Law Commons^™

The Lawyer's Duty Of Disclosure Ethics And Sarbanes-Oxley The New Conundrum For Patent Lawyers, Abraham C. Reich, Steven J. Rocci

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

The general purpose of this paper is to sensitize intellectual property lawyers to the potential impact on their practice created by Sarbanes-Oxley. At a more detailed level, and because of the unique challenges facing them, this paper addresses Sarbanes-Oxley's potential impact on patent lawyers who practice before the PTO, even when it is the patent lawyer's sole practice. To that end, this paper will highlight relevant portions of Rule 56, the relevant ethical code sections, and the pertinent considerations under Sarbanes-Oxley.

Can Negligent Referral To Another Attorney Constitute Legal Malpractice?, Barry R. Temkin

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sorting: Legal Specialization And The Privatization Of The American Legal Profession, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

Beginning in the 1950s, legal specialization was promoted to the majority of the American legal profession, small firm and solo practice lawyers, by the elite of the bar as the future of legal professionalism. Legal specialization was a form of sorting lawyers, and sorting was contrary to the traditional understanding of an undivided legal profession. Over the course of the next thirty years, this effort succeeded. This new understanding of legal professionalism emphasized the idea of competence based on a deep but particularized knowledge of law. This resulted in a slipping away of the beliefs that law was a public …

The Last Hurrah: The Kutak Commission And The End Of Optimism, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

The Client Retention Agreement - The Engagement Letter, William C. Becker

Akron Law Review

What I propose to do in this paper is to review various aspects of engagement or client retention agreements. As background, I have examined some of the forms' which are suggested for these agreements and a number of agreements currently in use by lawyers and law firms, principally in the Summit County, Ohio area. The purpose of this effort is to examine some key provisions of these agreements and, perhaps, suggest possible improvements.

Mahoning County Bar Association V. Theofilos: Fumbling For A Standard, Eric C. Cotton

Akron Law Review

Theoretically, a practicing attorney in Ohio must tailor his conduct to meet certain minimum professional standards adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court. In reality however, an attorney suddenly may find himself confronted with a disciplinary proceeding because of judicial inconsistency and ambiguity within the Code of Professional Responsibility. In Mahoning County Bar Ass 'n v. Theofilos, the Ohio Supreme Court faced an issue representative of "borderline" conduct. Unfortunately, the court sidestepped this timely opportunity to provide some much-needed guidance for the legal profession. In Theofilos, the attorney knew a client only four months before drafting a will for …

The Agony Of Modern Legal Ethics, 1970-1985., Michael Ariens

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

When the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted its Code of Professional Responsibility at its annual meeting in August 1969, the American legal profession was a publicly respected and economically vibrant body. Lawyers, though always more feared than loved, became increasingly important in post-World War II America. The demand for their services exploded for a quarter-century, and lawyers assumed an increased role in the economic and political life of the United States. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the Cold War led American lawyers and other public figures to re-emphasize the rule of law as defining the difference between the United …

The Agony Of Modern Legal Ethics, 1970–1985, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

When the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted its Code of Professional Responsibility at its annual meeting in August 1969, the American legal profession was a publicly respected and economically vibrant body. Lawyers, though always more feared than loved, became increasingly important in post-World War II America. The demand for their services exploded for a quarter-century, and lawyers assumed an increased role in the economic and political life of the United States. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the Cold War led American lawyers and other public figures to re-emphasize the rule of law as defining the difference between the United …

The Virtues And Limits Of Codes In Legal Ethics, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

In the absence of codified standards of ethics, the ethical quality of law practice would degenerate into inconsistency and unpredictability. The presence of an ethics code can unduly burden and limit the practice of law. However, ethics codes should not be thought of as tools to ensure the law is practiced humanely. Instead, they should be viewed as attempts to ameliorate the impediments to a humane practice and to call lawyers to that goal.

