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Lawyers As Upholders Of Human Dignity (When They Aren't Busy Assaulting It), David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

David Luban argues in this lecture that the moral foundation of the lawyer's profession lies in the defense of human dignity-and the chief moral danger facing the profession arises when lawyers assault human dignity rather than defend it. The concept of human dignity has a rich philosophical tradition, with some philosophers identifying human dignity as a metaphysical property of individuals-a property such as having a soul, or possessing autonomy. Luban argues instead that human dignity is a relational property of "the dignifier" and "the dignified," emphasizing that assaulting human dignity humiliates the victim. Lawyers honor the human dignity of others …

Should Lawyers Participate In Rigged Systems: The Case Of The Military Commissions, Mary M. Cheh

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Lawyers often represent clients when the odds are long or a catastrophe likely. The facts might be harmful, the evidence overwhelming, or the law clearly on the side of the opponent. Still, we do the best we can. But what if the system is rigged? What if the system has the trappings of a fair fight, but is, in fact, skewed to one side and, by design, the lawyer cannot fully defend the client? What if the lawyer can only lend legitimacy to a process that at its core is biased, slanted in favor of the other side, or fundamentally …

Professional Responsibility, James M. Mccauley

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

United States Regulation Of Canadian Securities Attorneys Under Sarbanes-Oxley: Exploring Costs And Finding An Optimal Allocation Of Authority, Lauren M. Harper

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lawyers In The Moral Maze, Mark A. Sargent

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Multidisciplinary Practice In The International Context: Realigning The Perspective On The European Union’S Regulatory Regime, George C. Nnona

Cornell International Law Journal

Multidisciplinary practice (MDP) and the controversy surrounding it have ebbed in the wake of the Enron scandal and the subsequent enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. However, legal professionals continue to debate the viability of MDP and rules that currently prohibit lawyer fee-sharing arrangements and partnerships with non-lawyers-some of the rules that aim to safeguard lawyer independence from external influences. This Article addresses one of the most common arguments supporting MDP, namely, that the pervasive propagation of MDP in Europe will inevitably exert an overwhelming influence and pressure to conform on regulators of the legal profession in the United States. The …

Ethics Year In Review, James T. Erickson

Santa Clara Law Review

No abstract provided.

Misrepresentation By Lawyers About Credentials Or Experience, Vincent R. Johnson, Shawn M. Lovorn

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Symposium Remarks: Plea For The Next Great Wave Of Reform, Burnele V. Powell

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Religious Lawyering In A Liberal Democracy: A Challenge And An Invitation William A. Brahms Lecture On Law & Religion, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

At a time when many believe that law is no longer a noble profession, many lawyers see no reason to devote time and energy to promoting the public good. Religious lawyering may offer a powerful antidote: a robust framework for lawyers to integrate into their professional lives their most deeply rooted values, perspectives and critiques, and persuasive reasons to improve the quality of justice and work for the common good. At its best, religious lawyering echoes Martin Luther King's advice to the street sweeper. How wonderful it would be, indeed, if we practiced law so well that the host of …

The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee: Using The Attorney Conduct Rules To Restructure The Board Of Directors, Jill E. Fisch, Caroline M. Gentile

Duke Law Journal

The Securities and Exchange Commission introduced a new corporate governance structure, the qualified legal compliance committee, as part of the professional standards of conduct for attorneys mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. QLCCs are consistent with the Commission's general approach to improving corporate governance through specialized committees of independent directors. This Article suggests, however, that assessing the benefits and costs of creating QLCCs may be more complex than is initially apparent. Importantly, QLCCs are unlikely to be effective in the absence of incentives for active director monitoring. This Article concludes by considering three ways of increasing these incentives.

