Law Commons^™

Can A Religious Person Be A Big Firm Litigator? , Amelia J. Uelmen

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay takes on the challenge of describing some of the ways in which values often defined as "personal" or "religious" can be integrated into the practice of law at a large firm. Part I describes some of the aspects of big firm practice that make it particularly difficult to integrate religious and personal values which may give meaning to one's work. Part II suggests that such meaning can be found through a religious vision of what it means to be a person, which includes a sense of obligation to serve the common good. Part III explores how this concept …

Friends Of The Court? The Ethics Of Amicus Brief Writing In First Amendment Litigation, Allison Lucas

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article explores the ethics of writing amicus briefs as they relate to defamation and privacy issues by focusing on two specific cases, Rice v. Paladin and Khawar v. Globe, International. It begins with a history of amicus curaie briefs, followed by a discussion of the two cases. In Paladin, a family sued a publishing company arguing that a book it published aided and abetted a murder. In Khawar, a photo was wrongly placed in a book and was subsequently printed in a newspaper. In both cases, amicus briefs were submitted on the part of the defendants from large media …

Foreword To Symposium On "Should The Family Be Represented As An Entity?": Reexamining The Family Values Of Legal Ethics, Russell G. Pearce

Seattle University Law Review

This symposium on whether the family should be represented as an entity marks another milestone in the development of legal ethics as a field central to understanding the operation of law in our society, and not merely as a set of dry, largely irrelevant rules. It does so by acknowledging that ethical rules of lawyers who represent families have very real consequences for those families. Building on earlier efforts to address this topic, this symposium's authors confront what some commentators have described as the individualist impulse of the ethics codes and whether this impulse is beneficial or harmful to families.

The Morality Of Choice: Estate Planning And The Client Who Chooses Not To Choose, Janet L. Dolgin

Seattle University Law Review

The Symposium focuses around two hypotheticals. The question posed about each-whether it is ethical for an estate lawyer to represent spouses, one of whom chooses subservience to the interests of the other-provokes discussion of a broad set of concerns about the scope and meaning of the contemporary family, and about the appropriate parameters of legal representation of family members.

Family Matters: Nonwaivable Conflicts Of Interest In Family Law, Steven H. Hobbs

Seattle University Law Review

The hypotheticals prepared for this special symposium issue ask if a lawyer can provide legal services to a family when one family member yields major decision-making authority to another family member. At stake is the disposition of significant individual and family assets. The traditional model of legal representation would require each family member to have an advocate protecting and promoting his or her individual interests while negotiating a reasonable accommodation of the other family members' interests. The challenge presented by the hypotheticals is whether an attorney can simultaneously represent apparent multiple interests without violating ethical provisions.

Love Among The Ruins: The Ethics Of Counseling Happily Married Couples, Teresa Stanton Collett

Seattle University Law Review

This Article explores the professional tension experienced by lawyers when clients embrace an ideal of marriage as "the two shall become as one," in a legal system that has repudiated this understanding in favor of the "reality" of marriage as an association dedicated to the individual fulfillment of the man and woman involved. Part II describes the three purposes of estate planning that define the parameters of any proposed representation. Estate planning lawyers assist clients in minimizing taxes, directing gifts to particular beneficiaries, and insuring the continuing care of loved ones. The decision to accept or reject proposed representation often …

Dependency And Delegation: The Ethics Of Marital Representation, Naomi Cahn, Robert Tuttle

Seattle University Law Review

The two hypotheticals for this symposium concern a lawyer who is asked to represent a married couple in which one spouse would like to cede decision-making authority to the other. As we have examined the lawyer's ethical responsibilities, we have identified two distinct, but conceptually related, issues of legal ethics. The first, a threshold question, deals with the nature of marital representation: May a lawyer simultaneously represent both husband and wife? And if so, how should the representation be structured? The second adds an additional layer of complexity: If a lawyer represents both husband and wife, may the lawyer accept …

The Future Of Legal Services: Legal And Ethical Implications Of The Lsc Restrictions - Address: The Future Of Legal Services, Alexander D. Forger

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This address focuses on what is the future of legal services? There will always be the ability to provide legal services for many of those in need. We are never going to reach all eligible clients or resolve all their problems. But it is essential to keep pressure on the federal government to play its essential role. How can it walk away from all of the mandates in our fundamental documents and leave it to charity to assume access to justice? There could be no more nobler cause with which to be associated, and no more dedicated and heroic figures …

The Future Of Legal Services: Legal And Ethical Implications Of The Lsc Restrictions - Foreword, Steven Epstein, Eric B. Fields, Jack E. Pace Iii, Staci Rosche

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article seeks to address issues of lawyering under Legal Services Corporation (LSC) restrictions . We organized the conference as part of Fordham's Advanced Seminar in Ethics and Public Interest Law. We comprised a student working group in the class who worked to organize the conference with the Legal Aid Society and the Stein Center for Ethics and Public Interest Law. The conference, held on May 30, 1997, brought together practitioners, academics, and law students to discuss the delivery of legal services under the federal restrictions. In the remarks that follow, participants address the issues germane to lawyering under the …

