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Full-Text Articles in Law
A Study Of Tax Lawyers Discussing Duties, Michelle M. Kwon, Michael Hatfield
A Study Of Tax Lawyers Discussing Duties, Michelle M. Kwon, Michael Hatfield
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This Article reports the first qualitative empirical study of U.S. tax lawyers. We interviewed women lawyers who were tax planning specialists. Though this is the first such study of U.S. tax lawyers, this methodology has been used often to study the professional ethics of other tax practitioners around the world. We had three research questions that we sought to answer through dynamic conversations on topics such as the distinctions between good and bad tax plans and good and bad tax lawyers and also the joys and stresses of tax practice. Our first research question was as to the make-up of …
Judicial Rhetoric & Lawyers' Roles, Samuel J. Levine
Judicial Rhetoric & Lawyers' Roles, Samuel J. Levine
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Notwithstanding the rich scholarly literature debating the proper roles of lawyers and the precise contours of lawyers’ ethical conduct, as a descriptive matter, the American legal system operates as an adversarial system, premised in part upon clear demarcations between the functions of different lawyers within the system. Broadly speaking, prosecutors have the distinct role of serving justice, which includes the duty to try to convict criminal defendants who are deserving of punishment, in a way that is consistent with both substantive and procedural justice. In contrast, private attorneys have a duty to zealously represent the best interests of their clients, …
Foreword To The Conference: The Law: Business Or Profession? The Continuing Relevance Of Julius Henry Cohen For The Practice Of Law In The Twenty-First Century, Samuel J. Levine
Foreword To The Conference: The Law: Business Or Profession? The Continuing Relevance Of Julius Henry Cohen For The Practice Of Law In The Twenty-First Century, Samuel J. Levine
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No abstract provided.
Behavioral Legal Ethics, Jean R. Sternlight, Jennifer K. Robbennolt
Behavioral Legal Ethics, Jean R. Sternlight, Jennifer K. Robbennolt
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Complaints about lawyers’ ethics are commonplace. While it is surely the case that some attorneys deliberately choose to engage in misconduct, psychological research suggests a more complex story. It is not only “bad apples” who are unethical. Instead, ethical lapses can occur more easily and less intentionally than we might imagine. In this paper, we examine the ethical “blind spots,” slippery slopes, and “ethical fading” that may lead good people to behave badly. We then explore specific aspects of legal practice that can present particularly difficult challenges for lawyers given the nature of behavioral ethics - complex and ambiguous ethical …
Financiers As Monitors In Aggregate Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Financiers As Monitors In Aggregate Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
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This Article identifies a market-based solution for monitoring large-scale litigation proceeding outside of Rule 23’s safeguards. Although class actions dominate the scholarly discussion of mass litigation, the ever increasing restrictions on certifying a class mean that plaintiffs’ lawyers routinely rely on aggregate, multidistrict litigation to seek redress for group-wide harms. Despite sharing key features with its class action counterpart—such as attenuated attorney-client relationships, attorneyclient conflicts of interest, and high agency costs—no monitor exists in aggregate litigation. Informal group litigation not only lacks Rule 23’s judicial protections against attorney overreaching and self-dealing, but plaintiff’s themselves cannot adequately supervise their attorneys’ behavior. …
Drawing The Ethical Line: Controversial Cases, Zealous Advocacy, And The Public Good: Foreword, Lonnie T. Brown
Drawing The Ethical Line: Controversial Cases, Zealous Advocacy, And The Public Good: Foreword, Lonnie T. Brown
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Are lawyers handling controversial matters justified in being myopically fixated upon achieving their client's or the state's objectives, whatever the costs? Or is there a point at which the interests of the system or perhaps even the public must take precedence, requiring that unbridled zeal and loyalty take a backseat? Such fascinating questions were skillfully examined during the 10th Annual Legal Ethics and Professionalism Symposium, "Drawing the Ethical Line: Controversial Cases, Zealous Advocacy, and the Public Good." The published remarks and the articles that follow provide a glimpse into the difficult ethical line-drawing that was engaged in by a distinguished …
Introductory Note: Symposium On Lawyering And Personal Values – Responding To The Problems Of Ethical Schizophrenia, Samuel J. Levine
Introductory Note: Symposium On Lawyering And Personal Values – Responding To The Problems Of Ethical Schizophrenia, Samuel J. Levine
Scholarly Works
In recent years, legal practitioners and scholars alike have identified a growing crisis in the legal profession. Increasingly, lawyers feel dissatisfied with the roles they are expected to play and the conduct demanded of them. In particular, many lawyers see a widening gap between their personal values and those employed in legal practice. In response to the dichotomy between personal and professional values, some lawyers attempt to develop a corresponding dichotomy in their personalities, separating the “professional self” from the “personal self.” Such a response, however, may lead to a kind of “ethical schizophrenia,” a condition in which an individual …
Ethical Considerations In Medicaid Estate Planning: An Analysis Of The Aba Model Rules Of Professional Conduct, Eleanor Crosby Lanier, Ira M. Leff
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.