control and professional responsibility issues.

Prior to joining CNA, Tracy served as the Director of the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility (CPR), providing national leadership in developing and interpreting standards and scholarly resources in legal and judicial ethics, professional regulation, professionalism, client protection, professional liability and attorney well-being. Ms. Kepler has nearly 20 years of experience in attorney regulation as she served as an Associate Solicitor in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), where she concentrated her practice in the investigation, prosecution and appeal of patent/trademark practitioner disciplinary matters before the Agency, U.S. District Courts and Federal Circuit, provided policy advice on ethics and discipline related matters to senior management, and drafted and revised Agency regulations. She also served as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), where she investigated and prosecuted cases of attorney misconduct.

Ms. Kepler has served in various volunteer capacities, including as President, on the Board of the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), a non-profit organization of legal professionals whose members enforce ethics rules that regulate the professional conduct of lawyers who practice law in the United States and abroad. Ms. Kepler is currently an Adjunct Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, Georgetown University Law Center and Loyola School of Law (Chicago) teaching Legal Ethics. Committed to the promotion and encouragement of professional responsibility and attorney wellbeing throughout her career, Ms. Kepler has served on the ABA’s Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs, is an Advisory Board member of the Institute for Well-Being in Law and is an author of its WellBeing Report. She is also a Board Member of the Mindfulness in Law Society, the Chair of the ABA IPL Section’s Attorney Well-Being Committee and a Commissioner on the International Bar Association’s Professional Wellbeing Commission. She is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and received her law degree from New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.

I. Identify the key ethical rules (MRPCs 1.5, 1.7, 5.4, & 7.1-7.3) and professional conduct standards governing client solicitation, referrals, and co-counseling under the ABA Model Rules and relevant state regulations | 3:30pm – 3:45pm

II. Evaluate common risk scenarios involving improper solicitation, fee-splitting, and conflicts of interest in co-counsel relationships | 3:45pm – 4:00pm

III. Apply best practices for structuring referral and co-counsel agreements that align with ethical obligations and minimize liability exposure | 4:00pm – 4:15pm

IV. Recognize red flags and implement proactive risk controls to avoid disciplinary action and reputational harm when acquiring new clients | 4:15pm – 4:30pm