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Susan S. Fortney

Law practice

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Foreword: Systematically Thinking About Law Firm Ethics: Conference On The Ethical Infrastructure And Culture Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney Sep 2019

Foreword: Systematically Thinking About Law Firm Ethics: Conference On The Ethical Infrastructure And Culture Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney

Susan S. Fortney

In 1991 Professor Ted Schneyer wrote a seminal article calling for discipline of law firms. In that article, he used the term “ethical infrastructure” to refer to a law firm’s organization, policies, and operating procedures that cut across particular lawyers and tasks. In questioning how lawyer regulation focuses on the conduct of individual lawyers, he described the dynamics of practice and how various ethical breaches stem from organizational concerns that relate to lawyering in groups. Increasingly, legislators and regulators, as well as bar and firm leaders, have recognized the role of ethical infrastructure and culture in influencing lawyer conduct. Scholars, …


Systematically Thinking About Law Firm Ethics: Conference On The Ethical Infrastructure And Culture Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney Jul 2015

Systematically Thinking About Law Firm Ethics: Conference On The Ethical Infrastructure And Culture Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney

Susan S. Fortney

To advance the discourse related to law firm ethics and the impact of formal controls and informal influences on lawyer conduct, we convened on April 5, 2013 the Conference on the Ethical Infrastructure and Culture of Law Firms ("Conference" or "Symposium"). The Conference, conducted under the auspices of the Hofstra Law Review and the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University's Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics, was funded in part by the Abraham J. Gross '78 Conference and Lecture Fund at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Experts who have studied issues …


The Role Of Ethics Audits In Improving Management Systems And Practices: An Empirical Examination Of Management-Based Regulation Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney Jul 2015

The Role Of Ethics Audits In Improving Management Systems And Practices: An Empirical Examination Of Management-Based Regulation Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney

Susan S. Fortney

For decades, legal malpractice experts have urged lawyers to implement risk management measures. To assist law firms in doing so, legal malpractice insurers have provided audit services and self-audit materials. Under the Australian regulatory regime, incorporated legal practices are required to complete a self-assessment process and to report on the firm's compliance with ten objectives of sound law practice. Using management-based principles, this Article discusses steps to take to encourage ethics audits "to merge good ethics and good business" in the U.S.