Tom Schaffer, a scholar and professor of Ethics at Notre Dame, lamented the fact that the codification of standards of attorney conduct could induce lawyers to …

Professional Responsibility In Appellate Practice: A View From The Bench, Roger J. Miner '56

Law Practice

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Professional Responsibility, James M. Mccauley, Michael L. Rigsby

University of Richmond Law Review

On October 18, 1996, the Virginia State Bar Council (Council) approved a change in the format of the Code of Professional Responsibility (Code) from canons, disciplinary rules, and ethical considerations to the Model Rules of the American Bar Association (Model Rules). The first twenty-one rules, Model Rules 1.1 through 2.5, were approved in substance with some amendments at the Council's meeting on June 19, 1997. This approval represents approximately one-third of the conversion from the Code to the Model Rules. The second installment of the conversion was approved by Council at its October 1997 meeting. Notwithstanding Council's approval of this …

Settling In New York: Abdicating Traditional Agency Principles In The Context Of Settlement Disputes, Dean C. Harvey

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rediscovering The Republican Origins Of The Legal Ethics Codes, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

Many commentators wrongly assume that the hired gun ideal is the foundation of our legal ethics codes. This article explains that this assumption is based on an historical mistake that has consequences for interpreting the modern codes. Judge George Sharswood, the nineteenth century scholar whose work provided the basis for the 1908 A.B.A. Canons of Ethics, had a republican conception that rejected the adversarial ethic in favor of a more nuanced conception that combined loyalty to clients with a thick obligation to the public good that both bounded client representation and required lawyers to provide political leadership. Although the emphasis …

The Long Process Of Change: The 1990 Amendments To The New York Code Of Professional Responsibility, Marjorie E. Gross

Fordham Urban Law Journal

“The purposes of this Article are to describe the significant changes to the 1970 (New York) Code (of Professional Responsibility) and to give a firsthand account of the amendment process. Part I explains the process by which the Appellate Divisions adopt Disciplinary Rules promulgated by the New York State Bar Association. Part II discusses the specific amendments to the 1970 Code which became effective September 1, 1990. Part III summarizes the overall results of the amendments to the Code. “The principal changes reflected in the 1990 Code include: making a lawyer subject to discipline for unlawfully discriminating in the practice …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Professional Responsibility, Timothy M. Kaine

University of Richmond Law Review

This year, like many years, has been marked by increasing public concern over legal ethics. Public attention has been drawn to lawyers' participation in scandals such as the misuse of funds by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the collapse of the savings and loan industry, and numerous ethical breaches by members of Congress.

Professional Ethics Opinion 89-1, Propriety Of Non-Lawyer Employees' Names On Letterheads And Business Cards, David F. Forte

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

A lawyer or law firm may include on its letterhead and business cards the names and titles of its nonlawyer employees, so long as the letterhead or business card describes such employees as nonlawyers.

Lawyers As Officers Of The Court, Eugene R. Gaetke

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Lawyers like to refer to themselves as officers of the court. Careful analysis of the role of the lawyer within the adversarial legal system reveals the characterization to be vacuous and unduly self-laudatory. It confuses lawyers and misleads the public. The profession, therefore, should either stop using the officer of the court characterization or give meaning to it. This Article proposes certain modifications of the existing rules of professional responsibility that would bring lawyers' actual obligations more in line with those suggested by the label of officer of the court.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Professional Responsibility, Michael L. Rigsby

University of Richmond Law Review

All lawyers licensed in Virginia must adhere to the Disciplinary Rules (DRs) and principles codified in the Virginia Code of Professional Responsibility. The ethical precepts contained therein constitute the bedrock upon which the notion of professionalism is based. It distinguishes Virginia lawyers as members of a learned profession. Unfortunately, all lawyers do not accept the ethical responsibilities which come with the privilege of licensure. For those instances in which a lawyer strays from his ethical tethering, the Supreme Court of Virginia has devised a procedure for investigating complaints of lawyer misconduct and, where appropriate, imposing discipline.

The Duty To Criticize The Courts (Ii), Roger J. Miner '56

Judges

No abstract provided.

A Uniform Rule Governing The Admission And Practice Of Attorneys Before United States District Courts, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

The increase in the interstate and international practice of law necessitates a review of the rules governing the admission of attorneys to practice before federal district courts. By virtue of the sweep of their jurisdictional net, federal district courts are likely to be the fora for litigating most interstate or international disputes. The present rules, based upon the antiquated notion that lawyers only rarely practice law in federal district court, and then only in the federal district court located in the state in which they practice, do not address this change in the practice of law.

