Law Commons^™

Our House, Our Rules: The Need For A Uniform Code Of Bankruptcy Ethics, Nancy B. Rapoport

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This article argues that there should be a separate code of professional responsibility for lawyers in bankruptcy cases.

The Need For New Bankruptcy Ethics Rules: How Can "One Size Fits All" Fit Anybody?, Nancy B. Rapoport

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Short discussion why dormant, temporary, actual conflicts (DTACs) in bankruptcy cases can't be handled appropriately under state ethics rules.

Turning The Microscope On Ourselves: Self-Assessment By Bankruptcy Lawyers Of Potential Conflicts Of Interest In Columbus, Ohio, Nancy B. Rapoport

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This article attempts to devise an appropriate instrument to determine whether bankruptcy lawyers in Columbus, Ohio are able to identify potential conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases. Although the article is unable to develop an appropriate instrument, it does discuss why the survey method is not appropriate for this type of study.

Has The Dip's Attorney Become The Ultimate Creditors' Lawyer In Bankruptcy Reorganization Proceedings?, Nancy B. Rapoport, C. R. Bowles

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This article discusses the issues facing the lawyer for the estate in a bankruptcy case. It debunks the idea that the lawyer for the estate represents any single constituency, and it tries to redefine the fiduciary duties that the estate lawyer has to the bankruptcy estate.

Ethics: Is Disinterestedness Still A Viable Concept? A Roundtable Discussion, Nancy B. Rapoport

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The transcript of a panel discussion about disinterestedness among Prof. John D. Ayer, the Hon. Charles N. Clevert, the Hon. Joel Pelofsky, Bettina Whyte, and Nancy B. Rapoport.

Avoiding Judicial Wrath: The Ten Commandments For Bankruptcy Practitioners, Nancy B. Rapoport

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This article describes the top ten duties for bankruptcy lawyers. 1. Know the purpose(s) of the Bankruptcy Code. 2. Know the facts and the law. 3. Spend time crafting your arguments. 4. Don't lie (about conflicts of interest or about controlling law). 5. Be respectful (of other lawyers, of the system, and of other participants in the system). 6. Don't indulge your client's sleazy instincts. 7. Don't escalate a conflict unnecessarily. 8. Honor your calendar. 9. Keep your client informed. 10. Don't whine.

Seeing The Forest And The Trees: The Proper Role Of The Bankruptcy Attorney, Nancy B. Rapoport

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This article discusses the tension between the lawyer's duty to her client and her duty to the legal system as an officer of the court. It concludes that, in a situation in which those two duties conflict, the lawyer's duty to the system as a whole should trump the duty to the client.

Courage In The Holocaust, Lawrence Raful

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No abstract provided.

Ethics, The Legacy Of The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., And The Movement Toward Environmental Justice, Beverly Mcqueary Smith

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No abstract provided.

Ethical Considerations In Medicaid Estate Planning: An Analysis Of The Aba Model Rules Of Professional Conduct, Eleanor Crosby Lanier, Ira M. Leff

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The purpose of this article is to provide a starting point for discussion of ethical issues related to the practice of Medicaid estate planning. The authors explore the history of attorney involvement in planning and financing long-term care. They also analyze how the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct address the ethical dilemmas that arise in practice, using a case study to illustrate some of these issues. The individual authors' perspectives on this practice differ with respect to certain issues. One is a former Legal Services lawyer, and the other has a private practice which focuses on Medicaid estate planning.

Turning And Turning In The Widening Gyre: The Problem Of Potential Conflicts Of Interest In Bankruptcy, Nancy B. Rapoport

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This article is the first in a series of articles discussing the problem of conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases. It argues that the traditional means for discovering and handling conflicts of interest - based on state-law ethics rules - fundamentally misconceives the problem in a bankruptcy context. State law ethics rules presume that the parties are always in static positions; in bankruptcy law, alliances shift all the time. The article proposes a possible method of handling potential conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases.

International Judicial Assistance, Christopher L. Blakesley

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The general or even specialized practitioner faces serious difficulties as the world shrinks and the practice of law frequently transcends international boundaries. In the civil and commercial arena, issues of discovery and service of documents abroad, others relating to judicial assistance from foreign courts, available to American courts or individual litigants, and assistance available from American courts for foreign governments and individual litigants, can be mindboggling. In an age where transnational litigation (that is, domestic litigation that touches upon one or more foreign jurisdictions) is rapidly increasing, counsel could be guilty of malpractice if counsel takes action abroad that proves …

Review Of Christopher F. Mooney, Public Virtue: Law And The Social Character Of Religion (1986), Leslie C. Griffin

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No abstract provided.

Reflections On Identity, Diversity And Morality, Deborah W. Post

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The author reflects over events in her life that helped her define herself and her ethical identity, a black woman teacher.

Rehnquist, Recusal, And Reform, Jeffrey W. Stempel

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In September 1986, the Senate confirmed William H. Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the United States by a vote of 66 to 33, an unusually close vote for a successful Supreme Court nominee. Although Justice Rehnquist’s elevation from Associate to Chief Justice engendered substantial criticism because of his judicial philosophy, past political activity, and possible views on race relations, the most serious threat to his nomination arose from his decision fifteen years earlier to sit and cast the deciding vote in a Supreme Court case in which many questioned both his impartiality and his candor. That Justice Rehnquist's role in …

The Emperor Gideon Has No Clothes: The Empty Promise Of The Constitutional Right Of Effective Assistance Of Counsel, Richard Klein

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No abstract provided.

Why Lawyers Should Be Allowed To Advertise: A Market Analysis Of Legal Services, Jeffrey W. Stempel

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In Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, a 1977 decision, the United States Supreme Court overturned the American Bar Association's (ABA) sixty-nine-year-old prohibition of advertising by lawyers. The Bates holding invalidated comprehensive bans on lawyer advertising but left unsettled the scope of permissible regulation. While the Bates Court found attorneys' price advertising to be protected speech under the first amendment, it also stated that false and misleading advertising could be prohibited. The majority expressly declined to consider the problems of advertising claims relating to the quality of legal services.

The organized bar's reaction to Bates has been hesitant and inconsistent. …

False Or Suppressed Evidence: Why A Need For The Prosecutorial Tie, Ronald L. Carlson

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Many United States Supreme Court decisions have overturned criminal convictions for the reason that the government employed false evidence to obtain the conviction or failed to disclose relevant evidence important to the defense. In reversing federal or state judgments, the Court often has located direct proof of wrongdoing by the prosecutor. The notorious "bloody shorts" case is an example in point.' There, the state introduced as evidence a pair of men's "blood-stained" undershorts to achieve conviction of the accused. When the blood turned out to be red paint, the Supreme Court granted habeas corpus relief to the defendant because "[it …