Digital Commons Network^™

The Price Of Law: How The Market For Lawyers Distorts The Justice System, Gillian K. Hadfield

Michigan Law Review

Bill Clinton's legal bills in connection with the Lewinsky scandal topped $10 million; the bill for Ken Starr's investigation of the President exceeded $50 million. The cost to the eight families portrayed in the bestseller A Civil Action for their tort suit against a manufacturing company accused of dumping hazardous chemicals into the water supply was $4.8 million (paid from a settlement of about $8 million); the cost for the defense exceeded $7 million. Lawyers who represented the three states in the nationwide suit by state attorneys general against tobacco companies to recoup smoking-related health care costs were awarded $8.2 …

Adapting Unitary Principles Of Professional Responsibility To Unique Practice Contexts: A Reflective Model For Resolving Ethical Dilemmas In Elder Law, Joseph A. Rosenberg

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Robert Kratovil Memorial Seminar In Construction Law - Multidisciplinary Practice: A Construction Law Perspective, 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 413 (2000), Christopher L. Noble

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching Professional Responsibility In Legal Clinics Around The World, Leah Wortham

Scholarly Articles

At a March 1999 Colloquium on Clinical Legal Education,1 a group of about 20 people, including a number of law faculty already teaching or planning to teach legal clinics in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union , were asked, "What are the goals that you think are most important for a legal clinic?" The most common answers were teaching about ethics and improving the ethical standards of law practice in participants' respective countries through this focus in legal education.

What Do You Do When You Meet A "Walking Violation Of The Sixth Amendment" If You're Trying To Put That Lawyer's Client In Jail?, Vanessa Merton

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

For the purpose of this article, the relevance of my experience as a criminal defense attorney is this: if ever one might expect to find a prosecutor inclined to err on the side of fairness of process and protecting the rights of defendants, it ought to be me. Also, for more than twenty years, I have been something of a professional ethicist--as research fellow, teacher, staff member of an ethics center, chair and/or member of several institutional review boards, pro bono trial counsel to a disciplinary committee, ethics consultant, and expert witness--and, therefore, one might think, especially susceptible to the …

Is Meaningful Regulation Of Lawyers In Multidisciplinary Firms Possible?, Denise D. J. Roy

Faculty Scholarship

If the legal profession embraces multidisciplinary practice (MDP) and allows fee-sharing with nonlawyers, there is a risk that its values, independence, and professionalism will fall prey to market pressures and control by outsiders. On the other hand, rejecting MDP means risking losing business to the multidisciplinary firms already established. The question is whether there is a compromise that provides meaningful regulation of lawyers practicing in multidisciplinary firms.

Supreme Court's Iolta Decision: Of Dogs, Mangers, And The Ghost Of Mrs. Frothingham, 30 Seton Hall L. Rev. 846 (2000), Donald L. Beschle

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Professional Responsibility, Nicholas Rine, Ly U. Meng

Books

The study of professional responsibility is, of course, critical to those who wish to practice as lawyers. Without a clear understanding of the expectations of the profession, no lawyer will function effectively. Beyond that simple practical need, however, new lawyers need to have a realistic perspective on the competence and the limitations of their profession.

But the study of legal ethics is a valuable undertaking even for those who have no intention of becoming lawyers. Many people see the legal system as a mysterious set of rituals which make little sense. (And that perspective is not completely unrealistic.) For any …

Public Declarations Of Professionalism Professionalism Symposium, Bruce A. Green

Faculty Scholarship

When it comes to the subject of "professionalism," there is a gap between the leaders of the organized bar and its members. Bar leaders are eager to discuss the subject. For example, this year's annual meeting of the American Bar Association ("ABA") afforded bar leaders, as well as legal academics, a host of opportunities to share strategies to promote "professionalism" and "professional values." The Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar sponsored a program on "Professionalism in Law Schools and the Profession." Organizations representing bar executives, bar presidents, and bar foundations jointly presented a program called "Tough Talk, …

