Law Commons^™

Law And Modern Technology: Lack Of Tech Knowledge In Legal Profession May Cause Injustice, Md Wahidur Rahman, Marissa Moran

Publications and Research

There is no such field where technology hasn’t reached. It will be a dream to think something without technology. In today’s world every field requires tech knowledge. The courtroom and law offices have changed with the evolution of technology. Most courts don’t accept paper files anymore. Law offices use virtual file to store client information. However, due to old age or other reason a significant number of attorneys and judges are not competent in technology.

This paper will examine the use of technology in our legal system and what problem arises due to lack of proper tech knowledge. Increasing use …

The Relevance Of Fatf's Recommendations And Fourth Round Of Mutual Evaluations To The Legal Profession, Laurel S. Terry, Llerena Robles, Jose Carlos

Faculty Scholarly Works

More than two hundred countriesin the world have agreed to abide by the anti-money laundering ("AML") recommendations developed by the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF"), which is an intergovernmental organization. This Article focuses on the potential impact on the legal profession of FATF's fourth round of mutual evaluations. During these mutual evaluations, which currently are underway, FATF-affiliated countries examine each other's compliance with the FATF Recommendations and recommend follow-up action. This Article first presents the legal profession-related results from the completed Mutual Evaluation Reports. A number of these FATF Reports recommend changes that include requiring lawyers to report suspicious client …

Ensuring An Exemplary Judiciary Workplace: An Alternative To A Mandatory Reporting Requirement For Judges, Arthur D. Hellman

Testimony

In December 2017, the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, responding to a request from Chief Justice Roberts, formed a Working Group to recommend measures “to ensure an exemplary workplace for every judge and every court employee.” The Working Group issued its report in June 2018. On October 30, 2018, two committees of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the administrative policy-making body of the federal judiciary, held a hearing on proposed amendments to the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings and the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. Both sets of proposed amendments …

Comments On Proposed Amendments To The Rules For Judicial-Conduct And Judicial-Disability Proceedings, Arthur D. Hellman

Testimony

In late 2017, prominent Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski was accused of engaging in sexual harassment and other misconduct over a long period during his tenure as a judge. Judge Kozinski resigned, but the controversy continued. The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, responding to a request from Chief Justice Roberts, formed a Working Group to recommend measures “to ensure an exemplary workplace for every judge and every court employee.” The Working Group issued its report in June 2018.

In September 2018, the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability (Conduct Committee) of the Judicial Conference of …

Justice And Capital Punishment, Marianne Warrington

Student Writing

No abstract provided.

Preventing Sexual Harassment And Misconduct In Higher Education: How Lawyers Should Assist Universities In Fortifying Ethical Infrastructure, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

The shocking reports of sexual misconduct involving Larry Nassar, the former physician at Michigan State University, captured attention worldwide. More than 300 women sued alleging that the university ignored or dismissed complaints. In Congressional testimony the former president of Michigan State apologized and noted that an independent review of the university's policies revealed that they were among the most robust that the consultants had seen. This raises the question as to how sexual misconduct could have gone unaddressed for many years. The answer to this question may be found in a 2018 Consensus Report of the National Academies of Sciences, …

Civility Reboot: Can Lawyers Learn To Be Nicer To One Another, Heidi K. Brown

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Quality In Open Access: Flashing Lights And Fairy Tales, Amanda Page

Libraries' and Librarians' Publications

Presentation given as invited panelist at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for the 21st Century Scholarship Unlocked; Selecting and Accessing Publishers Symposium

Digging Them Out Alive, Michael Millemann, Rebecca Bowman Rivas, Elizabeth Smith

Faculty Scholarship

From 2013-2018, we taught a collection of interrelated law and social work clinical courses, which we call “the Unger clinic.” This clinic was part of a major, multi-year criminal justice project, led by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. The clinic and project responded to a need created by a 2012 Maryland Court of Appeals decision, Unger v. State. It, as later clarified, required that all Maryland prisoners who were convicted by juries before 1981—237 older, long-incarcerated prisoners—be given new trials. This was because prior to 1981 Maryland judges in criminal trials were required to instruct the jury …

Truthfulness As An Ethical Form Of Life, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This essay, a contribution to a symposium at Duquesne Law School entitled Resurrecting Truth in American Law and Public Discourse, was inspired by an observation made by Bernard Williams, in his paper “Saint-Just’s Illusion.” Williams noted that the issue of moral objectivity always come back to what to do with disagreement in matters of morality, and what sorts of considerations might lead the other party out of error. And in his book, Truth and Truthfulness, Williams argued (among other things, in a rich and subtle work) that the dispositions of truthfulness cultivated by citizens of a liberal political community are …

