Law Commons^™

Ethical Implications Of Utilizing Generative Artificial Intelligence In The Legal Profession: A Cautionary Note On Potential Model Rules Of Professional Conduct Violations, Rachel Schworer

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

The increased use of generative artificial intelligence (“GAI”) in the legal profession raises ethical questions. As a result, this note contemplates some state-adopted Model Rules of Professional Conduct that lawyers could violate if they improperly use GAI or fail to use GAI altogether. GAI enables lawyers to increase their efficiency, enhance their decision-making, and provide cost-efficient services to clients. However, GAI also presents lawyers with biased outputs, a lack of explainability, and hallucinations, as seen in recent cases when ChatGPT cited fictitious cases to lawyers. Lawyers must know all the benefits and risks to remain competent in this technology. They …

Systemic Failures In Health Care Oversight, Julie L. Campbell

Georgia Law Review

Hospitals are intentionally shirking their duty to identify and report incompetent medical practitioners, and it is causing catastrophic injuries to patients. Why are hospitals doing this? Two decades of health care reforms have changed the way physicians and hospitals interact in the U.S. health care system, and as a result, the traditional health care oversight tools no longer work to ensure physician competence. With three out of four physicians now employees of hospitals or health care systems, hospitals have become the guardians of both the internal and external warning systems designed to flag incompetent practitioners. As the guardians, hospitals are …

Severe Mental Illness And The Death Penalty: A Menu Of Legislative Options, Richard J. Bonnie

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

In 2003, the American Bar Association established a Task Force on Mental Disability and the Death Penalty to further specify and implement the Supreme Court’s ruling banning execution of persons with intellectual disability and to consider an analogous ban against imposing the death penalty on defendants with severe mental disorders. The Task Force established formal links with the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the final report was approved by the ABA and the participating organizations in 2005 and 2006. This brief article focuses primarily on diminished responsibility at the time …

The Future Of Testamentary Capacity, Reid Kress Weisbord, David Horton

Washington and Lee Law Review

Recently, the #FreeBritney saga cast a harsh spotlight on state guardianship systems. Yet despite their serious flaws, guardianship regimes have benefited from waves of reform. Indeed, since the 1970s, most jurisdictions have taken steps to protect the autonomy of people with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities (CIDD). Likewise, lawmakers are currently experimenting with supported decision-making (SDM): an alternative to guardianship designed to help individuals with CIDD make their own choices. These changes are no panacea, but they have modernized a field that once summarily denied “idiots” and “lunatics” power over their affairs.

However, in a related context, the legal system’s …

The Lawyers Justice Corps: A Licensing Pathway To Enhance Access To Justice, Eileen Kaufman

Scholarly Works

The idea for establishing a Lawyers Justice Corps emerged out of efforts to solve a problem: how to license lawyers at a time when COVID-19 had expanded the need for new lawyers while also making an in-person bar exam dangerous, if not impossible. We-the Collaboratory on Legal Education and Licensing for Practice'-proposed the Lawyers Justice Corps to provide a different and better way of certifying minimum competence for new attorneys while at the same time helping to create a new generation of lawyers equipped to address a wide range of social justice, racial justice, and criminal justice issues. When implemented, …

Lessons From Psychology For Law Practice Management, Peter G. Glenn

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Excess And Deficiencies In The Practice Of The Security Council And Its Terms Of Reference: Case Study Of Iraq, Nayef Hamaida

UAEU Law Journal

This study deals with the competence of the securit council in the field of the maintenance of international peace and security, which are exercised either in conciliatory or repressive manner. The study shows that such competence is rather limited and must be compatible with the principles and aims of the United Nations.

Moreover, the study shows the excess or passive role of the Security Council in exercising its competence (a case study of Iraq) and demonstrates that the decision of the Security Council relating to the delegations of its power affects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq.