Lawyering For Social Change, Karen L. Loewy

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Note explores the significance, legitimacy and methodology of lawyering for social change. It begins by examining lawyers' motives for entering into such work and the theoretical approaches toward political lawyering and the methodologies employed to effect change. It raises the question of whether it is justifiable for a lawyer to drive social change specifically considering his unique access to the legal system. The Note concludes that it is entirely legitimate for a lawyer to engage in work for social change in order to ensure that the rights of all people are protected whether through litigation, public education seminars, rallies, …

Virginia State Bar Committee To Study The Virginia Code Of Professional Responsibility: Substantive Differences Between The Virgina Rules Of Professional Conduct And The Code Of Professional Responsibility, Tom Spahn

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct contain provisions that: - require Virginia lawyers to take action that is not required under the Code; - prohibit conduct that is permitted by the Code; - permit conduct that is prohibited by the Code; and - permit conduct that is not explicitly permitted by the Code. The following lists describe these four categories of substantive changes. Each change refers to the applicable Rules provision, as well as the relevant Code provision (if any). For more detailed information, please refer to the Detailed Comparison Chart or to the Rules themselves.

Litigators’ Ethics, Michael E. Tigar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Virginia State Bar Committee To Study The Virginia Code Of Professional Responsibility: Substantive Differences Between The Virgina Rules Of Professional Conduct And The Code Of Professional Responsibility, Tom Spahn

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

The Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct contain provisions that: - require Virginia lawyers to take action that is not required under the Code; - prohibit conduct that is permitted by the Code; - permit conduct that is prohibited by the Code; and - permit conduct that is not explicitly permitted by the Code. The following lists describe these four categories of substantive changes. Each change refers to the applicable Rules provision, as well as the relevant Code provision (if any). For more detailed information, please refer to the Detailed Comparison Chart or to the Rules themselves.

Abuse Of Confidentiality And Fabricated Controversy: Two Proposals, John A. Humbach

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article is framed as a discussion of two proposals for modifying the Model Rules. One would declare fabricated controversy to be out of bounds as a tactical tool. The other would expressly affirm that it is an abuse of confidentiality for lawyers to engage in strategies of partial-truth advocacy, to assert partial truths while deliberately holding back other information that the lawyer should know is needed in order not to mislead others. Both of these techniques, fabrication of controversy and partial-truth advocacy, tend to undercut the trial as a “search for truth” and both interfere with negotiations as a …

Third Party Payments To Criminal Defense Lawyers: Revisiting United States V. Hodge And Zweig, David Orentlicher

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Pro Bono Publico In Oklahoma: Time For Change, Judith L. Maute

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ethical Challenges Of Restructuring For Lawyers: Lawyer/Client Loyalty In A Rapidly Evolving Industry, Robert E. Eicher

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

This article is the outline of Mr. Eicher's speech.

Informal Aggregation: Procedural And Ethical Implications Of Coordination Among Counsel In Related Lawsuits, Howard M. Erichson

Faculty Scholarship

Even when related claims are not aggregated by any formal procedural mechanism, the lawyers involved in the separate lawsuits often coordinate their efforts. Such "informal aggregation" raises important questions about the boundaries of a dispute and the boundaries of the lawyer-client relationship. As an ethical matter, the central question is whether a lawyer owes ethical duties to a coordinating lawyer's client. Looking at confidentiality, loyalty, conflicts of interest, and malpractice, Professor Erichson suggests that ethical safeguards for clients of coordinating lawyers are neither strong enough nor explicit enough to provide adequate protection, and the problem inheres in the nature of …

The "Watchman For Truth": Professional Licensing And The First Amendment, Robert Kry

Seattle University Law Review

This Article addresses a particular aspect of many kinds of professional practice: the rendering of advice to clients. Drawing on their knowledge and experience, professionals may recommend a certain course of action to their clients in the course of their practice. The client may then assess the recommendation and decide whether or not to act on it. This aspect of professional practice involves a speech-related activity, so government regulation might raise at least a colorable First Amendment issue. This Article also focuses on a particular aspect of the regulation of professional advice, namely, licensure. When professional advice rendering activities are …

