Law Commons^™

Popular Culture's Portrayal Of Attorney Decision-Making And It's Consequences- An Analysis Of An Attorney's Internal Ethical Conflict In Film, Tara M. Parente

Tara M. Parente

This paper explores how popular culture portrays attorney decision-making and its consequences. This paper compares and contrasts two films in order to exemplify how attorneys are portrayed throughout film and how this carries over into real life. Attorneys are faced with ethical dilemmas at all times, especially throughout career advancement and the decisions made tend to affect every aspect of an attorney's life.

Religious Freedom & Closely Held Corporations: The Hobby Lobby Case & Its Ethical Implications, Corey A. Ciocchetti

Corey A Ciocchetti

Hobby Lobby and its quest for religious freedom captured the attention of a nation for a few moments in late June 2014. The country homed in on the Supreme Court as the justices weighed the rights of an incorporated, profit-making entity run by devout individuals that objected to particular entitlements granted to women under the Affordable Care Act. The case raised important legal issues such as whether the law allows for-profit corporations to exercise religion (yes!) and whether protection for religious freedom trumps the rights of third parties to cost free preventive care (sort of!). The Supreme Court’s decision also …

‘Point And Click’ Versus Byod: Student Engagement Technologies As An Ethical Imperative For Teaching Law, Elizabeth A. Kirley

Elizabeth A Kirley

What conscientious law professor of first year, large format classes in torts, contracts, or criminal law has not pondered how to better engage students while easing their reluctance to speak out in class? While many students entering law schools are quite adept with student engagement technologies (SETs) from their undergraduate studies, some law faculty seem tied to the passive environment of lectures and PowerPoint presentations and hence reject SET methodologies as so much techno-wizardry. With the entry of web-based programs into the expanding field of SETs, and increasing empirical evidence that interactive learning improves grades, closes gender gaps, and helps …

Countering Hate On The Internet, Raphael Cohen-Almagor

raphael cohen-almagor

Hate speech is designed to threaten certain groups publicly and act as propaganda for offline organizations. Hate groups use websites to share ideology and propaganda, to link to similar sites and to recruit new converts, advocate violence and to threat others. The aim of this paper is to analyse the ways hate mongers are utilizing the Internet, and to ask what can be done to counter their activities. The paper discusses the targets of hate on the Internet and offers practical proposals to address this increasing problem and fight against it.

Bullshit And The Tribal Client, Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

No abstract provided.

Nigger Manifesto: Ideological And Intellectual Discrimination Inside The Academy, Ellis Washington

Ellis Washington

Draft – 22 March 2014

Nigger Manifesto

Ideological Racism inside the American Academy

By Ellis Washington, J.D.

Abstract

I was born for War. For over 30 years I have worked indefatigably, I have labored assiduously to build a relevant resume; a unique curriculum vitae as an iconoclastic law scholar zealous for natural law, natural rights, and the original intent of the constitutional Framers—a Black conservative intellectual born in the ghettos of Detroit, abandoned by his father at 18 months, who came of age during the Detroit Race Riots of 1967… an American original. My task, to expressly transcend the ubiquitous …

Transformations In Health Law Practice: The Interections Of Changes In Healthcare And Legal Workplaces, Louise G. Trubek, Barbara J. Zabawa, Paula Galowitz

Louise G Trubek

The passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act is propelling transformations in health care. The transformations include integration of clinics and hospitals, value based care, patient centeredness, transparency, computerized business models and universal coverage. These shifts are influencing the practice of health law, a vibrant specialty field considered a “hot” area for new lawyers. The paper examines how the transformations in health care are intersecting with ongoing trends in law practice: increase in in-house positions, collaboration between medical and legal professionals, and the continued search for increased access to legal representation for ordinary people. Three health law workplace sites …

The Ethics Of Effective Advocacy For Children In Abuse And Neglect Proceedings, Suparna Malempati

Suparna Malempati

This article addresses ethical dilemmas lawyers face when representing children in abuse and neglect proceedings in juvenile court. Children in such cases need traditional advocacy in order to protect their legal rights and effectuate just outcomes. Lawyers who represent children have an ethical obligation to perform this function as advocates for their clients and not merely as guardians ad litem who make paternalistic recommendations about the best interests of children. The requirement that lawyers disregard their role as advocates for the role of guardians ad litem circumvents the ethical rules that govern lawyers and fails to adequately and effectively safeguard …

