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No Sugar Added: The Ethics of Straight Talk (Dec. 17, 2025)

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No Sugar Added: The Ethics of Straight Talk

Some lawyers dance around the truth, hiding behind carefully crafted language and diplomatic double-speak. Others cut straight to the point—direct, honest, and refreshingly clear. This program explores how attorneys can communicate with candor while staying firmly within ethical boundaries. Professional legal educator Stuart Teicher, Esq. (the CLE Performer) examines the fine line between beneficial bluntness and harmful rudeness, showing how direct communication can actually strengthen client relationships and professional credibility.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify situations where direct communication serves clients' interests while complying with RPC 1.4's requirements for clear and prompt client communication
  • Navigate the tension between candid speech and RPC 8.4's prohibition on conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice
  • Distinguish between productive frankness and harmful incivility under RPC 8.4(d), recognizing when bluntness enhances rather than undermines professional relationships

 

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No Sugar Added: The Ethics of Straight Talk
12/17/2025 at 2:00 PM (EST)  |  60 minutes
12/17/2025 at 2:00 PM (EST)  |  60 minutes
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7 Questions
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Certificate Claim Area
US States: CA, GA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MN, MO, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, and WA
Up to 1.20 CLE credits available  |  Certificate available
Up to 1.20 CLE credits available  |  Certificate available ACC has filed directly with the following states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington. Please select you state and enter your bar number to have your certificate generate fully.
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US States: AK, AZ, CT, HI, NH, NJ, NY, ND
Up to 1.20 CLE credits available  |  Certificate available
Up to 1.20 CLE credits available  |  Certificate available ACC uses interstate reciprocity rules to grant credit in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota. Please select you state and enter your bar number to have your certificate generate fully.
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US States: AL, CO, FL, ID, IA,KY, MS, MT, NE, NV, OK, OR, PR, RI, UT, WV, WI, and WY.
Up to 1.20 CLE credits available  |  Certificate available
Up to 1.20 CLE credits available  |  Certificate available ACC has not made an application for credit in the following states: Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The certificate provided here is to aid your personal application for credit to your state regulator.
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Stuart Teicher, Esq

Stuart Teicher, Esq

Professional Legal Educator

Georgetown University Law Center

Stuart I. Teicher, Esq. is a professional legal educator who focuses on ethics law and writing instruction. A practicing lawyer for over 30 years, Stuart’s career is now dedicated to helping fellow lawyers survive the practice of law and thrive in the profession.
Mr. Teicher provides CLE instruction at stand-alone bar association seminars and law firm/legal department in-house training programs. Stuart also provides entertaining ethics programs at law firm client events and gives keynote speeches at conventions and association meetings. His highly informative seminars are delivered in a uniquely entertaining manner, earning him the nickname “the CLE Performer.”

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