Total Credits: 1 CLE, 1 Ethics
Using a fun and interactive hypothetical format, faculty will discuss common ethics issues arising from law firm websites and social media accounts, online marketing tools, responding to online criticism, litigation issues, and a lawyer’s personal social media.
Chair:
Meredith Vivona, Ethics Counsel, State Bar of Arizona
Faculty:
Natalia Polukhtin, Global Practice
Lynda Shely, Rosing Pott & Strohbehn
Meredith Vivona, Ethics Counsel, State Bar of Arizona
Lynda C. Shely, is a shareholder in Klinedinst PC in Phoenix, Arizona, where she provides legal ethics and Alternative Business Structure (ABS) law firm regulatory advice to lawyers and law firms. She advises firms on all legal ethics topics including fees, conflict waivers, advertising, trust accounts, ethical use of technology, and staff supervision obligations. Lynda was the 2020 – 2023 chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, an Arizona Delegate in the ABA House of Delegates, and currently volunteers with several other nonbillable groups including as a member of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Alternative Business Structures Committee, the Arizona Supreme Court’s Steering Committee on AI and the Courts, the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Regulation, and the State Bar of Arizona Ethics Advisory Group. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the National ABS Law Firm Association, and the Scottsdale Bar Association and has been an adjunct professor at all Arizona law schools, teaching professional responsibility. Previously she was the Director of Lawyer Ethics for the State Bar of Arizona and had her own solo practice for 21 years. Prior to moving to Arizona, Lynda was an attorney with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, DC. Lynda received her BA from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA and her JD from Catholic University in Washington, DC. She has received several awards for her contributions to the legal profession including most recently the 2022 Maricopa County Bar Association Member of the Year Award, the 2023 Maricopa County Bar Hall of Fame, and the 2024 AWLA Sarah Herring Sorin Award.
Natalia Polukhtin, attorney at Global Practice (Scottsdale, AZ), specializes in business and investment immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories. Native to Moscow, Russia, Natalia earned her graduate and undergraduate degrees from Moscow State University before obtaining a law degree from Mercer University School of Law. She is currently admitted to practice in Arizona and Georgia. Natalia is a recipient of several professional awards, including Top 25 EB5 Attorneys and recognition from IIUSA. She is a Member of the Ethics Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and a long-standing member of the Executive Council of the Immigration Law Section of the State Bar. Natalia published multiple articles on topics of employment-based immigration in trade and professional publications.
Meredith L. Vivona is the Ethics Counsel for the State Bar of Arizona, where she advises lawyers through the Ethics Hotline, presents ethics related CLE programs, acts as legal advisor to the Fee Arbitration Program, serves on the Ethics Advisory Group and acts as liaison to the Arizona Supreme Court’s Attorney Ethics Advisory Committee. Prior to becoming Ethics Counsel, Meredith served as Practice Management Attorney for Practice 2.0 and the Trust Account Helpline, the State Bar’s confidential practice management and trust account advice program. Before joining the State Bar of Arizona, Meredith served as Independent Bar Counsel, investigating and prosecuting misconduct allegations brought against attorneys, when the Lawyer Regulation Office had a conflict. Part of Meredith’s responsibilities included serving as Acting Disciplinary Counsel for the Commission on Judicial Conduct where she investigated and resolved judicial misconduct complaints. Before serving as IBC, Meredith enjoyed a varied career in private practice, with experience in civil litigation matters throughout the state. Meredith is admitted to practice in Arizona and the U.S. District Court for the State of Arizona. Meredith received her Juris Doctor from Wake Forest Law School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.