Transcript - Conference On The Ethics Of Legal Scholarship, Nicky Booth-Perry, Stanley Fish, Neil W. Hamilton, Leslie Francis, Carissa Byrne Hessick, Paul Horwitz, Joseph D. Kearney, Chad M. Oldfather, Ryan Scoville, Eli Wald, Robin L. West

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This is a transcript of the proceedings of the Conference on the Ethics of Legal Scholarship held at Marquette University Law School on September 15-16, 2017. Topics addressed include (1) what counts as legal scholarship and what is the obligation of neutrality?, (2) the obligations of sincerity, candor, and exhaustiveness, and (3) the mechanisms of legal scholarship, especially law reviews and the issues they create. The conference's working aim was to generate and propose a set of ethical guidelines for legal scholarship.

The Inspector General On The Fbi In Fall 2016: How A Fateful Delay Set The Stage For The Ultimate October Surprise, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Individual Lawyers, The Sec Revolving Door, And Comment Letters, Michael Shen, Samuel T. Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Government officials, advocacy groups, and the business press have raised concerns that former SEC employees may continue to influence the SEC after leaving the agency. Using a hand-collected database of individual lawyers that represent firms in responding to SEC comment letters, we examine the impact of individual lawyers, and lawyers formerly employed by the SEC, on the comment letter process. We document significant differences between lawyers and law firms in their clients’ resistance to SEC comment letters, and find that firms that retain former SEC employees are larger, more profitable, and more likely to have received a comment letter raising …

Legal Ethics And The Political Activity Of Government Lawyers, Andrew Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The ability to engage in political activity is an essential feature of a democratic society. However, the ability of government lawyers to do so is unclear. While most governments have passed legislation identifying permissible political activity of their employees, it is unclear how the professional obligations of lawyers apply in this context and how these professional obligations interact with this legislation. This article answers these questions. The duty of loyalty to the client requires most government lawyers to refrain from all political activity at the same level of government. The special professional obligations of Crown prosecutors require these lawyers to …

Cotter, Jr. V. Dist. Ct., 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 32 (May 3, 2018) (En Banc), Paloma Guerrero

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court adopted the common interest rule as an exception to waiver of the work-product privilege. The common interest rule requires that the “transferor and transferee [must] anticipate litigation against a common adversary on the same issue or issues” and to “have strong common interests in sharing the fruit of the preparation efforts.”

Trends In Legislations Affecting Library And Information Practice In Uganda, Francis Ssekitto

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Introduction: legislation and ethics as one of the top five themes that preoccupied LIS scholars and practitioners in the first decade of the 21^st century.

This is true for Library and Information Science and its related disciplines such as Records, information and archives, archeology and museum study.

Objective: This paper attempts to discuss the various trends in legislations relating to the Library and Information Science discipline and profession.

Methodology: In this research, reviewing literature was used to define the main concepts of this research.

Findings: There is a noticeable attribute that more legislations are likely to be drafted …

Professional Responsibility Pitfalls: Often But Not Always Apparent, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Testimony On Third Party Financing Of Lawsuits, Maya Steinitz

Faculty Scholarship

In this written testimony, Professor Steinitz addresses bills pending in the New York State Senate and Assembly relating to consumer litigation finance. Among other things, she suggests (1) establishing a “Minimum Payment” for plaintiffs, instead of (or in addition to) flat rates or interest caps; and (2) defining the scope of application by applying an “Unsophisticated Plaintiff” test rather than by focusing on the financing amount. She also addresses other matters implicated by the bills such as whether lawyers should be permitted to provide financial advice, prohibition of prepayment penalties, registration requirements, and right of rescission in the context of …

Negotiating The Legal Systems In Asean, Kee Yang Low, Philip Charles Zerrillo

Asian Management Insights

One may ask: What is a thought piece on legal systems doing in a business magazine?

Protecting Children? Assessing The Treatment Of Unaccompanied Minors In The U.S., Chiara Galli

Latino Public Policy

In the summer of 2014, unprecedented numbers of unaccompanied minors fleeing violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras arrived in the U.S. seeking refuge. Current U.S. immigration law affords certain legal protections to children who migrate alone from non-contiguous countries, allowing them to be initially admitted to the U.S. To avoid deportation and remain in the country long-term, however, they must successfully apply for humanitarian relief from deportation. This interview-based study traces these children’s experiences navigating this legal process and interacting with different branches of the US immigration bureaucracy.