In addition, …

Comparison Between The Competencies Of Provinces And Governorates Not Organized Within A Region In Iraq, Dr. Mohammed Dhannoon Yonus

UAEU Law Journal

The curriculum of the distribution of competencies between the federal authority and the provinces and governorates in Iraq in accordance with the 2005 valid Constitution makes the provinces and governorates are the original competence and the federal authority is the exclusive competence. So what is within the exclusive competence contained in Article (110) of the Constitution belongs to the federal authority and everything else is within the competence of the regions, and in some cases it is within the competence of the governorates not organized in a region as well. The constitutional legislator has rectified some of the prerogative of …

Should Judges Have A Duty Of Tech Competence?, John G. Browning

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

In an era in which lawyers are increasingly held to a higher standard of “tech competence” in their representation of clients, shouldn’t we similarly require judges to be conversant in relevant technology? Using real world examples of judicial missteps with or refusal to use technology, and drawn from actual cases and judicial disciplinary proceedings, this Article argues that in today’s Digital Age, judicial technological competence is necessary. At a time when courts themselves have proven vulnerable to cyberattacks, and when courts routinely tackle technology related issues like data privacy and the admissibility of digital evidence, Luddite judges are relics that …

Law School News: Introducing Rwu Law's Sixth Dean 07-01-2020, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Truth And Justice Vs. The Integrity Of The Family Unit: Family Members' Testimonies From A Comparative And Normative Viewpoint, Dr. Guy Ben-David

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Securing Technological Privacy: Modernizing The Texas Disciplinary Rules Of Professional Conduct To Protect Electronic Data, Ashley "Nikki" Vega

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

This comment explains how and why the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (the “Texas Disciplinary Rules”) should be updated to reflect the modernization of technology. Lawyers must keep abreast of changes in the law and its practices; including those which are technological in nature. The American Bar Association (the “ABA”) recently amended the “technology provisions” of its Model Rules of Professional Conduct (the “Model Rules”); namely Rule 1.1 “Competence” and Rule 1.6 “Confidentiality of Information” in order to keep up with the benefits and risks associated with technology in the legal profession. Additionally, over half of all jurisdictions have …

Anthrogogy: Towards Inclusive Law School Learning, Rebecca C. Flanagan

Faculty Publications

At the time it was introduced, andragogy did offer benefits over “chalk and talk;” where most law students passively took notes while one student at a time actively engaged with their professor in a Socratic dialogue. While andragogy has sustained several modifications and revisions over the last fifty years, it does not reflect the life stage or life experiences that blur the boundaries of childhood and adulthood for over half the current student body in most law schools. Andragogy, designed as a teaching methodology for traditional adults seeking continuing education or to gain credentials for upward mobility in their current …

Ringing Changes: Systems Thinking About Legal Licensing, Joan W. Howarth, Judith Welch Wegner

Scholarly Works

Part I examines core assumptions associated with licensing systems as well as associated ambiguities. In particular, it acknowledges multiple understandings about what “competence” is and differing assumptions about how to evaluate or measure it. Part I thus sets forth important predicates for our argument that only a multi-faceted licensing system can do what is needed in assuring minimal competence, and that not all forms of competence are best measured by traditional licensing examinations.

Part II raises the possibility of creating a post-first-year examination designed to assess critical thinking in the context of the first-year curriculum. It also considers ways in …

Technology In Legal Practice: Keeping Ethical Obligations In Mind, Teresa J. Verges, Christine Lazaro

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

The use of technology in the legal profession is ubiquitous, expanding, and ever changing. Lawyers connect with their clients, co-workers, and others through email. Cloud computing has allowed lawyers to create virtual and mobile workspaces, providing them with accessibility to client files and resources anywhere in the world. Social media allows lawyers to showcase their expertise and build their practice. Technology has undoubtedly impacted how lawyers provide legal services to their clients. However, as lawyers, we remain subject to long-standing professional and ethical obligations that govern our practice. This article explores how commonly used technology in legal practice implicates …

Liability Of The Management Of The Company, M. Kamalov

Review of law sciences

The article considers the issue of liability the officials of the joint stock companies. The issue of liability of business officials is of paramount importance, since it directly affects entrepreneurial activity. The author analyzes the current legislation and the existing deficiencies in law enforcement in the matter of establishing liability. The author draws the conclusion that national legislation requires improvement, taking into account foreign practice and legislation.

Liability Of The Management Of The Company, M. Kamalov

Review of law sciences

The article considers the issue of liability the officials of the joint stock companies. The issue of liability of business officials is of paramount importance, since it directly affects entrepreneurial activity. The author analyzes the current legislation and the existing deficiencies in law enforcement in the matter of establishing liability. The author draws the conclusion that national legislation requires improvement, taking into account foreign practice and legislation.

