Digital Commons Network^™

Abandoning An "Unethical" System Of Legal Ethics, David R. Barnhizer

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

It is time to abandon the pretense of "legal ethics" as an independent lawyer-run system and to design a civil liability system in which lawyers can be held accountable to wronged clients at reasonable costs with ready access and fair modes of proof. To the extent that the system of ethics actually caused lawyers to act "ethically" (which is a major and largely unsupportable supposition), the competitive dynamics of the legal profession, coupled with the significant decline in values, honesty, and accountability in American society, have rendered even that historically suspect system illegitimate. This does not mean that there are …

Access To Justice And The Ethics And Politics Of Alternative Business Structures, Richard Devlin, Ora Morison

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Despite ongoing concern about access to justice in Canada, the problem persists. Meanwhile, the basic model for legal practice in Canada is the same as when the profession first emerged centuries ago in England. Only lawyers can own and control legal practices. This is not the case in other common law jurisdictions where rules have evolved to allow nonlawyers to own the companies that provide legal services. Based on a comparative analysis of the development of these alternative business structures (ABSs) in Australia and the United Kingdom, and the nondevelopment of ABSs in the United States, the authors argue that …

The Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities: Beginning To Examine The Implications For Canadian Lawyers' Professional Responsiblities, H Archibald Kaiser

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter the CRPD or the Convention) should herald a new epoch in the way persons with disabilities are treated throughout the world community. The entire panoply of ramifications of this Convention, the purpose of which is “to promote, protect and ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity”, (Article 1) is as yet unascertainable. However, States Parties must “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination by any person, organization or private enterprise” (Article …

Adopting Regulatory Objectives For The Legal Profession, Laurel Terry, Steve Mark, Tahlia Gordon

Faculty Scholarly Works

In 2007, the United Kingdom adopted a new law called the Legal Services Act. This Act radically changed certain aspects of U.K. lawyer regulation. Section 1 of that Act identified eight “regulatory objectives” that provide the basis for the regulation of the legal profession. The United Kingdom is not the only jurisdiction that has identified regulatory objectives. Most Canadian provinces, for example, have provisions that are tantamount to regulatory objectives. Australia routinely used “purpose statements” when enacting legal profession regulation and was in the process of developing regulatory objectives at the time this article was written. Despite these examples, however, …

Trends And Challenges In Lawyer Regulation: The Impact Of Globalization And Technology, Laurel Terry, Steve Mark, Tahlia Gordon

Faculty Scholarly Works

Globalization and technology have changed the practice of law in dramatic ways. This is true not only in the United States, but around the world. In this article, author Laurel Terry, along with Australian regulators Steve Mark and Tahlia Gordon, documented some of these global trends in lawyer regulation. Their article concluded that regulators face issues in common regarding “who” is regulated, “what” or whom is regulated, “when” regulation occurs, “where” regulation occurs, “how” it occurs, and “why” regulation occurs. This article uses this who-what-when-where-why-and-how framework to discuss events around the world. These developments include the 2007 UK Legal Services …

Further Perspectives On Corporate Wrongdoing, In Pari Delicto, And Auditor Malpractice, Deborah A. Demott

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

In-House But Out In The Cold: A Comparison Of The Attorney-Client Privilege In The United States And European Union Comment., Andrew R. Nash

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Ethics: Conflicts Of Interest Issues In Patent Litigation, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

To understand what conflicts to avoid, this Article looks at recent decisions in patent litigation cases where conflict of interest issues have been decided. The discussion is divided up as follows. In Part I, choice of law regarding conflicts issues is discussed. In Part II, the common issues surrounding attorney and/or firm disqualifications for conflicts of interest are explored. Part III looks at conflicts of interest involving current clients. Part IV examines conflicts of interest concerning former clients. In Part V, a different type of conflict of interest—the lawyer as a witness situation—is discussed. Part VI moves to conflicts of …

Going Native: Incentive, Identity, And The Inherent Ethical Problem Of In-House Counsel, Pam Jenoff

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taking Limited Representation To The Limits: The Efficacy Of Using Unbundled Legal Services In Domestic-Relations Matters Involving Litigation., Michele N. Struffolino