The Future Of Legal Services: Legal And Ethical Implications Of The Lsc Restrictions - Constitutional Issues Panel, Matthew Diller

Fordham Urban Law Journal

There have been three lawsuits brought that deal with these constitutional issues, two challenges to the Regulations and one opposition to a motion to withdraw, which was the VarshavskyI case that Valerie Bogart talked about. The decision in the Varshavsky case is outside. There is also a preliminary injunction decision from the case brought in Hawaii,2 of which Steve Shapiro is one of the counsel, and that decision is outside. And then, still pending is a decision on a preliminary injunction motion in a case called Velasquez,3 which was brought in the Eastern District of New York. Here to address …

The Future Of Legal Services: Legal And Ethical Implications Of The Lsc Restrictions - Ethics Issues Panel, Russell G. Pearce

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This panel focuses on the ethical issues relating to the restrictions, and speakers include Helaine Barnett, Emily Sack, Steve Ellmann and Stephen Gillers.

Self-Inflicted Wounds: The Duty To Disclose Damaging Legal Authority, Angela Gilmore

Cleveland State Law Review

This article analyzes Rule 3.3(a)(3) and its implications for opposing parties in an adversarial legal system. The article's conclusion is that strict compliance with Rule 3.3(a)(3) by all members of the Bar is necessary to preserve the integrity of the legal system. Circumvention of the Rule is a disservice to the legal system. Part II explains Rule 3.3(a)(3) so that lawyers can grasp the ethical duty owed. Part III examines three roles simultaneously played by a lawyer: a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system, and a private citizen having a special responsibility for the quality of justice.7 …

Lawyers, Learning, And Professionalism: Meditations On A Theme, Judith Welch Wegner

Cleveland State Law Review

This essay will offer three meditations on the theme of "lawyers, learning and professionalism." First, it lays a foundation by arguing that a commitment to learning is an appropriate and necessary professional value for lawyers. Next, it contends that lawyers need to take this professional value more seriously. It will suggest that lawyers lag behind other professions in learning about learning, and urge more lawyers deliberately do just that. Finally, the essay shares some important lessons about professionalism recently learned through learning experiments with practicing lawyers and law students.

Review Of: The Genetic Frontier: Ethics, Law, And Policy (Mark S. Frankel & Albert Teich Eds., American Association For The Advancement Of Science 1994), Suzanne A. Sprunger

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: The Genetic Frontier: Ethics, Law, and Policy (Mark S. Frankel & Albert Teich eds., American Association for the Advancement of Science 1994). Acknowledgments, appendix, contributors, figures, index, introduction, notes, references, tables. LC 93-37230, ISBN 0-87168-526-4. [260 pp. Paper $22.95. 1333 H St., NW, Washington DC 20005.]

The Ethics Of Criminal Defense, William H. Simon

Michigan Law Review

A large literature has emerged in recent years challenging the standard conception of adversary advocacy that justifies the lawyer in doing anything arguably legal to advance the client's ends. This literature has proposed variations on an ethic that would increase the lawyer's responsibilities to third parties, the public, and substantive ideals of legal merit and justice.

With striking consistency, this literature exempts criminal defense from its critique and concedes that the standard adversary ethic may be viable there. This paper criticizes that concession. I argue that the reasons most commonly given to distinguish the criminal from the civil do not …

Legal Developments: Ethics In Government Federal Advisory Committees, Foreign Conflicts Of Interest, The Constitution, And Dr. Franklin's Snuff Box, Gerald S. Schatz

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Big Black Man Syndrome: The Rodney King Trial And The Use Of Racial Stereotyes In The Courtroom, Lawrence Vogelman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Rodney King was portrayed as the prototypical "Big Black Man". Having recognized the existence of the Big Black Man Syndrome as a factor in the Rodney King Case, what are the moral and ethical implications of allowing defense counsel to so cleverly play upon the racial fears they evidently recognized? The issue is whether the use of racist arguments by defense counsel in a criminal trial is unethical. This essay explores the ethical consideration that come into play where a trial advocate is faced with a case where racism, homophobia, or ethnic prejudice is part of the courtroom dynamic.

