Hal R. Lieberman is the Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s New York office. He is an experienced trial lawyer who concentrates his practice on the representation of lawyers and law firms in matters related to legal ethics, professional discipline, malpractice, disqualification motions, sanctions and law firm disputes.

For nearly three decades, Mr. Lieberman has focused his practice on lawyers' professional liability and ethics matters, and has helped shape the law governing lawyers. Prior to representing lawyers and law firms in private practice, he was an Assistant Bar Counsel in the Massachusetts Office of the Bar Counsel (1983 – 87), and then served for more than 13 years as Principal Trial Attorney (1987 – 89) and Chief Counsel (1989 – 98) to the Departmental Disciplinary Committee of the New York Supreme Court, First Department.

In addition to representing lawyers and law firms in the defense of these matters, Mr. Lieberman has provided expert testimony or opinions in more than 35 civil litigations involving legal ethics or legal malpractice. He was the subject of an interview in the March 25, 2011 issue of the New York Law Journal. The article, entitled “Q&A With Hal R. Lieberman,” focused primarily on Mr. Lieberman’s long experience handling legal ethics and professional liability matters, and his views on attorney discipline from the perspective of the former Chief Counsel to the disciplinary committee in New York's First Judicial Department. Mr. Lieberman holds the AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for ethics and legal ability. In 2011 he was included in “The Best Lawyers in America®” in the area of Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law. He joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in March 2004 and is a past member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Previously, he was a partner in the New York office of Edwards & Angell, LLP.

In the early years of his career, Mr. Lieberman held various positions involving legal services to the poor, including Executive Director of Central Massachusetts Legal Services, Inc. (1977 – 82) and Associate Appellate Counsel in the New York Legal Aid Society's Criminal Appeals Bureau (1974 – 77).

Mr. Lieberman has taught at a number of law schools, and was appointed to the adjunct faculty at Columbia Law School in 2007. For 13 years he taught legal ethics at Brooklyn Law School, and has served as a visiting lecturer on the topics of legal ethics and professional discipline at Harvard Law School, Fordham Law School, Hofstra Law School, Cardozo Law School and New York Law School. Mr. Lieberman has also been an Assistant Professor and Pre-Law Advisor at North Carolina Central University, and a Lecturer on Law at the University of North Carolina Graduate School of Social Work.

Mr. Lieberman is actively involved in alternative dispute forums. From 1989 to 1998, he served as a coordinator and trainer for the Complaint Mediation Panels of the Departmental Disciplinary Committee. This program, which he founded, was the first lawyer-client dispute resolution program in the United States serving as an adjunct to the professional disciplinary system. Since 1999, he has served as a Special Mediator on the Complaint Mediation Panel of the New York City Bar Association.

In 1996, Mr. Lieberman was elected to membership in the American Law Institute, and served on the members' consultative group for the Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers. He is the former Chair of the Committee on Professional Discipline of the New York City Bar; is a member of the Committee on Professional Discipline of the New York State Bar Association; a past member of the Committee on Professional Responsibility of the New York City Bar Association; a past member of the Boston Bar Association Ethics Committee; and a past member of the Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics of the New York City Bar Association where he was the principal author of N.Y.C. Formal Op. 2000-1. His professional affiliations also include membership in the New York County Lawyers' Association; the Federal Bar Council; the U.S. District Court, E.D.N.Y (Grievance Panel); and the Association of Professional Responsibility Attorneys. Mr. Lieberman has lectured widely and published numerous articles on legal ethics and professional discipline. He has provided seminars to AMLaw 100 and other large, national law firms, and has been a guest on "Law Lines," a cable television program concerned with all aspects of the judiciary and the legal profession.