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The use of unbundled legal services is nothing new in this country, and it is often preferable to no representation at all. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct expressly permit attorneys to provide limited representation to their clients. Domestic-relations attorneys, in particular, have tried to ease the burden on litigants by offering unbundled legal services. However, the use of unbundled services in domestic[1]relations matters has caused difficulties for litigants, attorneys, and the courts. For these domestic-relations cases in particular, full service representation is crucial. To provide full satisfaction for their clients and to fulfill their ethical duty, domestic-relations attorneys must …

Malpractice Liability Related To Foreign Outsourcing Of Legal Services., Vincent R. Johnson, Stephen C. Loomis

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The outsourcing of client-related tasks to service providers in other countries is likely to generate malpractice claims against American law firms. This Article discusses the wide range of theories under which an outsourcing American law firm may be liable for its own negligence or for the actions of outsourcing providers. These theories include negligence by the outsourcing law firm, vicarious liability for the conduct of firm principals and employees, vicarious liability for the conduct of independent contractors, and vicarious liability for the conduct of business partners.

Rethinking Lawyer Regulation: How A Relational Approach Would Improve Professional Rules And Roles, Russell G. Pearce, Eli G. Wald

Faculty Scholarship

This Article offers both a way to understand emerging developments in the regulation of the legal profession in the United States and internationally, and an explanation for why these developments grounded in a relational perspective on lawyers and their work are likely to be more effective in encouraging lawyers to follow the legal ethics rules and to fulfill professional aspirations. The dominant United States approach to lawyer regulation is the command and control model that penalizes lawyers for failing to follow a lengthy set of prescribed rules. As the article explains, this approach assumes – and reinforces the idea – …

No Laughing Matter: The Intersection Of Legal Malpractice And Professionalism, Nicola A. Boothe-Perry

Journal Publications

In an effort to increase professionalism among lawyers, an analysis of the relationship between lawyers' professional behavior and legal malpractice claims is warranted. This Article will explore that relationship, and address the need to fuse the two components in an effort to enhance professionalism. The Article will specifically seek to address the questions: (1) Should professionalism be admissible, or even conclusive, evidence of the standard of care of the "reasonable attorney" in legal malpractice cases? and (2) Will a proper definition of the "reasonable attorney" in the context of legal malpractice cases encourage and ultimately enhance professionalism in legal society?

Epistemology And Ethics In Relationship-Centered Legal Education And Practice, Susan L. Brooks, Robert G. Madden

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

New Roles To Solve Old Problems: Lawyering For Ordinary People In Today’S Context, Marsha M. Mansfield, Louise G. Trubek

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Misplaced Fidelity, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper is a review essay of W. Bradley Wendel's Lawyers and Fidelity to Law, part of a symposium on Wendel's book. Parts I and II aim to situate Wendel's book within the literature on philosophical or theoretical legal ethics. I focus on two points: Wendel's argument that legal ethics should be examined through the lens of political theory rather than moral philosophy, and his emphasis on the role law plays in setting terms of social coexistence in the midst of moral pluralism. Both of these themes lead him to reject viewing legal ethics as an instance of "the …

Money And Meaning: The Moral Economy Of Law Firm Compensation, Milton C. Regan, Lisa H. Rohrer

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article, part of an ongoing qualitative research project on law firm culture, analyzes the role of compensation in the modern law firm. At first blush, the significance of the compensation process may seem obvious: it represents an economy in which the firm distributes material rewards to its partners. From this perspective, disputes and dissatisfaction regarding compensation are simply attempts by partners to improve their financial well-being.

Our research suggests, however, that compensation serves to distribute not just money, but also respect. Compensation thus represents the operation of both a material and a moral economy within a firm. As a …

"Legal Ethics In The Digital Age", Susan David Demaine

Books & Book Chapters by Maurer Faculty

Includes the chapter "Legal Ethics in the Digital Age" by Prof. Susan David deMaine.

