Digital Commons Network^™

Class Actions And The Poor, Henry Rose

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Imagine that you are a legal aid lawyer in America whose services are funded by the Federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC). You interview a prospective client and learn that she was recently laid off from her job; she applied for and was denied Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits by the state; and she is in a desperate financial situation. You accept the client’s case to determine whether she has a legal basis to challenge the denial of her UI claim. You research your client’s problem and form the opinion that the denial of her UI claim was based on a …

Reflections Of A Community Lawyer, Luz E. Herrera

Faculty Scholarship

In May 2002, I opened a law office in one of the most underserved communities in Los Angeles County. Many questioned the sanity of such a career path when evaluating my financial stability and the personal toll that such a career path can exact. Given that I graduated from some of the best universities in the country, my friends, family, and strangers were even more perplexed at my choice. I cannot say that my decision to build a law practice in Compton, California, has been easy. However, time and time again, I found myself rejecting more secure and prestigious job …

Vol. 5, No. 04 (July/August 2007)

Indiana Law Update

No abstract provided.

A How To Guide For Incorporating Global And Comparative Perspectives Into The Required Professional Responsibility Course, Laurel S. Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

This article was written for an AALS symposium on "Teaching Legal Ethics" and discusses how to incorporate global and comparative perspectives into the required Professional Responsibility course. The scope of the paper is much broader, however. The first half of the paper explains why global and comparative perspectives are relevant to contemporary law practice. This section explains why global perspectives are relevants to clients and lawyers and explains why lawyer regulators now use a more global approach to regulation than previously. The second half illustrates how one can introduce global and comparative perspectives into a professional responsibility course without taking …

Outsourcing And The Globalizing Legal Profession, Jayanth K. Krishnan

William & Mary Law Review

The issue of outsourcing jobs abroad stirs great emotion among Americans. Economic free-traders fiercely defend outsourcing as a positive for the U.S. economy, while critics contend that corporate desire for low wages, alone, drives this practice. In this study Professor Krishnan focuses on a specific type of outsourcing, one which has received scant scholarly attention to date-legal outsourcing. Indeed, because the work is often paralegal in nature, many see the outsourcing of legal jobs overseas as no different from other types of outsourcing. But by using case studies of both the United States and India, the latter of which is …

Surfing The Next Wave Of Outsourcing: The Ethics Of Sending Domestic Legal Work To Foreign Countries Under New York City Opinion 2006-3, Keith Woffinden

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judging Judges And Dispute Resolution Processes, John M. Lande

Faculty Publications

This article critiques Professor Chris Guthrie's lead symposium article entitled, "Misjudging." Guthrie's article makes two major arguments. The first is a descriptive, empirical argument that judges are prone to error because of three types of "blinders" and that people underestimate the amount of such judicial error. The second argument is prescriptive, recommending that, because of these judicial blinders, disputants should consider using non-judicial dispute resolution processes generally, and particularly facilitative mediation and arbitration.This article critiques both arguments. It notes that, although Guthrie presents evidence that judges do make the kinds of errors that he describes, his article does not address …

Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 2007)

Indiana Law

No abstract provided.

Spring 2007

Alumni News

No abstract provided.

Challenges And Guidance For Lawyering In A Global Society, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

This foreword provides an overview of some key aspects of law practice that have changed over the last thirty years. Advancements in technology that allow communication and interaction across borders have facilitated lawyers in globalizing their practice locality. Consequently, new issues regarding comparative ethics have arisen. This foreword suggests that ethics rules have not kept pace with the changing landscape of law practice and uses current standards for advanced waivers, rules relating to contracts with represented and unrepresented persons, and the proper use of ethics rules in civil litigation to illustrate this point. This foreword raises concern over the erosion …

Capital Defense Lawyers: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Sean D. O'Brien

Michigan Law Review

Professor Welsh S. White's book Litigating in the Shadow of Death: Defense Attorneys in Capital Cases collects the compelling stories of "a new band of dedicated lawyers" that has "vigorously represented capital defendants, seeking to prevent their executions" (p.3). Sadly, Professor White passed away on New Year's Eve, 2005, days before the release of his final work. To the well-deserved accolades of Professor White that were recently published in the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, I can only add a poignant comment in a student blog that captures his excellence as a scholar and educator: "I wanted to …

Judging Magic: Can You See The Sleight Of Hand?, Rebecca Johnson

Michigan Law Review

Cultural critic bell hooks says, "Movies make magic. They change things. They take the real and make it into something else right before our very eyes." Movies do not, of course, have an exclusive hold on this ability to change one thing into something else. Law, too, possesses this power. Certainly, one must acknowledge some significant differences in the "magic" of filmic and legal texts. For the most part, as willing consumers of cultural products, we "choose" to subject ourselves to the magic of film. We sit in a darkened theater and let ourselves be taken away to a different …

Vol. 5, No. 02 (March/April 2007)

Indiana Law Update

No abstract provided.

