Law Commons^™

The Lawyer's Role In A Contemporary Democracy, Tensions Between Various Conceptions Of The Lawyer's Role, Statesman Or Scribe? Legal Independence And The Problem Of Democratic Citizenship, Aziz Rana

Aziz Rana

No abstract provided.

The Folklore Of Legal Biography, Mark Fenster

Mark Fenster

This essay reviews Spencer Weber Waller's recent biography of the legal realist Thurman Arnold (NYU Press 2005). Arnold's academic and popular writings during the 1930s - which not only critiqued what he saw as the foolishness and ill effects of legal formalism and political conservatism, but also recognized the symbolic authority of legal forms and conservative beliefs and the need for any reform movement to respect and appropriate them - force us to reconsider the entire project of legal biography. Arnold's life and work reveal the ways in which the forces of modernity - forces that Arnold celebrated in his …

Admitting Foreign-Trained Lawyers In States Other Than New York: Why It Matters, Laurel S. Terry

Laurel S. Terry

The Responsibilities Of Lawyers For Their Clients’ Misstatements And Omissions To The Securities Market In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan

Wai Yee WAN

This article examines the extent to which lawyers advising on the disclosure documents of their clients issued to the securities markets should be responsible for their clients’ disclosure failures. It identifies the following problems with the current framework. First, there is a lack of objective due diligence standards which lawyers are expected to meet when they are advising on public disclosure documents. Second, except for takeovers, lawyers are not subject to public enforcement actions even if they have not acted with due care and diligence in ensuring that their clients comply with their disclosure obligations. Third, private enforcement actions against …

The Monopoly Myth And Other Tales About The Superiority Of Lawyers, Leslie C. Levin

Leslie C. Levin

The legal profession’s control of much of the market for legal services is justified by the claim that only licensed lawyers can effectively and ethically represent clients. This article challenges that claim. A review of a number of studies suggests that experienced nonlawyers can provide competent legal services in certain contexts and in some cases, can seemingly do so as effectively as lawyers. There is also little evidence that lawyers’ legal training, the bar admission requirements, or lawyers’ psychological characteristics make them more trustworthy than nonlawyer legal services providers. The article considers some recent initiatives, such as Washington’s approval of …

A Vast Image Out Of Spiritus Mundi: The Existential Crisis Of Law Schools (Book Review), Jeremiah A. Ho

Jeremiah A. Ho

Review of Teaching Law: Justice, Politics, and the Demands of Professionalism. By Robin L. West. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. 2014. Pp. 246. Cloth, $90; paper, $32.99.

Crisis Regulation, James E. Moliterno

James E. Moliterno

The article presents information on the regulation of crisis in legal profession. It reflects on the legal profession of the U.S. that has engaged in regulatory reform in response to crisis. It explains that a few changes in the status quo may lead legal profession to react to crisis and discusses it with the help of immigration in the twentieth century, Watergate and globalization. It states that with the wake of the Watergate revelations there is an increase in the crisis in legal profession.

A Golden-Age Of Civil Involvement: The Client-Centered Disadvantage For Lawyers As Law Makers, James E. Moliterno

James E. Moliterno

None available.

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

Samuel J. Levine

No abstract provided.

Symposium Introduction: Humanism Goes To Law School, Marjorie A. Silver

Marjorie A. Silver

By now, the knowledge that law students experience more than their fair share of distress is old news. The studies about law student (and lawyer) unhappiness have been widely discussed in both academic literature and trade publications. Less well known, however, are the increasing number of programs that law schools, and individuals within those schools, have implemented to counter that distress,and to help students develop a positive professional identity,both as students and as the lawyers they are about to become.

Dean’S Message, Lawrence Raful

Lawrence Raful

No abstract provided.

Law Of The Land – Year In Review, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

This column reviews trends and interesting cases in land use law as reported on “Law of the Land” during the last half of 2007. “Law of the Land” is a blog created to be of interest to land use lawyers, planners, developers, professors, and students. The blog is updated daily with a review of a recent land use case decided by a state or federal court. In addition, the site has reported on relevant gubernatorial executive orders, offered book reviews, and occasionally starts a discussion on current events issues, such as climate change and has led to robust debate about …

Reflections On Team Production In Professional Schools And The Workplace, Robert J. Rhee

Robert Rhee

No abstract provided.

Teaching Legal Ethics In A Program Of Comprehensive Skills Development, James E. Moliterno

James E. Moliterno

No abstract provided.

Broad Prohibition, Thin Rationale: The Acquisition Of An Interest And Financial Assistance In Litigation Rules, James E. Moliterno

James E. Moliterno

No abstract provided.

Lawyer Creeds And Moral Seismography, James E. Moliterno

James E. Moliterno

No abstract provided.

The Lawyer As Catalyst Of Social Change, James E. Moliterno

James E. Moliterno

No abstract provided.

Rectifying Wrongful Convictions: May A Lawyer Reveal Her Client's Confidences To Rectify The Wrongful Conviction Of Another? (A Roundtable Discussion Of The Aba's Standards For Criminal Litigation), James E. Moliterno

James E. Moliterno

None available.

