Law Commons^™

Lawyers And The Lies They Tell, Bruce A. Green, Rebecca Roiphe

Faculty Scholarship

The law holds lawyers to a more demanding standard of conduct than others when it comes to aspects of their fiduciary relationships with courts and clients. For instance, states can sanction lawyers for some speech inside a courtroom that would be protected if uttered by a non-lawyer. This Article explores whether lawyers’ free speech rights should also be different from those of other speakers when lawyers, acting on their own behalf, participate in political discourse. Applying the current First Amendment framework, the authors question the bar’s assumption that, simply because lawyers are subject to rules of professional conduct, courts can …

Choosing Which Rule To Break First: An In-House Attorney Whistleblower’S Choices After Discovering A Possible Federal Securities Law Violation, Naseem Faqihi

Fordham Law Review

The early twenty-first century has seen several instances of large-scale federal securities law violations—such as Enron, WorldCom, and the Bernie Madoff scandal—that have garnered widespread attention and heavily impacted the global economy. In each of these cases, whistleblowers tried to expose the underlying fraud. These and other scandals led to the enactment of new laws to protect whistleblowers who seek to expose these kinds of violations.

In-house attorneys are in a special position to discover, understand, and expose their organization’s federal securities violations. However, should in-house attorneys discover misconduct, and when deciding whether or not to take action, they must …

Religious Lawyering's Second Wave, Russell G. Pearce, Amelia J. Uelmen

Faculty Scholarship

Since the mid-1990s, the "religious lawyering movement" has expanded dramatically, receiving greater attention within the academy and the bar. As the movement enters what we term its "second wave" of development, this essay begins with a look back to its "first wave" of path-breaking scholarship and its gradual shift toward more institutionalized structures and programs. It argues that the predominant characteristic of first-wave religious lawyering scholarship was to claim a space within the professional conversation for lawyers to bring religious values to bear on their work. The essay then predicts that in the second wave religious lawyering conversations and scholarship …

Religious Lawyering In A Liberal Democracy: A Challenge And An Invitation William A. Brahms Lecture On Law & Religion, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

At a time when many believe that law is no longer a noble profession, many lawyers see no reason to devote time and energy to promoting the public good. Religious lawyering may offer a powerful antidote: a robust framework for lawyers to integrate into their professional lives their most deeply rooted values, perspectives and critiques, and persuasive reasons to improve the quality of justice and work for the common good. At its best, religious lawyering echoes Martin Luther King's advice to the street sweeper. How wonderful it would be, indeed, if we practiced law so well that the host of …

The Civil Regulation Of Prosecutors, Lesley E. Williams

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cautionary Tale From The Multidisciplinary Practice Debate: How The Traditionalists Lost Professionalism, A The Phyllis W. Beck Chair In Law Symposium: New Roles, No Rules - Redefining Lawyers' Work - Redefining Lawyers' Work: Multidisciplinary Practice, Russell G. Pearce, Amelia J. Uelmen:

Faculty Scholarship

The author presents a fictional conversation among Lawrence J. Fox, other noted legal scholars, and himself concerning the ethics and changes in the legal profession.

Checkosky, Rule 2(E) And The Auditor: How Should The Securities And Exchange Commission Define Its Standard Of Improper Professional Conduct?., Marie L. Coppolino

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Whose Rules Of Professional Conduct Should Govern Lawyers In Federal Court And How Should The Rules Be Created , Bruce A. Green

Faculty Scholarship

At present, the rules of professional conduct applied in federal judicial proceedings vary from district to district. In reaction to this problem, the Judicial Conference of the United States is studying the question of whether a uniform set of rules of professional conduct should apply in federal judicial proceedings and, if so, what the nature of the rules should be and how they should be developed. The principal proposals under consideration are the adoption of a uniform set of federal rules based on the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct or the adoption of a requirement that each …

Jewish Lawyering In A Multicultural Society: A Midrash On Levinson Colloquy, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

When we acknowledge the contradiction between the project's goal and the reality of group influence, we are led to consider the alternative strategy of creating community. Such a strategy would invite lawyers to begin a community dialogue regarding how each of our group identities, and the responses of others to our identities, interfere with our efforts to realize the goal of equal justice. While significant to the understanding of group dynamics, consideration of Jewish lawyering probably has limited value as a predictor of an individual lawyer's professional conduct. The actual and potential influence of Jewishness on lawyering is quite diverse, …

State Ethical Codes And Federal Practice: Emerging Conflicts And Suggestions For Reform, Stephen B. Burbank

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The standards for resolving putative conflicts between federal laws are not always clear, and neither for that matter is the standard for determining what con- stitutes a federal law capable of superseding effect. The technique of setting federal norms of professional conduct on a decentralized basis by borrowing or incorporating state norms is increasingly trouble- some to the extent that the borrowed state norms are disuniform and that they are being put to multiple remedial purposes. Federal legisla- tion preempting state law of professional conduct is conceivable but hardly likely, particularly as the norms are pressed into duty for pur- …