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Lawyers' Identities, Client Selection And The Antidiscrimination Principle: Thoughts On The Sanctioning Of Judith Nathanson, Bruce K. Miller
Lawyers' Identities, Client Selection And The Antidiscrimination Principle: Thoughts On The Sanctioning Of Judith Nathanson, Bruce K. Miller
Faculty Scholarship
The Author discusses how the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination might justifiably apply the Public Accommodations Statute to the client selection practices of some, perhaps many, lawyers. But it should leave Judith Nathanson alone. Nathanson's decision to represent only women in divorce cases is protected by the First Amendment, not because she is entitled as a lawyer to indulge whatever biases she chooses in her selection of clients, but because, as a lawyer of integrity who has melded her personal values and professional skills in service to the profession's best ideals, she is entitled to represent her chosen clients as she …
Lawyer Discrimination Against Clients: Outright Rejection--No; Limitations On Issues And Arguments-Yes, Sam Stonefield
Lawyer Discrimination Against Clients: Outright Rejection--No; Limitations On Issues And Arguments-Yes, Sam Stonefield
Faculty Scholarship
The issue of lawyer discrimination brings new perspectives to traditional topics like the practice of law, the role of the lawyer and the relationship with, and rights of, the client. It forces us to examine the nature of lawyer discretion, the limits of that discretion and the consequences of trying to regulate that discretion. The examinationis a daunting task. This essay offers an approach that attempts to protect both the prohibition against discrimination and the practice of law and to accommodate the tension that necessarily accompanies this effort. It suggests that the best solution is to prohibit lawyers from discriminating …