Newsroom: Interrogation Expert Warns Against Use Of Torture 2-2-2018, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Teaching Bioethics: The Role Of Empathy & Humility In The Teaching And Practice Of Law, Barbara A. Noah

Faculty Scholarship

This essay considers the role of empathy and humility in the professional practices of physicians and lawyers and in those who prepare students for these professions. Beginning with an overview of the goals and methods of legal education, it compares similar goals in medical education and the value of practicing law (and medicine) with empathy and humility. The essay then describes exercises used in the law school classroom designed both to teach law students about end-of-life law and also to allow them to practice counseling clients. Through these exercises, law students can experience firsthand the challenges of advising a client …

Ethical Cannabis Lawyering In California, Francis J. Mootz Iii

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

Cannabis has a long history in the United States. Originally, doctors and pharmacists used cannabis for a variety of purposes. After the Mexican Revolution led to widespread migration from Mexico to the United States, many Americans responded by associating this influx of foreigners with the use of cannabis, and thereby racializing and stigmatizing the drug. After the collapse of prohibition, the federal government repurposed its enormous enforcement bureaucracy to address the perceived problem of cannabis, despite the opposition of the American Medical Association to this new prohibition. Ultimately, both the states and the federal government classified cannabis as a dangerous …

Policing The Prosecutor: Race, The Fourth Amendment, And The Prosecution Of Criminal Cases, Renee Mcdonald Hutchins

Journal Articles

As this article explores, while the Fourth Amendment is commonly criticized for the discretion it affords police officers, an overlooked result of the amendment’s lax regulation of the police is the enhanced power it affords prosecutors. Though for a time a warrant was the notional measure of reasonableness, over the last century the Court has crafted several exceptions to that measure to give the police greater leeway during on-the-street encounters. The Court has concurrently retreated from robust application of the exclusionary rule to remedy constitutional violations. These shifts have meant far more predictable wins for the prosecution at the suppression …

A Deadly Pair: Conflicts Of Interest Between Death Investigators And Prosecutors, Ira P. Robbins

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

As an inevitable fact of life, death is a mysterious specter looming over us as we move through the world. It consumes our literature, religions, and social dialogues — the death of a prominent figure can change policies and perceptions about our approaches to many problems. Given death’s significance, it is reasonable to try to understand causes of death generally, as well as on a case-by-case basis. While scholars and mourners attempt to answer the philosophical questions about death, the practical and technical questions are typically answered by death investigators. Death investigators attempt to decipher the circumstances surrounding suspicious and …

Autonomy Isn't Everything: Some Cautionary Notes On Mccoy V. Louisiana, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court’s May 2018 decision in McCoy v. Louisiana has been hailed as a decisive statement of the priority of the value of a criminal defendant’s autonomy over the fairness and reliability interests that also inform both the Sixth Amendment and the ethical obligations of defense counsel. It also appears to be a victory for the vision of client-centered representation and the humanistic value of the inherent dignity of the accused. However the decision is susceptible to being read too broadly in ways that harm certain categories of defendants. This paper offers a couple of cautionary notes, in response …

A Penal Colony For Bad Lawyers, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In this article I set out what I believe is an extreme and unconventional way to discipline egregiously bad lawyers. For starters, I think it might be useful to survey briefly the kinds of lawyering conduct currently subject to disciplinary sanctions. Regulation of the conduct of defense lawyers in the U.S. is hedged by various legal and professional rules that are enforced by courts and disciplinary bodies essentially to ensure a minimum level of competent and ethical representation. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel--the so-called “sacred” right--seeks to ensure at least a reasonable degree of lawyering skill. Also, professional codes …

Another Look At Lawyer Discretion To Assist Clients In Unlawful Conduct: A Response To Professor Tremblay, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Professor Paul Tremblay’s At Your Service: Lawyer Discretion to Assist Clients in Unlawful Conduct, identifies and explores an apparent gap in the law governing the work of lawyers: the question of whether lawyers may assist clients in unlawful conduct that is not criminal or fraudulent. After introducing the issue through three illustrative scenarios, which he labels “lawbreaking stories,” Professor Tremblay engages in an extensive analysis of the applicable substantive law, relying primarily on ethics codes, which directly regulate the work of lawyers, with additional reference to other sources of law. Having reached the considered conclusion that the law does not …

Corporate Ethics: Approaches And Implications To Expanding The Corporate Mindset Of Profitability, 49 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 637 (2018), Arthur Acevedo

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

This Article discusses the convergence of law and ethics in the context of corporations. It begins by detailing past attempts at and limitations on regulating corporate conduct. It then explores the business judgment rule in the context of ethical conduct. Finally, it considers the growing influence of millennials and social investing on corporate conduct, and concludes by cautioning corporate directors to adopt ethical practices in order to remain relevant in the marketplace.

Ahead Of His Time: Cardozo And The Current Debates On Professional Responsibility, 34 Touro L. Rev. 63 (2018), Alberto Bernabe

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.