Pro Bono In Principle And In Practice, Deborah L. Rhode

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Race, Class, And The Regulation Of The Legal Profession In The Progressive Era: The Case Of The 1908 Canons, Alfred L. Brophy

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Production Of Pro Bono, Jeffrey Standen

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Developing A Global Program For Enhancing Accountability: Key Ethical Tenets For The Legal Profession In The 21st Century, Mark S. Ellis

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Gets Judges In Trouble, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

I wrote this article to collect some cautionary material about “what gets judges in trouble.” I wanted something I could offer to our state judges, practitioners, and my legal ethics students. While I have never been a judge, and while I have never worked for a judicial conduct organization, I have been a law professor for almost twenty-five years and the chairman of a state bar association ethics committee for fourteen. I am not the kind of person who would refrain from holding forth just because I may not know what I am talking about.

When I started out, I …

A Bermuda Triangle In The Tripartite Relationship: Ethical Dilemmas Raised By Insurers' Billing And Litigation Management Guidelines, Amy S. Moats

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Turn Up The Volume: The Need For "Noisy Withdrawal" In A Post Enron Society, Ryan Morrison

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Law School Clinic As A Model Ethical Law Office, Peter A. Joy

William Mitchell Law Review

In this essay, I contend that all clinical teachers should explicitly acknowledge that they are legal ethics and professional responsibility teachers and role models of the “good lawyer” in everything they do. I argue that every in-house clinical teacher should strive to make her clinic a model ethical law office.

The Lawyer As Public Citizen: Meeting The Pro Bono Challenge, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Works

This article examines the lawyer’s role as a public citizen through the lens of the professional responsibility to provide pro bono legal services. It explores the evolution and implications of the American Bar Association’s Model Rule 6.1, which defines pro bono service as a professional obligation rather than a discretionary act of charity. The discussion traces the historical foundations of lawyers’ duties to serve the public, the ethical considerations debated by the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission, and the tension between voluntary and mandatory service. The article also highlights the practical role of law firms and professional organizations in fostering a …

What I Think That I Have Learned About Legal Ethics, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In this short piece I want to say a few things that other academics teaching legal ethics may find disturbing. I say this because I believe that I may be swimming against the current academic fashion. Of course, it is possible that I do not have a very good handle on the current academic fashion. I hope I am not setting up a straw person to knock down, but I may be. If I am, I am sure someone will call me to task. What I am going to say is this: contrary to popular belief (among practitioners, at least) …

Reinterpreting Professional Identity, Norman W. Spaulding

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal And Professional Ethics: The Regulation Of Ancillaries And Law-Related Services Reaches Oklahoma, D. Kencade Babb

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Subordinate Lawyers And Insubordinate Duties, Douglas R. Richmond

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is There A Role For Lawyers In Preventing Future Enrons, Jill E. Fisch, Kenneth M. Rosen

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Law As Social Work, Jane H. Aiken, Stephen Wizner

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In our work as lawyers for low income clients and as clinical teachers, we are sometimes told by our professional counterparts in private practice - especially those who work in large corporate firms - that what we do "isn't law, it's social work." Similarly, our students sometimes complain that the work they do on behalf of low income clients "isn't law, it's social work." In the past we have tended to respond to this "social worker" charge defensively. We insisted that what we and our students do is "law," that it is really no different from what private practitioners do …

Whom (Or What) Does The Organization's Lawyer Represent?: An Anatomy Of Intraclient Conflict, William H. Simon

Faculty Scholarship

Professional responsibility issues involving organizational clients are distinctively difficult because organizations consist of constituents with conflicting interests. Legal doctrine has only recently begun to address the effect of internal conflict on a lawyer's responsibilities to an organizational client. Under current doctrine, the lawyer's responsibilities differ strongly depending on whether the representation is characterized as 'joint" representation of the organization 's constituents or "entity" representation. This Article argues that the choice between the two characterizations often has been arbitrary and that the underlying differences between them have been misunderstood. With respect to entity representation, it criticizes a prominent tendency in the …

The Pursuit Of Justice: New Directions In Scholarship About The Practice Of Law, Alex J. Hurder

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Lying And Lawyering: Contrasting American And Jewish Law, Steven H. Resnicoff

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Lawyer As Moral Counselor: How Much Should The Client Be Expected To Pay, Sanford Levinson

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.