Digital Commons Network^™

Justice For Interests Of The Poor: The Problem Of Navigating The System Without Counsel, Deborah J. Cantrell

Publications

No abstract provided.

Change Is In The Air: Lawyer Advertising And The Internet, Louise L. Hill

University of Richmond Law Review

Today, virtually all the large law firms, as well as most of the small firms, have Web sites. These sites established by law firms vary considerably, with many containing a great deal of material that is informational in nature. When considering whether state ethics rules are applicable to lawyer communications on the Internet, an initial question is whether the communication is commercial speech. Regulations on advertising and solicitation that impose restrictions on commercial speech are limited to speech of that kind. This notwithstanding, states have uniformly held that these communications are subject to regulation under their respective rules governing lawyer …

Ad Rules Infinitum: The Need For Alternatives To State-Based Ethics Governing Legal Services Marketing, William E. Hornsby Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

For most of the Twentieth Century, lawyer advertising was prohibited. Beginning with the Canons of Ethics ("Canons"), adopted by the American Bar Association (the "ABA" or "Association") in 1908, it was unethical for lawyers to advertise or engage in most forms of marketing. The 1977 United States Supreme Court decision of Bates v. State Bar of Arizona held that, under the First Amendment doctrine of commercial speech, states did not have the right to ban lawyer advertising. The decision, however, gave states the responsibility to regulate this activity. This began an experiment to balance consumer protection with the flow of …

Constructing The Practices Of Accountability And Professionalism: A Comment On In The Interests Of Justice, Susan Sturm

Faculty Scholarship

In the Interests of Justice: Reforming the Legal Profession lives up to its ambitious title. Deborah Rhode comprehensively surveys the structural problems confronting the legal profession, from its subscription to the "sporting theory of justice" to its preoccupation with profit. The book also lays bare the failure of legal education and the professional regulatory system to confront the roots of these structural problems.

I must confess that reading the book felt like a whirlwind tour of the legal profession's inevitable problems. In part, this perception grew out of the sheer range of economic, institutional, and structural factors contributing to the …

In The Interest Of The Client: Why Reform Of Texas's Rules Regarding Referral Fees Is Necessary., Samuel V. Houston Iii

St. Mary's Law Journal

Texas needs to reform its policy concerning referral fees. In Texas, an attorney is permitted to receive a fee for providing a referral to another attorney. In Brewer & Pritchard, P.C. v. Johnson, for example, the forwarding attorney received a referral fee for $3 million dollars. Proponents of referral fees argue that clients are better represented because referring attorneys have a greater economic incentive to seek out more capable attorneys. On the other hand, referring attorneys may also have the incentive to seek out attorneys who pay higher referral fees rather than those most qualified. In the end, the referred …

The Bounds Of Zeal In Criminal Defense: Some Thoughts On Lynne Stewart, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

What caused Lynne Stewart, after more than two decades of defense lawyering in the best tradition of the legal profession to cross the line? Holding aside the political climate of the times, did Stewart's approach to lawyering--whether in political or not terribly political cases--lead to her demise? Is her approach to lawyering different from most of the bar?

This paper discusses the conduct that led to Stewart's prosecution and her approach to lawyering generally. The author examines whether her view of zeal and devotion is at odds with the prevailing ethics and ethos of defense lawyering, and, if not, what …

California's Duty Of Confidentiality: Is It Time For A Life-Threatening Criminal Act Exception?, Kevin E. Mohr

San Diego Law Review

In August 2001, the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (ABA) voted in favor of a revision to the duty of confidentiality contained in the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a set of ethics rules that has been adopted in some form by over forty states. Specifically, the House voted to broaden the exception in Model Rule 1.6 that permits a lawyer to reveal confidential information of the client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes

necessary to prevent likely death or substantial bodily harrn.

It is

uncertain whether that vote will have any effect on the …

Public Defender's Conundrum: Signaling Professionalism And Quality In The Absence Of Price, Robert J. Aalberts, Thomas Boyt, Lorne H. Seidman

San Diego Law Review

This Essay, the result of an

extensive empirical study in the state of Nevada, attempts to ascertain factors among criminal defendants that may predict how they perceive a level of quality and satisfaction with their lawyers as service providers, as well as policy proposals for improving the perceptions of public defenders.

