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Learning From The Unpleasant Truths Of Interfaith Conversations: William Stringfellow's Lessons For The Jewish Lawyer, Russell G. Pearce Jan 1998

Learning From The Unpleasant Truths Of Interfaith Conversations: William Stringfellow's Lessons For The Jewish Lawyer, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

As the religious lawyering movement expands, so too will the opportunities for interfaith conversations about lawyering. At the level of superficial pleasantries, these conversations will probably add warm feelings of camraderie but little else. When they advance to deeper levels of intellectual and emotional connection, they offer the potential for developing close friendships, learning significant new insights, and discovering hurtful differences. Only by risking the pain of such conversations can we gain the full benefit of interfaith conversation for enriching our "zest for spiritual living." This essay will employ the writings of William Stringfellow, a Christian lawyer and theologian, to …


Jewish Lawyer's Question, The Essay, Russell G. Pearce Jan 1996

Jewish Lawyer's Question, The Essay, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

Martin Buber describes the question of how to "affirm" our Jewish identity in the modem world as "the personal Jewish question, the root of all Jewish questions, the question we must discover within ourselves, clarify within ourselves, and decide within ourselves. This essay raises the "Jewish question" for lawyers. First, it explores some reasons why Jewish lawyers answer the question by separating their professional selves from their religious selves. Second, it observes that such an answer is contrary to the perspective-rooted in tradition but also common to the otherwise dissonant streams of Judaism today-that one's Judaism enters every moment of …


To Save A Life: Why A Rabbi And A Jewish Lawyer Must Disclose A Client Confidence Symposium: Executing The Wrong Person: The Professionals' Ethical Dilemmas, Russell G. Pearce Jan 1995

To Save A Life: Why A Rabbi And A Jewish Lawyer Must Disclose A Client Confidence Symposium: Executing The Wrong Person: The Professionals' Ethical Dilemmas, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

As adopted by courts and legislatures, lawyer's ethical codes have the force of law. They require a lawyer to keep information confidential unless the lawyer knows the client will commit a future crime. Jewish tradition generally forbids the disclosure of confidential information as "a terrible invasion of another person's privacy."This interdiction, rooted in the Torah's prohibition on talebearing, applies even when the information disclosed is true. The great medieval commentator, Maimonides, observed that gossip "ruins the world.” He further reproached "the evil tongue of the slander-monger who speaks disparagingly of one's fellow, even if the truth is told." Accordingly, the …


Jewish Lawyering In A Multicultural Society: A Midrash On Levinson Colloquy, Russell G. Pearce Jan 1992

Jewish Lawyering In A Multicultural Society: A Midrash On Levinson Colloquy, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

When we acknowledge the contradiction between the project's goal and the reality of group influence, we are led to consider the alternative strategy of creating community. Such a strategy would invite lawyers to begin a community dialogue regarding how each of our group identities, and the responses of others to our identities, interfere with our efforts to realize the goal of equal justice. While significant to the understanding of group dynamics, consideration of Jewish lawyering probably has limited value as a predictor of an individual lawyer's professional conduct. The actual and potential influence of Jewishness on lawyering is quite diverse, …