Lawyers And Prophetic Justice, Timothy Floyd

Mercer Law Review

The statue of Lady Justice, a blindfold over her eyes, holding scales in one hand and a sword in the other, is our traditional visual image of justice. The scales convey the idea of neutrality and the weighing of competing interests; they emphasize rationality and the application of neutral principles in decision making. The blindfold emphasizes equality before the law, that the law is dispassionate and objective, and that decision making is untainted by bias. The statue also implies the stability and permanence of the justice system.

In my experience with lawyers, justice is not a regular topic in our …

A Lawyer's Lament: Law Schools And The "Profession" Of Law, Wayne S. Hyatt

Vanderbilt Law Review

Back in the mid-eighties, I offered a first year, second semester "un-elective" called American Legal Theory and American Legal Education. It scrunched together two history courses I had taught irregularly before. I liked the way the two topics fit together and still do, but with so many recalcitrant law students enrolled in it, the course was an unmitigated disaster. As is always the case with such attempts at offering perspective, amidst the shambles I had acquired at least a few devoted students. At the end of the last class one of them came up to the front to ask a …

Client Confidentiality, Professional Privilege And Online Communication: Potential Implications Of The Barton Decision, Kelcey Nichols

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

In a recent case of first impression, Barton v. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that an online communication involving an online intake form filled out by prospective clients gave rise to an attorney-client relationship governed by the duty of confidentiality and subject to attorney-client-privilege. The Ninth Circuit’s multi-factored analysis suggests a modified framework for evaluating when the duty of confidentiality and attorney-client relationship can be formed through online communications. This Article discusses Barton’s implications for attorneys and law firms that communicate with clients and …

Surfing Past The Pall Of Orthodoxy: Why The First Amendment Virtually Guarantees Online Law School Graduates Will Breach The Aba Accreditation Barrier, Nicholas C. Dranias

ExpressO

The impact of the constitutional dilemma created by the ABA’s aversion to Internet schooling is widespread. Currently, 18 states and 2 U.S. territories restrict bar exam eligibility to graduates of ABA-accredited law schools. Additionally, 29 states and 1 U.S. territory restrict admission to practice on motion to graduates of ABA-accredited law schools.

Although numerous lawsuits have been filed in ultimately failed efforts to strike down bar admission rules that restrict eligibility to graduates of ABA-accredited law schools, none has challenged the ABA-accreditation requirement based on the First Amendment’s prohibition on media discrimination. This Article makes that case.

Despite accelerating technological …

The First Amendment And State Regulation Of In-Person Solicitation Of Public Accounting Services, Damaris Rosich-Schwartz

St. Thomas Law Review

This article will discuss the history of the commercial speech doctrine as part of the First Amendment, its past and present protection, and the current test applied to state regulation of commercial speech, concentrating on state regulation of in-person solicitations of professionals, like attorneys and CPAs. This article will further discuss the reasons why an attorney's in-person solicitations can and should be regulated by the states, and why the same reasons apply to CPAs. Additionally, this article will discuss the United States Supreme Court's 1993 decision, Edenfield v. Fane, where the Court held that states cannot regulate in-person solicitations of …

Giving Millennials A Leg-Up: How To Avoid The If I Knew Then What I Know No Syndrome, Leslie Larkin Cooney

Faculty Scholarship

While it may not be possible for law schools to train students completely within three years for the practice of law, we can come much closer to this goal and make the transition to professional life an easier and more productive one. This article explores the common traits of members of the generation comprising today's law students who prefer the label Millennial to others because of their expressed wish not to be associated with Generation X. The article discusses ways to enhance clinical education and teach lifelong learning skills so students can continue developing their problem solving expertise long after …

Uk Law Notes, 2007, University Of Kentucky College Of Law

Annual Magazines

No abstract provided.