William H. Simon: Thinking Like A Lawyer – About Ethics, William H. Simon, Robert D. Taylor, Bruce S. Ledewitz, Margaret K. Krasik, Sean P. Kealy

Faculty Scholarship

This is the edited text of a panel discussion held as part of the legal ethics curriculum at Duquesne University Law School on October 24, 1999. The speakers have had the opportunity to update and correct this text; therefore, this printed version may deviate slightly from what was presented.

Adr: An Eclectic Array Of Processes, Rather Than One Eclectic Process, Lela P. Love, Kimberlee K. Kovach

Articles

When mediators try to resolve a controversy by providing their analysis of the legal – or other – merits, they are providing the service that judges, arbitrators and neutral experts provide. In essence, such endeavors use the neutral’s judgment, award or opinion to determine or jump-start a resolution. This article urges that this add-on activity to mediation should be called by its proper name. The essay highlights the advantages of calling "mediation plus evaluation" a mixed process and discusses the advantages of having an eclectic and diverse mix of processes from which parties and counsel can choose to promote party …

The Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege: Loss Of Predictability Does Not Justify Crying Wolfinbarger, Paul Rice

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

The Costs Of Confidentiality And The Purpose Of Privilege, Melanie B. Leslie

Articles

No abstract provided.

New Ethics Rules For The New Millennium, Dennis W. Dohnal, John Levy

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

Legal Ethics, Roy M. Sobelson

Mercer Law Review

This Article covers the rules, cases, ethics opinions, and other matters decided by the Georgia Supreme Court, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and a federal district court between June 1, 1998, and May 31, 1999, that have most affected, or may affect, Georgia lawyers. Many eyepopping headlines about lawyers and their profession filled the survey period. Although very few of the underlying cases made or changed any substantive law, they may well have substantially altered the landscape of lawyering, creating or illuminating various pitfalls and land mines.

One Georgia lawyer, disbarred for murdering his landlord, avoided the death penalty only …

Attorney-Client Privilege: Continuing Confusion About Attorney Communications, Drafts, Pre-Existing Documents, And The Source Of The Facts Communicated , Paul R. Rice

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Being A Commentator Iii, Erwin Chemerinsky, Laurie Levenson

Mercer Law Review

The use of lawyers and law professors as commentators continues to increase. Although reporters have long used experts to explain and evaluate, in the last decade legal commentators have become a fixture in news stories about legal proceedings. A decade ago, when the McMartin Preschool case filled the news in Los Angeles, scarcely a commentator was used. A few years later, when the officers who beat Rodney King were tried in state court, daily legal commentary was absent. In sharp contrast, commentators were used on a regular basis during the federal prosecution of those officers. The subsequent trial of two …

Tax Lawyers, Ethical Obligations, And The Duty To The System, Watson

Scholarly Works

Perhaps the most elusive area of law is that of legal ethics. While the term itself is easy to define,' the subject all but defies codification because ethics, or morals (the terms are interchangeable), cannot be encapsulated by or in law. This is because law, in general, contains its own standard of validity on which there is usually clear societal consensus. For example, murder, rape, and theft are morally repugnant universally. Hence, punishment for any of these offenses does not impinge upon religious or individual autonomy because there is no ethical freedom to choose whether or not to engage in …

Religion And The Public Defender, Sadiq Reza

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay will argue that the public defender, or any other attorney appointed by the court to defend adults or juveniles charged with criminal offenses, should not undertake, or fail to undertake, any action to the legal detriment of a client on the basis of a conflict the attorney perceives between religious and professional imperatives, except in the rare case of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another. This argument rests on the following four premises: (1) the public defender occupies a unique position in our legal system, and options that may be available to lawyers who serve private …

Access To What, Stephen L. Pepper

Journal of the Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics

No abstract provided.