For these reasons, a …

Attorney Advertising—Constitutional Right To Advertise In Print Media, Daniel L. Parker

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Fall And Rise Of Professionalism, Thomas D. Morgan

University of Richmond Law Review

In recent years, there has been an increasing concern among lawyers that the legal profession may be declining in "professionalism." Professionalism is not a self-defining term; indeed, it is greatly overused today. There are professional football players, professional models and even professional wrestlers. The question, then, is what it means to be a professional for purposes of trying to decide whether lawyers are more professional or less professional than before. Although several definitions might be offered, I would assert that traditional professions seem to have at least three attributes.

The Virginia Code Of Professional Responsibility, Roderick B. Mathews

University of Richmond Law Review

The purposes of my comments are to: (1) outline the historical development of the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) in the organized bar in the United States; (2) summarize the important differences between the Virginia Code of Professional Responsibility (Virginia CPR) and its predecessor in Virginia; (3) discuss the reasons for the most significant of those changes; and (4) compare the important differences between the American Bar Association model adopted in August 1983 (the Kutak Model) and the Virginia CPR. For the sake of brevity, I will make no reference to the multiple editorial revisions in the Virginia CPR which …

Legal Ethics In The Bid Rigging Cases, Anthony F. Troy

University of Richmond Law Review

As a member of the Bar, one can never be too conscious of the ethical duty owed to the client, to the system of justice, and to the general public. Members of the public are viewing the legal profession with increasing skepticism. Even the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court recently asked rhetorically whether the decline in the public standing of attorneys is the product of a general impression that our profession is lax in dealing with incompetent or dishonest lawyers. Ethical issues arise in many settings. This article will focus mainly on the ethical issues which arise …

Solicitation And The Uncertain Status Of The Code Of Professional Responsibility In Kentucky, Eugene R. Gaetke

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Solicitation And The Uncertain Status Of The Code Of Professional Responsibility In Kentucky, Eugene R. Gaetke

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In 1969 the Kentucky Supreme Court adopted the American Bar Association's Code of Professional Responsibility as the disciplinary rules binding upon attorneys practicing in the state. The Court adopted the Code as an apparent attempt to provide the Kentucky bench and bar the certainty and guidance offered by a codification of the frequently subjective and occasionally nebulous body of law known as legal ethics. The Court used particular language in its rule adopting the Code, however, which renders uncertain the precise status of the Code in Kentucky. As a result, a conscientious practitioner in Kentucky cannot confidently look to the …

Professional Responsibility Issues In International Law Practice , Roger J. Goebel

Faculty Scholarship

The present Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) is essentially geared to guide the conduct of the lawyer as advocate or litigator. It is certainly of assistance to the American international lawyer in establishing guidelines for his conduct, but only of limited assistance since the international lawyer usually serves more as an advisor to, or negotiator for, his clients. In contrast, the recent ABA draft Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) provide a more useful basis for examination of the international lawyer's ethical responsibilities, as they do in many respects for the corporate or commercial lawyer who assists domestic clients in …

The Corporate And Securities Adviser, The Public Interest, And Professional Ethics, Simon M. Lorne

Michigan Law Review

It is the thesis of this Article that we, as a society, need to make deliberate decisions about the proper role of the corporate adviser, and, when that function has been defined, to develop a structure within which it can be performed. As the Article makes clear, the logical choices involve what might be described as either revolutionary change or reactionary change. That is, the current trends should either be accelerated or reversed; the present situation is intolerable. While the author will contend that the case for shifting into reverse is more persuasive, getting into a gear, and out of …

Attorney Misappropriation Of Clients' Funds: A Study In Professional Responsibility, Gregory Dunbar Soule

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The legal profession has initiated disciplinary processes and clients' security funds in order to achieve certain objectives. This article will delineate these objectives and evaluate whether they have been satisfied. Moreover, it will propose additional goals that the legal profession, given its present status as a self-regulating profession, should attain in satisfying its responsibility for governing the professional conduct of its members. Finally, additional measures that several states have instituted in order to complement the efforts of disciplinary agencies and clients' security funds by fulfilling unsatisfied needs of professional responsibility will be examined.

Attorneys' Problems In Making Ethical Decisions, Edwin Greenebaum

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.