The Paradox And Promise Of Restorative Attorney Discipline, Jennifer Gerarda Brown, Liana G.T. Wolf

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Restorative Lawyer Discipline In Australia, Linda Haller

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Lawyers, Loyalty And Social Change, Deborah J. Cantrell

Publications

Fundamentally, cause lawyers engage in their work to make social change. Scholars of cause lawyering have generated a robust and rich literature considering important issues, such as what kinds of advocacy strategies best generate social change and what features of the relationship between cause client and cause lawyer are critical to an engaged and mutual relationship. But, the literature has neglected a key aspect of the cause lawyer and client relationship: whether the particular kind of loyalty that exists as between them hinders or helps in achieving social change. This Article fills that void. It first illuminates the particular features …

A Judicial And Economic Analysis Of Attorney's Fees In Trust Litigation And The Resulting Inequitable Treatment Of Trust Beneficiaries., Charles Epps Ipock

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Further Perspectives On Corporate Wrongdoing, In Pari Delicto, And Auditor Malpractice, Deborah A. Demott

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Authoritarian Legal Ethics: Bradley Wendel And The Positivist Turn, William H. Simon

Faculty Scholarship

In this Review, I respond to the authoritarian theme in Lawyers and Fidelity to Law. In essence, I argue: neither libertarianism nor authoritarianism is a plausible starting point for a general approach to legal ethics. It is a great virtue of Ronald Dworkin’s jurisprudence that it suggests a conception of law and legal ethics that does not depend on either perspective. Moreover, it suggests a conception of lawyer responsibility that is more plausible than either Emersonianism or moralistic positivism. By gesturing toward positivism and by surrendering to less reflective authoritarian impulses, Wendel’s argument underestimates the extent to which social …

The Good, The Right, And The Lawyer, Trevor C. W. Farrow

Articles & Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Hiring Teams, Firms, And Lawyers: Evidence Of The Evolving Relationship In The Corporate Legal Market, Michele M. Destefano, John C. Coates, Ashish Nanda, David B. Wilkins

Articles

How are relationships between corporate clients and law firms evolving? Drawing on interview and survey data from 166 chief legal officers of S&P 500 companies from 2006-2007, we find that-contrary to standard depictions of corporate client-provider relationships-(1) large companies have relationships with ten to twenty preferred providers; (2) these relationships continue to be enduring, and (3) clients focus not only on law firm platforms and lead partners, but also on teams and departments within preferred providers, allocating work to these subunits at rival firms over time and following "star" lawyers, especially if they move as part of a team. The …

Up Against The Wall: A Guide To The Effective Screening Of Former Government Attorneys In New York, Shira Mizrahi

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note examines New York Rule of Professional Conduct 1.11, which governs conflicts of interest for former government attorneys transitioning to private practice. It highlights the rule's strict requirements for screening to prevent conflicts and the "appearance of impropriety" standard, which allows courts to disqualify firms even without evidence of wrongdoing. The analysis critiques the rule's effectiveness, particularly in small firms, and proposes reforms to balance public trust, client interests, and attorneys' career mobility.

The Tax Man's Ethics: Four Of The Hardest Ethical Questions For An Irs Lawyer, Michelle M. Kwon

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article explores the ethical framework governing IRS Office of Chief Counsel lawyers, comparing the traditional approach of client advocacy with the public interest approach. It argues that the Office has adopted self-imposed duties to the public, beyond the Model Rules, to ensure impartial and fair tax law application. These duties align with the IRS's mission and do not conflict with its primary role of representing the agency. The analysis examines four hypothetical scenarios to assess the effectiveness of these duties and their implications for legal ethics.

Internet Ethics: Complications Of The Digital Age And Web Sites To Help You Untangle Them, Maureen Cahill

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Computers and the Internet have profoundly changed at least the mechanics of the practice of law. Client communication, legal research, document drafting and transmittal, and record storage are increasingly paper free undertakings. As someone who began the practice of law long before the advent of the personal computer or the Internet, I can attest that the shift to computers and the Internet has greatly increased efficiency, productivity and convenience. At the same time, these tools can greatly complicate many traditional ethical considerations.

The paper is divided into two parts. In the first portion of this paper, I will try to …

District Committee Of The Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Bar Association V. Halberstadt, Hanan Melcer, Ayala Procaccia, Uzi Vogelman

Translated Opinions

Facts: The Respondent, a lawyer, was convicted of drug possession in a criminal proceeding after pleading guilty to offences of possession of dangerous drugs for personal use, and the growing of a dangerous drug, in violation of sections 7(a), the end of 7(c), and 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance [New Version], 1973. The Respondent possessed a net weight of 25.68 grams of the drug cannabis, for personal use, and also unlawfully cultivated a cannabis plant weighing 5,480, and another weighing 3,420. The Respondent also admitted that he had been using cannabis for three years. As a result of the …