Digital Commons Network^™

Winners And Losers In The Globalization Of Legal Services: Offshoring The Market For Foreign Lawyers, Carole Silver

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article takes an empirical approach to the issue of how the U.S. legal services market is responding to globalization. It begins by considering the ways in which the domestic legal services market has internationalized by focusing on changes in legal education and examines the disconnection between U.S. legal education and practice opportunities in the U.S. The article proceeds to consider the ways in which U.S. law firms have become global organizations by offshoring their international identities, through the staffing of their non-U.S. offices with non-U.S. lawyers. Based on a database of more than 5,000 lawyers working in the offshore …

Transnational Legal Practice Developments, Carole Silver, Robert E. Lutz, Philip T. Von Mehren, Laurel S. Terry, Peter Ehrenhaft, Clifford J. Hendel, Jonathan Goldsmith, Masahiro Shimojo

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Lawyers In Cyberspace: The Impact Of Legal Listservs On The Professional Development And Ethical Decisionmaking Of Lawyers, Leslie Levin

Faculty Articles and Papers

This article explores the impact of trial lawyers= associations on the professional identities of its members, their professional development, their understanding of practice norms, and their ethical decision making. It does so by looking at the New York State Trial Lawyers= Association (ANYSTLA@), and more specifically, the conversations that occur on its listserv. When these conversations are viewed in the context of the history and current operations of NYSTLA, it is possible to see how such listservs powerfully promote shared professional values and views within NYSTLA=s membership. The listserv extends the advice networks of trial lawyers far beyond the small …

In Re Adoption Of Gustavo G., Abigail Zigman

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Theory Of Access To Justice, Robert Rubinson

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article draws upon three observations: 1) the vast majority of disputes involve low-income litigants; 2) the vast majority of public and private resources of dispute resolution are allocated to disputes involving wealthy individuals and organizations; 3) any principled moral or ethical analysis demonstrates that the stakes are much higher in disputes involving low-income disputants than in disputes involving affluent individuals or organizations. Thus, the legal matters that attract a minute percentage of dispute resolution resources implicate issues of food and shelter, life and death. The Article describes a methodology - called "Resources of Dispute Resolution" or "RDR" - for …

Regulating International Lawyers: The Legal Consultant Rules, Carole Silver

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Religious Lawyering's Second Wave, Russell G. Pearce, Amelia J. Uelmen

Faculty Scholarship

Since the mid-1990s, the "religious lawyering movement" has expanded dramatically, receiving greater attention within the academy and the bar. As the movement enters what we term its "second wave" of development, this essay begins with a look back to its "first wave" of path-breaking scholarship and its gradual shift toward more institutionalized structures and programs. It argues that the predominant characteristic of first-wave religious lawyering scholarship was to claim a space within the professional conversation for lawyers to bring religious values to bear on their work. The essay then predicts that in the second wave religious lawyering conversations and scholarship …

Book Review Of English Lawyers Between Market And State: The Politics Of Professionalism, Harry Arthurs

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Economics Of Limited Liability: An Empirical Study Of New York Law Firms, Scott Baker, Kimberly D. Krawiec

ExpressO

Since the rapid rise in organizational forms for business associations, academics and practitioners have sought to explain the choice of form rationale. Each form contains its own set of default rules that inevitably get factored into this decision, including the extent to which each individual firm owner will be held personally liable for the collective debts and obligations of the firm. The significance of the differences in these default rules continues to be debated. Many commentators have advanced theories, most notably those based on unlimited liability, profit-sharing, and illiquidity, asserting that the partnership form provides efficiency benefits that outweigh any …

Vol. 3, No. 01 (December 2004)

Indiana Law Update

No abstract provided.

Vol. 2, No. 09 (November 2004)

Indiana Law Update

No abstract provided.

