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Legal Profession

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Susan S. Fortney

Selected Works

Peer review

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Am I My Partner's Keeper? Peer Review In Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney Jul 2015

Am I My Partner's Keeper? Peer Review In Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney

Susan S. Fortney

This article explores the concept of peer review in the practice of law. The article begins with an introduction to law partners’ liability exposure for the acts or omissions of their law partners. The article explains how this exposure has traditionally been approached as vicarious liability and how the government is attempting to transform these issues into direct liability by using failure to monitor claims. Part I briefly reviews perspectives on the emergence, growth, and structure of law firms, then uses a matrix to show how firm culture and organizational structure affect internal and external controls on attorney conduct. Part …


Are Law Firm Partners Islands Unto Themselves? An Empirical Study Of Law Firm Peer Review And Culture, Susan Saab Fortney Jul 2015

Are Law Firm Partners Islands Unto Themselves? An Empirical Study Of Law Firm Peer Review And Culture, Susan Saab Fortney

Susan S. Fortney

This article examines how attitude and law firm culture affect peer review and principal accountability by using empirical data obtained from a survey of Texas law firms. Part I briefly describes the research design and the general profiles of respondents of the survey. Part II discusses the peer review measures used by the firms surveyed for this article. Part III analyzes attitudes about peer review. Part IV focuses on the obstacles to peer review. Part V considers the connection between firm culture and the implementation of peer review measures. Finally, the conclusion explains how firm managers can reshape attitudes to …