Fit And Function In Legal Ethics: Developing A Code Of Conduct For International Arbitration, Catherine A. Rogers

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, I develop a methodology for prescribing the normative content of a code of ethics for international arbitration, and in a forthcoming companion article, I propose integrated mechanisms for making those norms both binding and enforceable. In making these proposals, I reject the classical conception of legal ethics as a purely deontological product derived from first principles. I argue, instead, that ethics derive from the interrelational functional role of advocates in an adjudicatory system, and that ethical regulation must correlate with the structural operations of the system. The fit between ethics and function, I will demonstrate, not only …

Professional Discipline For Law Firms? A Response To Professor Schneyer’S Proposal, Julie R. O'Sullivan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Model Rule of Professional Conduct 5.1(a) requires individual partners to make "reasonable efforts" to ensure that their firm has measures in effect that give "reasonable assurance" that all lawyers in the firm conform to ethical rules. Similarly, Model Rule 5.3(a) imposes upon individual partners the obligation of making "reasonable efforts" to ensure that the firm has measures in place giving "reasonable assurance" that the conduct of non-lawyers affiliated with the firm is compatible with the partner's professional obligations. These rules were adopted to encourage firms to create firm cultures and institute prophylactic policies and procedures--an "ethical infrastructure"--that would prevent misconduct …

The Belated Decline Of Literalism In Professional Responsibility Doctrine: Soft Deception And The Rule Of Law, William H. Simon

Faculty Scholarship

Literalism is the doctrine that a facially accurate but knowingly deceptive statement does not violate prohibitions of falsehood and misrepresentation. This essay argues that Literalism has had greater legitimacy in professional responsibility than in other areas of law, but that it seems to be in terminal decline. It surveys the arguments for and against Literalism and concludes that its impending demise should be welcomed.

When Lawyers And Law Firms Invest In Their Corporate Clients’ Stock, Donald C. Langevoort

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

I will state my conclusion at the outset. I am not convinced that lawyers' investments in clients in lieu of fees are problematic enough from a conflicts standpoint that the rules of professional responsibility should treat them as presumptively inconsistent with the lawyer's fiduciary responsibility. Lawyers' investments in their clients do raise interesting and unsettling issues, but these issues are not qualitatively different from issues raised by many other norms or practices within the legal profession that also threaten lawyerly objectivity. Indeed, in contrast to some other practices, these fee arrangements can, in some respects, enhance objectivity, or at least …

Legal And Professional Ethics: Protection Of Client Identity, Rebecca Wood Hunter

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Maccrate's Missed Opportunity: The Maccrate Report's Failure To Advance Professional Values Symposium, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

The 1992 Report of the Task Force on Law Schools and the Profession: Narrowing the Gap (the "Task Force"), Legal Education Professional Development - An Educational Continuum, popularly known as the MacCrate Report (the "Report"), was the most ambitious effort to reform legal education in the past generation. Some commentators have described the Report as "the greatest proposed paradigm shift in legal education since Langdell envisioned legal education as the pursuit of legal science through the case method in the late 19th century.” Although the Report sought to promote education in both lawyering skills and values, its major influence has …

A Critique Of Burrow V. Arce, Charles Silver

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Study Of Associate Satisfaction, Law Firm Culture, And The Effects Of Billable Hour Requirements - Part One, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

This article considers billing practices, the effects of hourly billing pressure, and firm culture as reflected in a survey of associates in Texas law firms. Part I of this article reports the empirical information from the survey. This information includes insight into the toll an increase in billable hour requirements has taken on legal practitioners and the consequent affect on the legal field. Part II discusses what the data means and how it might be used to improve the outlook for attracting and retaining good associates.

Unreasonable Probability Of Error, Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Faculty Scholarship

In Strickland v. Washington, the Supreme Court sought to create a uniform standard to guarantee effective assistance of counsel to criminal defendants, to "ensure a fair trial," and to assure the reliability of "a just result."' Justice O'Connor's majority opinion created a two-pronged test for overturning a trial verdict: deficient performance and resulting prejudice. The Court explicitly established a difficult burden for proving deficient performance,² but set a moderate standard for prejudice as the "reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient …

The Aba's Standards For The Accreditation Of Law Schools, Robert K. Walsh

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Professional Responsibilities Of Professors, Deborah L. Rhode

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Symposium Article - The Incompleteness Of The Model Rules And The Development Of Professional Standards, Nathan M. Crystal

Mercer Law Review

Rules and standards of professional conduct are proliferating. In November 2000, the American Bar Association's ("ABA's") Ethics 2000 Commission released its final report recommending changes in the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Earlier in the year the American Law Institute ("ALI") issued its long awaited Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers.