Professional Responsibility, James M. Mccauley

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Cloak For The Bare: In Support Of Allowing Prospective Malpractice Liability Waivers In Certain Pro Bono Cases, Steve Berenson

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Understanding Lawyers' Ethics: Zealous Advocacy In A Time Of Uncertainty, Katherine S. Broderick

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Can or should a lawyer representing an alleged terrorist ethically allow the government to tape her conversations with her client as a prerequisite to the representation? Can a public defender live up to the promise of Gideon v. Wainright1 when he is carrying 100 serious felony cases? Should a lawyer who divulges a client confidence to bring down a corrupt judge be sanctioned? What ethical obligations obtain for the lawyer representing the CEO of a thriving start-up when the CEO admits that by over-reporting profits he believes that he has turned the company around? These questions, some of the toughest …

A Response To The Society Of American Law Teachers Statement On The Bar Exam, Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Rational Standard Setting In Lawyer Qualification: A Critical Look At The Proposal Of The New York Board Of Law Examiners To Increase The Passing Score On The Bar Examination, Frederick Link

Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Model Definition Of The Practice Of Law: If Not Now, When? An Alternative Approach To Defining The Practice Of Law, Soha F. Turfler

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Making Lawyers Compete, Lester Brickman

Articles

The article argues that the market for contingent-fee-financed tort litigation is not price competitive, primarily due to uniform contingency fees charged by lawyers regardless of case-specific factors such as risk or effort required. This lack of competition leads to excessive costs for claimants and contributes to the expansion of tort liability. The author contends that the legal profession maintains this system through various barriers, including ethical rules and entry restrictions, which prevent competitive market forces from functioning effectively.

Vol. 2, No. 07/08 (June/July 2004)

Indiana Law Update

No abstract provided.

Can Law Firms Spam?, Kevin Michael

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 presents a compliance problem for law firms that issue periodic newsletters to clients or prospective clients. While the Act does not expressly include such newsletters, nor define commercial advertisement in a manner that suggests newsletters will be included, the advisory opinions from state ethics boards suggest that newsletters are advertisements. Arguments can be made that newsletters to current clients are not advertisements. However, given the low cost of compliance with the Act, firms should treat these newsletters as commercial advertisements and adhere to the provisions of the Act.

The Higher Calling: Regulation Of Lawyers Post-Enron, Keith R. Fisher

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article discusses some of the inadequacies in the current ethical regulation of the legal system and proposes a new approach to crafting and contextualizing rules of legal ethics. The proliferation of specialties and subspecialties in law practice, together with the inadequacies of prevailing ethics regulation and the vagaries of ethics rules formulations from state to state have not served either the public or the legal profession well. Manipulation, motivated by politics and self-interest, of the ideology of the organized bar to adhere to ethical rules predicated on an antiquated and unrealistic model of a unified legal profession has likewise …

Volume 28, Issue 1 (Spring 2004)

Transcript

No abstract provided.

Lawyers, Gats, And The Wto Accountancy Disciplines: The History Of The Wto's Consultation, The Iba Gats Forum And The September 2003 Iba Resolutions, Laurel S. Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

The article addresses issues related to legal services and the General Agreement on Trade in Services or GATS. The article begins by focusing on "Track #2" of the GATS and the obligation under GATS Article VI:4 to develop "any necessary disciplines." In 1998, WTO Members implemented GATS Article VI:4 by adopting "Disciplines" that apply to the accoutnancy sector. WTO Members currently are in the process of deciding whether to extend the WTO Accountancy Disciplines, S/L/64, to other service sectors, including legal services. In December 2002, the WTO sent the International Bar Association (IBA) and other non-governmental organizations a "consultation letter" …

Legal Malpractice Insurance: Surviving The Perfect Storm, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

This article serves as a practical guide to legal malpractice insurance. Part I introduces the topic of legal malpractice insurance with a brief overview of the changes that occurred in market conditions in 2000 and the subsequent effect on insurance premiums and coverage. Part II outlines the different types of insurance coverage that are available to legal professionals by describing common policy terms, exclusions, and conditions that affect coverage. Part III describes changes in law firms that may affect coverage. Part IV provides legal professionals with useful advice to consider when choosing an insurance policy. Part V reveals important factors …

Courts As Forums For Protest, Jules Lobel

ExpressO

For almost half a century, scholars, judges and politicians have debated two competing models of the judiciary’s role in a democratic society. The mainstream model views courts as arbiters of disputes between private individuals asserting particular rights. The public law or structural reform litigation emphasized the judiciary’s role in implementing social change and not simply ordering private relationships.