Competence And Order Of The Supervisory Board Of The Joint-Stock Company: Legal Aspect, M.M. Kamalov

Review of law sciences

This article examines issues related to the competence of the supervisory board of the joint-stock company. The author discusses in detail the provisions of the law "On joint-stock companies" in terms of the exclusive competence of the supervisory board in the sphere of general management of the company's activities, shareholders' rights, ensuring disclosure of information and transparency. Along with this, problems of forming competence, problems of withdrawing from the supervisory board, and the problem of paying remuneration to members of the supervisory board are considered.

The Culturally Proficient Law Professor: Beginning The Journey, Anastasia M. Boles

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mental Disorder And Criminal Justice, Stephen J. Morse

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper is a chapter that will appear in REFORMING CRIMINAL JUSTICE: A REPORT OF THE ACADEMY FOR JUSTICE BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN SCHOLARSHIP AND REFORM (Erik Luna ed., Academy for Justice 2018). The criminal law treats some people with severe mental disorders doctrinally and practically differently at virtually every stage of the criminal justice process, beginning with potential incompetence to stand trial and ending with the question of competence to be executed, and such people have special needs when they are in the system. This chapter begins by exploring the fundamental mental health information necessary to make informed judgements …

Regulating Robo Advice Across The Financial Services Industry, Tom Baker, Benedict G. C. Dellaert

All Faculty Scholarship

Automated financial product advisors – “robo advisors” – are emerging across the financial services industry, helping consumers choose investments, banking products, and insurance policies. Robo advisors have the potential to lower the cost and increase the quality and transparency of financial advice for consumers. But they also pose significant new challenges for regulators who are accustomed to assessing human intermediaries. A well-designed robo advisor will be honest and competent, and it will recommend only suitable products. Because humans design and implement robo advisors, however, honesty, competence, and suitability cannot simply be assumed. Moreover, robo advisors pose new scale risks that …

Justice Reform And The Constituitional Court, Noela Ruço

UBT International Conference

During these years Albania has experienced numerous political, economic and social developments, which naturally have been accompanied with certain developments in the legal framework. Not only were these initiatives about the adoption of different legal acts, but also about the practice of state institutions themselves in the materialization of the law in general and the constitutional law in particular. The activity of constitutional institutions, especially the constitutional control exercised by the Constitutional Court, during these years has highlighted some of the issues needed to be reviewed by the constitutional lawmaker in the framework of the justice reform. The constitutional amendments …

Law Library Blog (March 2017): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Juvenile Justice Research To Policy And The Case Of Fines, Alex R. Piquero

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Neuroscience In Forensic Contexts: Ethical Concerns, Stephen J. Morse

All Faculty Scholarship

This is a chapter in a volume, Ethics Challenges in Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Practice, edited by Ezra E. H. Griffith, M.D. and to be published by Columbia University Press. The chapter addresses whether the use of new neuroscience techniques, especially non-invasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the data from studies employing them raise new ethical issues for forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. The implicit thesis throughout is that if the legal questions, the limits of the new techniques and the relevance of neuroscience to law are properly understood, no new ethical issues are raised. A major ethical lapse …

Contemplating Competence: Three Mediations, Judith Welch Wegner

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Beliefs About Social Workers Among Black Males, Tavon Antonio Harris

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

It’s been more than a decade since the National Institute of Mental Health (NAMI) initiated its public campaign, ‘Real Men Real Depression.’ Despite increased awareness, research and relevant studies indicate that African American / Black men continue to underutilize mental health treatment while still having the highest all-cause mortality rates of any racial/ ethnic group in the United States. When reading this statement, one must question what impact that the beliefs about ‘social workers’ through the lens of Black males in the United States, may play. This very simply, yet flammable, question not only seems pertinent but also seems to …

Thurgood Marshall Memorial Lecture: A Keynote Address By Mahzarin Banaji: Blindspot: Hidden Biases Of Good People 04-14-2016, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Communication And Competence For Self-Representation, E. Lea Johnston

UF Law Faculty Publications

In Indiana v. Edwards, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states may impose a higher competency standard for self-representation than to stand trial in criminal cases. While the Court articulated a number of interests relevant to representational competence, it left to states the difficult task of formulating an actual competence standard. This Article offers the first examination and assessment of the constitutionality of state standards post-Edwards. It reveals that seven states have endorsed a representational competence standard with a communication component. Additionally, twenty states have embraced vague, capacious standards that could consider communication skills. States have applied these standards to …

Disability Cultural Competence In The Medical Profession, Mary Crossley

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.