This program is eligible for 1 hour of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 1.2 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
Overview
If you are interested in how the regulation of Pennsylvania attorneys works, defending attorneys before the Disciplinary Board, serving as a Hearing Committee Member, or learning how the Rules of Professional Conduct are promulgated, administered and enforced in Pennsylvania, this program will suit your needs, while providing an enjoyable and convenient ethics credit!
Join Ellen C. Brotman and Amy J. Coco, two experienced ethics attorneys, as they discuss the attorney disciplinary process in Pennsylvania and review local and national developments in professional responsibility and ethics.
Chief Disciplinary Counsel Thomas J. Farrell joins Brotman and Coco for a year-end “updates and hot takes” discussion on developments at the Disciplinary Board, including:
- Priorities for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in the coming year.
- How Covid and remote work has changed the practice of law and how the disciplinary system has responded to those changes.
- Important cases of 2024 and important disciplinary issues before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The webcasts will be informative, educational, and interactive as the panel discusses the ins and outs of defending attorneys and how the system’s structure, precedent and policies influence their strategic choices.
Recorded in September 2024.
Faculty
Ellen C. Brotman, Esq.
Ms. Brotman is the founder of Brotman Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her practice focuses on professional responsibility, and ethics, investigations, white collar criminal defense and appellate advocacy. Ms. Brotman has represented lawyers before the Disciplinary Board of Pennsylvania for over 20 years and has defended a wide variety of white-collar crimes involving complex trial, sentencing and appellate issues. Prior to starting Brotman Law, Ms. Brotman was a partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, where she defended criminal cases in federal courts, oversaw investigations, and represented professionals in state disciplinary proceedings. From 1995 to 1998, as an assistant federal defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Ms. Brotman provided criminal defense for indigent clients in federal court at trial and appellate levels. Before coming to Philadelphia, Ms. Brotman served as a law clerk to Hon. Lee P. Gagliardi, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York. Ms. Brotman is a frequent writer and speaker on the subjects of criminal defense and professional responsibility related matters. She is also a member of the board of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a past member of the board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Brotman sits on the Professional Guidance Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Ms. Brotman has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Pennsylvania SuperLawyers for over ten years and, in 2014 was one of the Legal Intelligencer’s Women of the Year. Ms. Brotman is Chair of the Board of the People’s Emergency Center Foundation in Philadelphia, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of homeless families.
Amy J. Coco, Esq.
Amy Coco is a shareholder at the Pittsburgh law firm of DiBella Weinheimer, where she has focused her practice on Professional Responsibility for more than 30 years. She represents lawyers, judges, and law students in matters involving ethics, licensure, professional responsibility, risk management, and law practice management counseling. Amy is the current President of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) and previously served six years on its Board of Governors. Within the ACBA, she has chaired the Nominating Committee and By-Laws Committee, the Professional Ethics Committee (where she continues to serve as a Duty Officer), and the Lawyers Insurance Committee. She has also served on the Council of the Solo and Small Firm Section and chaired subcommittees within the Women in the Law Division. At the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Amy is Co-Chair of the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. She served as the PBA’s Woman At Large Governor (2021–2024) and chaired its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Team from 2022 to 2024. She is also the Director of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s Incubator Program, mentoring lawyers as they establish solo practices. In addition, she is a member of the Washington County, Philadelphia County Bar Associations, as well as the American Bar Association and its Center for Professional Responsibility and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). A frequent lecturer and writer on professional liability, diversity and inclusion, and ethics issues, Amy has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law since 2024 and has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer annually since 2018. In 2022, she was recognized as one of Pittsburgh’s Top 50 Lawyers. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1994, and her B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University Bloomington in 1989.
Thomas J. Farrell, Esq.
Thomas J. Farrell was appointed Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the Attorney Disciplinary Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2020. In this role he oversees disciplinary counsel and other staff throughout the four disciplinary districts in the Commonwealth. Before his appointment, Mr. Farrell was law clerk to the Honorable Gustave Diamond of the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania; a public defender in Brooklyn, NY; an Assistant United States Attorney in Pittsburgh; and or twenty-years a lawyer in a small-firm private practice active in complex civil and criminal matters, handling cases ranging from capital murder to public corruption and complex white-collar crimes, the defense of lawyers and doctors, whistle-blower cases, and appearances before Congressional committees which were investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. He is the author of Criminal Defense Tools and Techniques (James Publishing 7th ed. 2017), and co-author of the Third Circuit Criminal Handbook (Matthew Bender, Rev. Ed. 2018) as well as numerous professional articles on ethics and criminal practice and procedure. He sits on the boards of non-profit organizations which aim to assist citizens returning from prison in their re-entry. He teaches Professional Responsibility as an adjunct professor at the Thomas R. Kline Duquesne University School of Law. Mr. Farrell received his B.A. degree from Yale University and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

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