Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Law
A Case For Increased Disclosure, Deborah Abramovsky
A Case For Increased Disclosure, Deborah Abramovsky
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The confidentiality rule is important but not absolute. An attorney must weigh his obligations to his client against his obligations to the profession and to the community as a whole. Reasonable certainty of the existence of potential danger should create a duty to reveal client secrets, and thus, when an attorney learns of an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm to a third party from his client, disclosure should be mandatory. This type of limited exception would not interfere with the client's constitutional rights or with the orderly administration of justice. The policy behind such an exception, i.e. …
Remarks Delivered On The Occasion Of The Presentation Of The Fordham Stein Award To Judge Edward Weinfeld, John D. Feerick
Remarks Delivered On The Occasion Of The Presentation Of The Fordham Stein Award To Judge Edward Weinfeld, John D. Feerick
Fordham Urban Law Journal
In the aftermath of a very difficult period for the conscience and reputation of the legal profession, the Fordham Stein Award was endowed for the purpose of providing the profession and society with a sterling example of professional integrity and leadership. The mandate was to search the profession nationwide each year and to select a person whose selfless contribution to the public good exemplified the quiet performance of thousands of others whose dedicated work adds life, vigor and substance to our democracy. In 1985, Fordham Law School awarded the Stein Award to Judge Edward Weinfeld. This article describes the award …
Address By Judge Edward Weinfeld, Edward Weinfeld
Address By Judge Edward Weinfeld, Edward Weinfeld
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This is a transcript of Judge Edward Weinfeld's acceptance of the 1985 Fordham Stein Award.
The Confidentiality Rule: A Philosophical Perspective With Reference To Jewish Law And Ethics, Gordon Tucker
The Confidentiality Rule: A Philosophical Perspective With Reference To Jewish Law And Ethics, Gordon Tucker
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Analyzing Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules from a Jewish perspective can help solve some of the conflicts, which have arisen around this particular rule of professional responsibility. In sum, when a lawyer is faced with a potential crime that will likely seriously injury life, limb, or property, an attorney should disclose the information, which he believes will prevent this crime from occurring. While some sources of the confidentiality rule stem from the American legal system, others stem from more general ethical principles. Three such sources of the rule are: the attorney-client contract, the constitutional guarantees stemming from the Fifth …
A Case For Increased Confidentiality, Abraham Abramovsky
A Case For Increased Confidentiality, Abraham Abramovsky
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is a cornerstone of the American legal system. In order to provide effective representation to a client, an attorney must be informed of all the relevant facts, including clients' indiscretions and crimes committed or contemplated by them. To draft effective motions, affidavits, etc., the attorney often needs information that only the client can provide; this same reasoning applies to conducting an effective cross-examination and forming an appropriate trial strategy. In addition, outside the criminal field, an attorney advising a corporate client must also know relevant data. Vital constitutional rights will be lost if lawyers …
Legal Ethics: Discretion And Utility In Model Rule 1.6, Charles A. Kelbley
Legal Ethics: Discretion And Utility In Model Rule 1.6, Charles A. Kelbley
Fordham Urban Law Journal
No other profession requires practitioners to identify so closely and completely with the interests and confidences of their clients, as in the legal profession. Unlike doctors, priests, rabbis and other professionals, the lawyer is an adviser but also an advocate. Rule 1.6 is a major flaw in the legal profession's history of self-discipline. This rule fails the test of logic because the concept of discretion which it reflects is self-contradictory. This rule is a crude form of utilitarianism and should be reformulated to require disclosure whenever clients have no right to confidentiality and their conduct would constitute unjustified aggression or …