Urban Law School Graduates In Large Law Firms, David Wilkins, Ronit Dinovitzer, Rishi Batra

Faculty Articles

Two major trends have dominated the American legal profession in recent years. First, "the legal profession has seen a striking growth in the largest firms during the latter part of the last century." In 1960, Shearman Sterling & Wright (now called Shearman & Sterling) was the largest firm in the country - and therefore the world. It had 125 lawyers. By the close of the century, there were more than 250 firms larger than Shearman & Sterling had been forty years before, with the largest ten topping the scales at 1000 lawyers or more. Today, in order to make the …

Case For Less Secrecy In Lawyer Discipline, The, Leslie Levin

Faculty Articles and Papers

This article looks at the problems created by a lawyer discipline process that continues to be conducted mostly in secret. The vast majority of the 125,000 discipline complaints received annually are disposed of without an opportunity for the public to observe the process or the outcome of complaints. Heavy reliance on confidential dispositions - either through private sanctions or diversion programs - keeps most information about lawyer misconduct a secret from the public. As a result, clients are often injured by lawyers who have previously engaged in misconduct, little is known about the extent of recidivism among disciplined lawyers, and …

Globalization Of Law Firms: A Survey Of The Literature And A Research Agenda For Further Study, D. Daniel Sokol

UF Law Faculty Publications

The international expansion of law firms plays a critical role in understanding the business of law and the nature of globalization. This article responds to two articles on law firm expansion in the Indiana University - Bloomington Law School symposium on the Globalization of the Legal Profession. The article utilizes management studies' theoretical work on internationalization and applies it to law firm expansion to explain law firm strategic decision-making. The author creates a six part taxonomy for types of law firm expansion and provides a snapshot of the increasing U.S./U.K. dominance of capital markets, corporate and mergers and acquisitions legal …

Ethical Codes And Cultural Context: Ensuring Legal Ethics In The Global Law Firm, Laurence Etherington, Robert Lee

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

There are doubtless many practical and professional problems that arise in the global legal practice, but this paper suggests that not least of these are issues of legal ethics, in part generated by the global context and not easily amenable to resolution by reference to any single code within the "home" or "host" jurisdiction. For example, there may be difficulties in isolating precisely what those ethical obligations might comprise. These obligations might be rooted in the requirements of local law, but they might arise equally from the values and expectations of the client, or from other lawyers whether inside or …

Globalization Of Legal Practice In The Internet Age, Leonard Bierman, Michael A. Hitt

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The Internet's global reach has had a significant impact on the legal profession. This essay explains a few of the key developments in this area, including: competition fueled by outsourcing legal work to lower-wage earning lawyers around the world, "virtual work" changing client interaction and attorney work schedules, law firm reputation as a result of information availability on the Internet, work-product monitoring and the commoditization of legal services, and work force diversity spurred by the influence of international clients.

Globalization of The Legal Profession, Symposium. Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, April 6, 2006

Lawyers As Sanctifiers: The Role Of Elite Law Firms In International Business Transactions, John Flood

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Globalization has fundamentally accelerated and altered business transactions. The search for low labor costs and cheap raw materials has led to a proliferation of international transactions, and large, international law firms are called on to participate in complex transactions helping business tap into sources of finance around the world for investment. This article first examines the theoretical underpinnings of international legal practice, taking into account the historiography of U.S. and U.K. law firms. Part II describes the economic and political factors behind law firms' rise. Part III analyzes the success of the common law, as expressed through contract, at the …

Local Matters: Internationalizing Strategies For U.S. Law Firms, Carole Silver

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The local nature of legal systems reduces the harmonizing impact that globalization has generated in other sectors of the economy. Despite the continuing importance of local differences and institutions, the world in which law and lawyers operate is increasingly connected, and national borders are receding as barriers to commerce. Lawyers and their firms must respond to the forces of globalization both as organizations and in connection with the services they provide. This article addresses the ways in which they are doing so by examining what it means for a law firm to be both a global and a U.S. firm. …

Global Law: A Legal Phenomenon Emerging From The Process Of Globalization, Pierrick Le Golf

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article addresses the following question: Is Global Law merely a trendy theory, or are there concrete and factual elements allowing submission of irrefutable evidence of a movement toward the creation of a stand-alone international legal system? In this piece, Le Goff explores the idea of global law, and whether a harmonized scheme based on converging national laws and practices, international custom and values, among others, is emerging in the global economy. The first part of the article attempts to define the notion of global law, and to distinguish global law from other disciplines claiming a direct link to or …

A Look At Legal Education: The Globalization Of American Legal Education, James P. White

Indiana Law Journal

Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators Annual Meeting July 29-August 2, 2006 Indianapolis, Indiana.

Globalization Of Law Firms: A Survey Of The Literature And A Research Agenda For Further Study, D. Daniel Sokol

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The Internationale expansion of law firms plays a critical role in understanding the business of law and the nature of globalization. This article responds to the articles by Carole Silver and Len Bierman and Michael Hitt on law firm expansion in this symposium issue on the Globalization of the Legal Profession. The essay utilizes management studies' theoretical work on internationalization and applies it to law firm expansion to explain law firm strategic decision-making. The author creates a six part taxonomy for types of law firm expansion and provides a snapshot of the increasing U.S./UK. dominance of capital markets, corporate and …