The Model Rules and the Restatement are similar in two respects. Both contain detailed rules and both are comprehensive, covering relationships between lawyers and their clients, the courts, and third parties. Standards prepared by other organizations, however, have taken a narrower approach. Some have focused on particular activities …

Session Two: Conditional Settlement Agreements

Mercer Law Review

A transcript featuring The Honorable Marvin Aspen, Evett Simmons, Esq., Professor Ronald Ellington, and Professor Bruce Green, Moderator

Resolving The Mdp Issue: Deciding If The Status Quo Is What's Best For The Client, Julia J. Hall

Mercer Law Review

On the forefront of the current debate surrounding legal ethics is the heated question of whether the legal profession should permit its members to participate in multidisciplinary practices or partnerships ("MDPs") and thereby share fees with nonlawyers. Currently, this conduct is prohibited by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This issue clearly has global implications for various professions desiring to partner with attorneys, and those persons with interest in this area have followed the debate closely as viewpoints are researched and expressed in support of one position over another. Nonetheless, the American Bar Association ("ABA") has effectively closed the door …

Lawyer Advertising In The Electronic Age, Ronald D. Rotunda, Louise L. Hill, Tom Spahn, Ted Allen, William Spruill

University of Richmond Law Review Symposium

The April 5, 2001 symposium consisted of an informal roundtable discussion for the presenters from 2:30-4:30 p.m., followed by a public evening program, from 6:00-8:30 p.m., which featured a role-playing portrayal of a mock disciplinary proceeding about a dispute over lawyer advertising.

Participants in the roundtable discussion were: Ronald D. Rotunda, the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law; Louise L. Hill, Professor of Law at the Widener University School of Law; and William Hornsby, Legal Counsel to the American Bar Association, Commission on Responsibility in Client Development.

The Moot Court program …

The Judiciary In The United States: A Search For Fairness, Independence And Competence, Stephen J. Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

Alexander Hamilton referred to the judiciary as “the least dangerous branch” because it could neither make nor enforce the law without help from the other two branches of government. In the years since then, however, courts and judges in the United States have assumed a much more prominent role in society. American judges preside over criminal trials and sentence those convicted, decide all kinds of civil disputes, both large and small, and make important decisions involving families, such as child custody. They have also become the primary guarantors of the civil and constitutional rights of American citizens.

The case of …

Is It Educational Malpractice Not To Teach Comparative Legal Ethics?, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses the importance of teaching legal ethics in law schools. After a brief introduction, this article outlines several reasons why it is necessary to have formal ethical training in law schools. The article then explains the different methods of teaching legal ethics that are utilized in the United States. The article also details why it is important and how to teaching comparative legal ethics in law schools due to increased globalization. The article concludes by identifying sources, such as the internet, for teaching comparative legal ethics.

The Ermine And Woolsack: Disciplinary Proceedings Involving Judges, Attorney-Magistrates, And Other Judicial Figures, David R. Cleveland, Jason Masimore

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Are Medical Ethics Different From Legal Ethics?, Mervin H. Needell

St. Thomas Law Review

In this paper I shall compare and contrast some relevant ethical positions of legal and medical precepts and practices which seem to suggest or predispose to a professional bias. I derive these conclusions from official positions contained in institutional accounts, such as case law or treatises. Even if such comparisons do not make a convincing case for professional bias, they should still provide some insight into the ways in which the thought processes of lawyers and doctors do or do not differ. Although the words "moral" and "ethical" are often used interchangeably, if a distinction must be made here, I …

Practicing Law Across Geographic And Professional Borders: What Does The Future Hold?, Gary A. Munneke

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

A new global business reality is transforming the practice of law. Nowhere is this transformation more apparent than in the areas of multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary practice. These two trends, towards practice across jurisdictional boundaries on the one hand and across professional boundaries on the other, are engaging the attention of lawyers at the American Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association: the American Corporate Counsel Association, the International Bar Association, as well as numerous other state and local, international, and specialty bar associations. This article describes that new business reality, those trends, and some of the ethical constraints presented by current …

Race Prosecutors, Race Defenders, Anthony V. Alfieri

Articles

No abstract provided.

First Panel: The Law Schools' Reponse To Professionalism Issues, Jack L. Sammons (Presenter), Anthony V. Alfieri (Presenter), Nathan Crystal (Responder), Richard E. Carter (Responder), The Honorable Roger K. Warren (Responder), Caroline R. Heil (Responder)

Articles

No abstract provided.