State Of New York Temporary State Commission On Local Government Ethics Final Report

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The New York Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics was constituted in 1987 in response to several ethics scandals in New York City government. The commission was tasked primarily with aiding local governments in evaluating and revising their own ethics standards, and with proposing new municipal ethics legislation for the State of New York. The commission's proposal for local ethics reform rested on the propositions that most local officials are honest and ethical; that local governments are heavily dependent on volunteers; that local government ethics must be enforced at the local level; that ethics rules must be reasonable, sensible, …

Keeping The Faith: A Model Local Ethics Law - Content And Commentary, Mark Davies

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Investigations by the New York Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics has revealed serious problems in local government ethics laws. While in large part local officials behave ethically, due to lack of adequate guidance provided by existing local ethics rules, these officials are often perceived as acting unethically. The commission's investigations reveals a long list of commonplace activities by local officials that, while questionable, do not technically violate existing local ethics standards. The Model Local Ethics Law proposed by the commission, which was not seriously considered by the State legislature, would do much to clarify the bounds of ethical …

Financial Arrangements In Class Actions, And The Code Of Professional Responsibility, Daniel J. Capra, Thomas W. Jackson, John Koeltl

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Rules of Professional Conduct impose various restrictions relating to attorney fees and the payment of litigation costs, which are designed to preserve the lawyer's role as a zealous but objective advocate. Class actions stand apart from other kinds of litigation in that they are designed to promote efficiency by their combining like claims into single actions, and individual justice by their vindicating claims that if taken individually might not be economically viable. In light of these special concerns, the courts have carved out several exceptions to ordinary attorney's fees, litigation expense, and disbursement rules that they routinely apply to …

Personal Values And Professional Ethics, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

My purpose on this occasion is to urge reexamination of personal values as a fundamental resource of professional ethics. The essential point is that rules of ethics, such as those embodied in the profession's ethical codes, are insufficient guides to making the choices of action that a professional must make in practice. I will suggest that the same is true of professional tradition and conventional ways of practice. This is not to say that rules of ethics and traditions are irrelevant. Rules of professional ethics frame the ethical problems that are encountered in a lawyer's life throughout practice. Moreover, professional …

Not Virgin Enough To Say That (S)He Occupies The Place Of The Other -Jacques Derrida, Glas, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Proving Your Case - Evidence And Procedure In Action, Christopher Finlayson

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should A Jury Say What It Believes Or What It Accepts?, L. Jonathan Cohen

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Crossing The Bridge To Secular Law: Three Models Of Incorporation, Jeffrey I. Roth

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Exporting Cigarettes: Do Profits Trump Ethics And International Law?, Robbie D. Schwartz

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent years, United States cigarette manufacturers have focused their efforts on foreign markets, especially Asia, Eastern Europe, and Third World states. This Note examines the impetus behind the manufacturers' strategy, as well as the ethical and legal conflicts it creates.

The increase in United States cigarette exports results from a decline in the United States market, favorable market conditions abroad, and United States legislation that encourages foreign trade. While cigarette manufacturers point to the positive impact tobacco has on the United States economy, others argue that increased exportation inevitably will result in catastrophic health consequences worldwide. This Note explores …

Integrity And Ethical Standards In New York State Government: Final Report To The Governor, New York State Commission On Government Integrity

Fordham Urban Law Journal

September 1990 letter from the New York State Commission on Government Integrity to Governor Mario M. Cuomo. “This letter constitutes the final report of the Commission on Government Integrity. The Commission was created by Executive Order 88.1 and directed to examine a wide variety of subjects concerning government integrity in New York State. Since its inception, the Commission has submitted 20 reports containing specific recommendations for reform of New York laws, regulations and procedures. Some of these recommendations can be implemented by executive order; others require action by the New York State Legislature. Most of the recommendations would impose no …

Foreword: Legal Ethics And Government Integrity, Cyrus Vance

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This foreword addresses "the need to uphold and maintain a high level of integrity in both the legal profession and in government." The author discusses the roles of self-regulation and ethical standards for ensuring integrity in the legal and governmental fields. "Public trust and confidence in lawyers and government officials alike require that members of each group strive to maintain the highest ethical standards. This issue of the Urban Law Journal contributes to our thinking about the need for and problems of preserving both government and professional integrity."

Reflections On Chairing The New York State Commission On Government Integrity, John D. Feerick

Fordham Urban Law Journal

"The New York State Commission on Government Integrity (Commission) was born from a sense of crisis. A series of corruption scandals in New York State, involving officials at all levels of government, produced widespread cynicism and distrust of government and created a perception that unethical, if not illegal, practices were rampant throughout the State. The scandals implicated borough presidents of New York City, political party chairmen, municipal officials, members of the State Legislature, judges and a host of other officials." Following the New York State Commission on Government Integrity's final report to Governor Mario Cuomo in September 1990, Chairman John …

Restoring The Public Trust: A Blueprint For Government Integrity, New York State Commission On Government Integrity

Fordham Urban Law Journal

September 1990 report of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity calling for "sweeping reforms to our laws to safeguard the public sector from the pressures brought to bear by private sector special interests and to reduce the temptation of officials to abuse their trust." In this "blueprint," the Commission identified several aspects of state government requiring legal and ethical reform, including: - campaign finance contribution limits, disclosure requirements, the public funding option, and ineffective enforcement by the State Board of Elections; - political influence in the judicial selection process; - limitations of the Ethics in Government Act; - …