A Study Of The Relationship Between Bar Admissions Data And Subsequent Lawyer Discipline, Leslie C. Levin, Christine Zozula, Peter Siegelman

Leslie C. Levin

The research reported here uses information from the admissions files of lawyers admitted to the Connecticut bar from 1989 to 1992 to compare those who were disciplined with those who were not disciplined. It analyzes information reported during the bar admissions process that may predict later lawyer misconduct including, inter alia, prior criminal history, problem credit history, prior employment history, academic misconduct, substance abuse, and psychological history. The study reveals that many of the responses on the admissions application are statistically associated with an elevated risk of future discipline. Nevertheless, these variables nevertheless make very poor predictors of subsequent misconduct. …

"Talkin' 'Bout Law's Generations: An Empirical And Jurisprudential Investigation Into The Reading Of Legal Cases By Different Generations Of Lawyers", Marett Leiboff

Marett Leiboff

The Australian TV comedy quiz show, Talkin’ ‘bout your generation, pits the knowledge of three different teams of generations against each other. Like a highlystrung game of trivial pursuit, the show’s comedy darkly exposes the speed with which knowledge, language and meaning is lost and misinterpreted across and between generations. This pilot study, Talkin’ ‘bout law’s generations takes its cue from its namesake, by discovering if legal interpretation is similarly affected. But the character of legal interpretation being explored is not uni-dimensional, and is instead exploring if (and how) social, political, historical and linguistic knowledge is deployed by its interpreters. …

Politics At The Boundary: Mixed Signals And The Chinese State, Rachel E. Stern, Kevin J. O'Brien

Rachel E. Stern

In this conceptual essay, the authors argue that one way to understand the Chinese state is to view it from below, from the perspective of people advocating change. The authors’ “state reflected in society” approach is illustrated with accounts of Chinese lawyers, journalists, and NGO leaders who operate at the boundary of the acceptable and are attentive to signals about what the authorities will tolerate. Their experiences suggest that mixed signals about the limits of the permissible is a key feature of the Chinese state. Beyond a number of well-patrolled “forbidden zones,” the Chinese state speaks with many voices and …

Social Networking And Land Use Planning And Regulation: Practical Benefits, Pitfalls And Ethical Considerations, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

This article explores how social networking sites have been used or might be used in the land use context. Part I focuses on the use of social networking for land use planning and zoning. It includes a discussion of the pros and cons of the use of social networking sites to present public information and to gather public input and invite general participation in the process, as well as to provide notice to the public of forthcoming government decision-making. This section offers concrete examples of how this technology is currently being used in the land use context. Part II focuses …

Super Women Lawyers: A Study Of Character Strenghs, Patricia Snyder

Pat Snyder

The legal profession has relatively high rates of depression and career dissatisfaction. It has been suggested that positive psychology, which correlates the greater use of individual character strengths with increased life satisfaction and success, may have the answers. In this study, 17 women lawyers named to a top lawyers list compiled by the Super Lawyers rating service, took the online Brief Strengths Test, a 24-question version of the 240-question online Values in Action – Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) and 16 participated in interviews probing the extent of their strengths use both personally and professionally. As predicted, the study found that …

Why Context Matters, Lynn Mather, Leslie C. Levin

Leslie C. Levin

No abstract provided.

How Markets Work: The Lawyer's Version, W. Mark C. Weidemaier, Mitu Gulati

W. Mark C. Weidemaier

Rehabilitating Lawyers: Perceptions Of Deviance And Its Cures In The Lawyer Reinstatement Process, Bruce A. Green, Jane Moriarty

Jane Campbell Moriarty

State courts’ approach to lawyer admissions and discipline has not changed fundamentally in the past century. Courts still place faith in the idea that “moral character” is a stable trait that reliably predicts whether an individual will be honest in any given situation. Although research in neuroscience, cognitive science, psychiatry, research psychology, and behavioral economics (collectively “cognitive and social science”) has influenced prevailing concepts of personality and trustworthiness, courts to date have not considered whether they might change or refine their approach to “moral character” in light of scientific insights. This Article examines whether courts should reevaluate how they decide …

Misbehaving Lawyers: Cross Country Comparisons, Leslie C. Levin

Leslie C. Levin

Lawyer misbehavior occurs in every country and regulators often struggle to address it effectively. This article looks at six case studies of disciplined lawyers in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It notes the similarities in the cases and to disciplined lawyers previously described in case studies in the United States. In particular, these case studies involved male lawyers predominantly working in solo or small firms who were insufficiently exposed to positive professional values early in practice. They were willing to lie to achieve their goals and were motivated, at least in part, by money. The …

Legal Services Lawyers And The Influence Of Third Parties On The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Some Thoughts From Scholars, Practitioners, And Courts, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

Among the challenges facing the lawyer who renders legal services to clients with limited means are ethical and professional questions relating to the influence of third parties on the lawyer-client relationship. Although all lawyers may potentially face ethical dilemmas involving third parties, legal services lawyers are particularly vulnerable to such issues because, unlike most lawyers, legal services lawyers generally rely on the financial support of someone other than their client. These challenges may take many forms, affecting a variety of ethical and professional considerations. Levine examines a number of areas in which bar association committees, scholars, and courts have addressed …

Legal Services Lawyers And The Influence Of Third Parties On The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Some Thoughts From Scholars, Practitioners, And Courts, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

Among the challenges facing the lawyer who renders legal services to clients with limited means are ethical and professional questions relating to the influence of third parties on the lawyer-client relationship. Although all lawyers may potentially face ethical dilemmas involving third parties, legal services lawyers are particularly vulnerable to such issues because, unlike most lawyers, legal services lawyers generally rely on the financial support of someone other than their client. These challenges may take many forms, affecting a variety of ethical and professional considerations. Levine examines a number of areas in which bar association committees, scholars, and courts have addressed …

Lawyers: Why We Are Different And Why We Are The Same: Creating Structural Incentives In Large Law Firms To Promote Ethical Behavior - In-House Ethics Counsel, Bill Padding, And In-House Ethics Training, Ronald D. Rotunda

Ronald D. Rotunda

No abstract provided.