Bargaining In The Shadow Of Big Data, Dru Stevenson, Nicholas J. Wagoner

Dru Stevenson

Attorney bargaining has traditionally taken place in the shadow of trial, as litigants alter their pretrial behavior—including their willingness to negotiate a settlement—based on their forecast of the outcome at trial and associated costs. Lawyers bargaining in the shadow of trial have traditionally relied on their knowledge of precedent, intuition, and previous interactions with the presiding judge and opposing counsel to forecast trial outcomes and litigation costs. Today, however, technology for leveraging legal data is moving the practice of law into the shadow of the trends and patterns observable in aggregated litigation data. In this Article, we describe the tools …

Two Figures In The Picture: How An Old Legal Practice Might Solve The Puzzle Of Lost Punitive Damages In Legal Malpractice, John M. Bickers

John M. Bickers

When lawyers err, clients must pay the price. If a lawyer’s action, or inaction, prevents a client from succeeding in a lawsuit, the lawyer must pay the amount necessary to make the client whole. But what does it mean to make the client whole? A puzzle appears when a finder of fact in a legal malpractice case determines that punitive damages in the original lawsuit were appropriate. Punitive damages are not meant to restore the client to her original position. By definition, they are meant to punish the original defendant for the egregiousness of his conduct. The plaintiff receives them …

Client Trust Account Fraud: Analyzing State, Federal, And International Rules And Regulations While Developing Effective Solutions For Prevention, Daniel H. Smith

Daniel H Smith

CLIENT TRUST ACCOUNT FRAUD: ANALYZING STATE, FEDERAL, AND INTERNATIONAL RULES AND REGULATIONS WHILE DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR PREVENTION Daniel Hooper Smith Abstract Client Trust Account Fraud: Analyzing State, Federal, and International Rules and Regulations While Developing Effective Solutions for Prevention examines client trust accounts and fiduciary duties associated with them and categorizes three types of client trust account fraud (“CTA fraud”). In addition, this Article compares four states’ client trust account rules and regulations and discusses how fraudsters attempt to circumvent the law in each jurisdiction. This Article then analyzes state, federal, and international agency regulation with respect to client …

The Evolution Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Changing Interpretations Of The Dmca And Future Implications For Copyright Holders, Hillary A. Henderson

Hillary A Henderson

Copyright law rewards an artificial monopoly to individual authors for their creations. This reward is based on the belief that, by granting authors the exclusive right to reproduce their works, they receive an incentive and means to create, which in turn advances the welfare of the general public by “promoting the progress of science and useful arts.” Copyright protection subsists . . . in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or …

The Folly Of Expecting Evil: Reconsidering The Bar's Character And Fitness Requirement, Leslie Levin

Leslie C. Levin

The bar’s character and fitness inquiry seeks to protect the public. As part of this inquiry, bar applicants are required to produce detailed information about their past histories. The rationale for this inquiry is that this information can be used to identify who will subsequently become a problematic lawyer. Bar applicants bear the burden of providing their “good” character even though there is little evidence that past conduct predicts who will become a problematic lawyer. This article looks at psychological and other research that attempt to identify factors that might predict future misconduct in the work place. It also reports …

A Free Lunch In Chicago, Curtis E.A. Karnow

Curtis E.A. Karnow

A discussion of the ethical issues implicated by judges’ acceptance of travel and related expenses when attending privately sponsored judicial education, including seminars offered by educational institutions.

How To Maneuver In The World Of Negative Online Reviews, The Important Ethical Considerations For Attorneys, And Changes Needed To Protect The Legal Profession, Angela Goodrum

Angela Goodrum

No abstract provided.

Why The Judicial Electons Debate Matters Less Than You Think: Retention As The Cornerstone Of Independence And Accountability, Layne S. Keele

Layne S. Keele

The judicial elections debate has once again claimed the national spotlight with the Supreme Court’s 2009 decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. and with the 2010 electoral defeat of three Iowa Supreme Court judges who joined an opinion striking down Iowa’s law refusing to recognize same-sex marriage. Judicial election opponents generally criticize elections as interfering with judicial independence, while election advocates laud them as a means to increase judicial accountability. What can be overlooked in these debates, however, is that judicial elections are not the source of the threat to judicial independence—instead, that threat arises from re-elections, or …

Ethical Frameworks, Corey A. Ciocchetti

Corey A Ciocchetti

This article discusses the three prominent business ethics theories of Utilitarianism, Deontology and Virtue Ethics. This is a short primer on these theories.

Should Hong Kong's Law Firms Be Allowed To List On The Stock Exchange?, Bryane Michael

Bryane Michael (bryane.michael@stcatz.ox.ac.uk)

Policymakers in numerous jurisdictions are debating whether to allow their law firms to raise capital on the stock market. In this article, we look at the benefits for listing Hong Kong's law firms. We argue that such listing would help redress previous historical disadvantages local firms have faces vis-a-vis foreign rivals doing business in the city.