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Full-Text Articles in Legal Profession

Breach Of Contract?: The New Economy, Access To Justice And The Ethical Responsibilities Of The Legal Profession, Richard Devlin Oct 2002

Breach Of Contract?: The New Economy, Access To Justice And The Ethical Responsibilities Of The Legal Profession, Richard Devlin

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the last several years, there has been a growing awareness within the legal profession that access to justice, that is, to legal advice and representation, is becoming increasingly difficult. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the cuts to legal aid programmes. The author argues that the response of the legal profession is inadequate because it remains trapped in a welfarist paradigm of legal aid that is insensitive to the impact of the new economy and the newly emergent social investment state. The author explores the possibility of an alternative response - the adoption of a mandatory pro bono …


Reconceptualizing Professional Responsibility: Incorporating Equality, Rosemary Cairns Way Apr 2002

Reconceptualizing Professional Responsibility: Incorporating Equality, Rosemary Cairns Way

Dalhousie Law Journal

Are legal professionals concerned with "doing good" or just with "doing well" financially? In an age of increasing and intensifying public scrutiny there is a need to examine and challenge the legal profession's conception of professional responsibility, and how it translates into practice. This paper expresses the concern that the profession has moved too far in the direction of a "billable hours" culture, a culture that is falling short of the legal profession's obligation as a self-regulated entity to consider and acknowledge the public interest at all points. The author calls for a broader conception of professionalism, one that encompasses …