The ongoing debate between these two views of the judicial role has obscured a third model of the role of courts in a democratic society; a model that has been ignored by legal scholars and viewed as illegitimate by some courts. That …

Are You Experienced?: Examining The Need For Specialized Ethics Rules In Patent Litigation, Benjamin J. Sodey

ExpressO

Any attorney licensed to practice before a federal district court, regardless or his or her area of specialization, may file a patent infringement suit on behalf of a client in that court. The possibility exists, therefore, for an attorney having little or no intellectual property experience to represent clients in complex patent litigation matters. Due to this, infringement defendants and their counsel may find themselves on the receiving end of a dubious patent claim brought by attorneys lacking patent law experience. This article discusses whether the existing rules governing attorney conduct, such as professional responsibility, procedural, or statutory rules, are …

Making A List And Checking It Twice: Must Tax Attorneys Divulge Who's Naughty And Nice?, Richard Lavoie

ExpressO

This article analyzes the ability of tax attorneys to shield a client’s identity from disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service under the attorney-client privilege. The article concludes that, on policy grounds, the attorney-client privilege should be limited in the context of tax planning. Consequently, client identity should not be privileged irrespective of whether a tax shelter is involved. The article also concludes that the privilege would not be available under the current judicial approach to client identity questions. As a result, recent regulations requiring tax attorneys to maintain lists of clients engaging in specified tax motivated transactions represent an appropriate …

Using Our Brains: What Cognitive Science Teaches About Teaching Law Students To Be Ethical, Professionally Responsible Lawyers, Alan M. Lerner

ExpressO

Throughout our lives, below the level of our consciousness, each of us develops powerful values, intuitions, expectations, and needs that powerfully affect both our perceptions and our judgments. Placed in situations in which we feel threatened, or which implicate our values, our brains, relying on those implicitly learned, emotionally weighted, memories, can "downshift," to primitive, self-protective problem solving techniques - fight or flight. Because these processes operate below the radar of our consciousness, we react without reflection or the opportunity for interdiction. Thus, it may be that automatic, “emotional” reaction, rather than thoughtful, reasoned analysis leads to our responses to …

Nothing Lost, Nothing Owed: Supreme Court Upholds State Iolta Program In Brown V. Legal Foundation Of Washington, Robert C. Hughes Iii

Mercer Law Review

In a 5-4 decision in Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington, the United States Supreme Court held that a state law that (1) requires lawyers and limited practitioner officers ("LPOs") to deposit client funds that cannot otherwise generate net-earning for their clients into an interest on lawyer's trust account ("IOLTA account") and (2) mandates that the interest produced on those funds be transferred to a different owner for a legitimate public use could constitute a per se taking of the clients' right to that interest, but no compensation is owed to such clients when they suffer no net loss. …

Attorney Fees In Class Action Settlements: An Empirical Study, Theodore Eisenberg, Geoffrey P. Miller

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Study of two comprehensive class action case data sets covering 1993-2002 shows that the amount of client recovery is overwhelmingly the most important determinant of the attorney fee award. Even in cases in which the courts engage in the lodestar calculation (the product of reasonable hours and a reasonable hourly rate), the client's recovery generally explains the pattern of awards better than the lodestar. Thus, the time and expense of a lodestar calculation may be wasteful. We also find no robust evidence that either recoveries for plaintiffs or fees of their attorneys increased overtime. The mean fee award in common …