His publications include:

• “New York’s Attorney Discipline System: How Much ‘Process’ is ‘Due’,” New York Law Journal, April 4, 2012.
• “New York’s Lawyer Disciplinary System – Is it Fair?” Professional Responsibility column, New York Law Journal, March 1, 2010.
• "Working Knowledge of Conflict of Interest Rules is Essential," The New York Law Journal, September 2004.
• "How to Avoid Common Ethics Problems," New York Law Journal, special supplement, October 28, 2002.
• "Private Conduct and Professional Discipline," co-authored with Richard Supple, New York Law Journal, July 23, 2002.
• "Six Clients in Search of a Lawyer: Or, Don't Take the Case," The New York Professional Responsibility Report, May 2002.
• "Disqualification Denied Again: The Amazon as Case," The New York Professional Responsibility Report, July 2001.
• "Prospective Client Perjury: A Lawyer's Dilemma," The New York Professional Responsibility Report, December 2000.
• "Do Disbarred Lawyers Have Constitutional Rights?" The New York Professional Responsibility Report, October 2000.
• "Be Aware of Ethical Witness Preparation Rules," New York Law Journal, May 25, 2000.
• “Gidatex v. Campaniello, The Anti-Contact Rule and Subordinate Employees," The New York Professional Responsibility Report, January 2000.
• "Lawyer Incivility Provokes Three-Month Suspension," The New York Professional Responsibility Report, July 1999.
• "The Future of Attorney Discipline in New York's First Judicial Department," The New York Professional Responsibility Report, February 1999.

Mr. Lieberman's many presentations include:

• “The Interface of Discipline and Law Firm Risk Management,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2012.
• “Legal Ethics: Hot Topics for In-House Counsel,” Retail Industry Leaders Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 2011.
• “Ethics, Discipline & Real World Obligations,” New York City Bar Center for CLE, New York, New York, October 2011.
• “Ethical Issues in Attorney Client Privilege and Confidentiality,” Lawline.com online CLE program, April 2011.
• “Ethical Immigration Strategies in the New Legal Environment,” The Practising Law Institute, New York, New York, April 2010.
• “Ethical Issues in the Litigation Process,” Lawline.com online CLE program, September 2008.
• “Ethics: Conflicts of Interest,” Lawline.com online CLE program, March 2007.
• “Risk Management Employment Considerations in Lawyer Termination,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2007.
• “Timely Ethical Issues,” Federal Bar Council’s Fall Bar and Bench Retreat, Lenox, Massachusetts, October 2006.
• “Ethics: Avoiding Malpractice Claims and Disciplinary Actions,” Lawline.com online CLE program, Mary 2006.
• “Dodging the Bullets: Understanding and Avoiding the New Threats to Lawyers and Law Firms,” Hinshaw’s Professional Responsibility and Risk Management seminar, New York, New York, October 2005.
• “Things I Wish I’d Known When I Became Bar Counsel,” American Bar Association 2005 National Conference on Professional Responsibility, Chicago, Illinois, June 2005.
• “Ethics for the Immigration Lawyer,” New York City Bar Association Center for Continuing Legal Education seminar, New York, New York, March 2005.
• “Law Firm Discipline: Vicarious and Supervisory Liability for Disciplinary Violations and White Collar Crime,” Hinshaw’s Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2005.
• “Ethics Overview,” Bronx County Bar Association, annually since January 2004.
• “MCLE Marathon – 2004,” Practicing Law Institute, December 2004.
• “Experts on Ethics,” The New York Law Journal, December 2004.
• “Ethics and Professionalism,” New York State Bar Association, November 2004.
• "Timely Ethics Issues,” Federal Bar Council, November 2004.
• “Legal Malpractice, Ethics and Risk Management,” seminar for The Florida Bar’s Practice Management and Development Section, October 2004.
• “Conflicts, Waivers and Billings,” Association of Corporate Counsel of America, Westchester and Connecticut Chapter, September 2004.
• “Everyday Ethical Challenges in the Practice of Law,” New York City Bar Association, September 2004.
• “What Every Attorney Must Know About Professional Liability Insurance,” New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, August 2004.

Mr. Lieberman is involved in various community service activities, including membership on the Board of Directors of the South Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation. He is also a member of the American Civil Liberties Union and a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation.