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Articles 1 - 22 of 22
Full-Text Articles in Law
Law School Rankings And The Impossibility Of Anti-Racism, Rory D. Bahadur
Law School Rankings And The Impossibility Of Anti-Racism, Rory D. Bahadur
St. Mary's Law Journal
This Article uses the U.S. News law school rankings to illustrate how powerful, invisible, and stubborn systemic racism is. This Article does not level allegations of intentionally blameworthy conduct at U.S. News, or any person or entity. More broadly, this Article does not address conscious and deliberate racism, or the examples of this type of racism with which America’s history is replete. Nor is this Article attempting to undervalue the significant impact of deliberately racist actions in American history on the economic disparity between white people and people of color.
Instead, I make an untrue assumption: All Americans of every …
Marijuana Legalization: Child-Centered Considerations In Texas Family Law Matters, Julie Whitson
Marijuana Legalization: Child-Centered Considerations In Texas Family Law Matters, Julie Whitson
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The Dark Side Of Due Process: Part Ii, Why Penumbral Rights And Cost/Benefit Balancing Tests Are Bad, Joshua J. Schroeder
The Dark Side Of Due Process: Part Ii, Why Penumbral Rights And Cost/Benefit Balancing Tests Are Bad, Joshua J. Schroeder
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The Deep South’S Constitutional Con, Lynn Uzzell
The Deep South’S Constitutional Con, Lynn Uzzell
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Inter-Circuit Judicial Splits Surrounding The Class Action Fairness Act’S “Local Single Event” Exception—A Proposal To Resolve The Confusion, Odalys Vielma
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Hermeneutics For Legal Research And Analysis, Konstantin G. Vertsman
Hermeneutics For Legal Research And Analysis, Konstantin G. Vertsman
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Lawyers As Caregivers, Paula Schaefer
Lawyers As Caregivers, Paula Schaefer
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
This Article argues that clients—much like patients in a healthcare setting—need their lawyers to be caregivers. The Article opens by developing a definition of caregiving in medicine and law. It then turns to five key components of caregiving in medicine, explaining the substantial research that this care is crucial for patient satisfaction, trust, and healing. Medical educators have drawn on this research to better prepare medical professionals to be excellent caregivers. The Article then explores the evidence that an attorney’s clients have the same needs and suffer similar harm when attorneys fail to meet these needs. Next, the Article turns …
Daubert/Kumho Tire And The Legal Malpractice Expert Witness, Warren R. Trazenfeld, Robert M. Jarvis
Daubert/Kumho Tire And The Legal Malpractice Expert Witness, Warren R. Trazenfeld, Robert M. Jarvis
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
In legal malpractice cases, parties almost always end up using expert witnesses. Whether a particular legal malpractice expert is qualified to testify often is a hotly contested issue. In this Article, the authors provide recommendations for how to qualify a legal malpractice expert and how to challenge a legal malpractice expert’s qualifications.
Judged By The (Digital) Company You Keep: Maintaining Judicial Ethics In An Age Of Likes, Shares, And Follows, John Browning
Judged By The (Digital) Company You Keep: Maintaining Judicial Ethics In An Age Of Likes, Shares, And Follows, John Browning
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Just like lawyers, judicial use of social media can present ethical pitfalls. And while most scholarly attention has focused on either active social media conduct by judges (such as posting or tweeting) or on social media “friendships” between judges and others, this Article analyses the ethical dimensions of seemingly benign judicial conduct on social media platforms, such as following a third party or “liking,” sharing, or retweeting the online posts of others. Using real-world examples, this Article analyses how even such ostensibly benign conduct can create the appearance of impropriety and undermine public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of …
Patients, Corporate Attorneys, And Moral Obligations, Ioan-Radu Motoarcă
Patients, Corporate Attorneys, And Moral Obligations, Ioan-Radu Motoarcă
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
There are two main questions that any account of corporate lawyers’ moral obligations needs to answer: (1) Do corporate lawyers have moral obligations to third parties? and (2) In cases of conflict between obligations to the corporation and obligations to third parties, which should prevail? This Article offers answers to these questions in the context of lawyers working in medical corporations. I argue that lawyers do have moral obligations to third parties, and that in cases where patients’ rights are being violated by a medical company, patients’ rights should prevail. Consequently, attorney–client confidentiality rules should be relaxed to allow for …
The Foundational Skill Of Reflection In The Formation Of A Professional Identity, Neil W. Hamilton
The Foundational Skill Of Reflection In The Formation Of A Professional Identity, Neil W. Hamilton
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
There is a growing scholarly literature on the professional development and formation of law students into the core values, guiding principles, and well-being practices considered foundational to successful legal practice.* This growing scholarly literature can guide effective curriculum development to foster student growth toward later stages of development on these learning outcomes. This Article focuses on the skill of reflection as one of the most effective curricular strategies to foster each student’s growth toward later stages of these learning outcomes. This same curricular strategy will also be effective in engaging practicing lawyers to grow toward these same goals. Part II …
The Sale Of Law Practice In Texas: The Need For A Rule, Ryan Hagens
The Sale Of Law Practice In Texas: The Need For A Rule, Ryan Hagens
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Abstract forthcoming.
Judicial Ethics In The Confluence Of National Security And Political Ideology: William Howard Taft And The “Teapot Dome” Oil Scandal As A Case Study For The Post-Trump Era, Joshua E. Kastenberg
Judicial Ethics In The Confluence Of National Security And Political Ideology: William Howard Taft And The “Teapot Dome” Oil Scandal As A Case Study For The Post-Trump Era, Joshua E. Kastenberg
St. Mary's Law Journal
Political scandal arose from almost the outset of President Warren G. Harding’s administration. The scandal included corruption in the Veterans’ Administration, in the Alien Property Custodian, but most importantly, in the executive branch’s oversight of the Navy’s ability to supply fuel to itself. The scandal reached the Court in three appeals arising from the transfer of naval petroleum management from the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Interior. Two of the appeals arose from President Coolidge’s decision to rescind oil leases to two companies that had funneled monies to the Secretary of the Interior. A third appeal …
Untangling Attorney Retainers From Creditor Claims, Cassandra Burke Robertson, Jesse T. Wynn
Untangling Attorney Retainers From Creditor Claims, Cassandra Burke Robertson, Jesse T. Wynn
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Clients will often use a retainer to secure an attorney’s representation. But clients in economic distress may have creditors that are eager to access the client’s funds in the attorney’s hands. Attorneys, clients, courts, and regulators have struggled to understand who has the best claim to such retainer funds. In this Article, we attempt to untangle the most common areas of confusion. We conclude that Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) offers strong protection for an attorney’s interest in client retainers through security interests, even though some courts have misapplied the UCC in this context. Further, we recommend …
Reconceiving Ethics For Judicial Law Clerks, Gregory Bischoping
Reconceiving Ethics For Judicial Law Clerks, Gregory Bischoping
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Judicial law clerks hold a unique and critical position in our legal system. They play a central part in the functioning of the judiciary, oftentimes writing the first draft of their judge’s opinions and serving as their trusted researcher and sounding board. Moreover, they are privy to the many highly confidential processes and private information behind the important work of the judiciary. It stands to reason the comprehensive set of ethical duties that bind the world of lawyers and judges should also provide guidance for judicial law clerks. The most important among those ethics rules is a duty of confidentiality. …
Ethical Limits On Promising To Pay An Adverse Award Of Attorney’S Fees Against One’S Client, Chase C. Parsons
Ethical Limits On Promising To Pay An Adverse Award Of Attorney’S Fees Against One’S Client, Chase C. Parsons
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Abstract forthcoming.
Resolving The Anders Dilemmas: How & Why Texas Should Abandon The Anders Procedure, Michael J. Ritter
Resolving The Anders Dilemmas: How & Why Texas Should Abandon The Anders Procedure, Michael J. Ritter
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
When an indigent defendant has a right to counsel for an appeal, and counsel believes the appeal is wholly frivolous, Texas has adopted the Anders v. California procedure that permits counsel to withdraw from representation and argue to the appellate court why their client’s appeal is wholly frivolous. This Article argues that, either by a change to the disciplinary rules or by judicial decision, Texas should abandon the Anders procedure as other states have. Doing so will promote the integrity of the right to counsel, avoid numerous conflicts and dilemmas created by the Anders procedure, and advance judicial efficiency and …
Chief Loophole Officer Or Chief Legal Officer: Inside Lehman Brothers—A Film Case Study About Corporate And Legal Ethics, Garrick Apollon
Chief Loophole Officer Or Chief Legal Officer: Inside Lehman Brothers—A Film Case Study About Corporate And Legal Ethics, Garrick Apollon
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
This Article discusses the continuing legal education (CLE) visual advocacy documentary-style program, which Garrick Apollon (author of this Article) researched and developed. The case study for this CLE documentary-style program is the film Inside Lehman Brothers—a documentary film by Jennifer Deschamps which chronicles the story of the Lehman whistleblowers. The film presents Mathew Lee, former senior vice president overseeing Lehman’s global balance sheet; Oliver Budde, former in-house counsel (associate general counsel) of the Lehman Brothers; and the racialized female mid-tier manager whistleblowers, who all paid a steep price in the 2008 American subprime mortgage crisis, while many of the …
Lawyers, Mistakes, And Moral Growth, Vincent R. Johnson
Lawyers, Mistakes, And Moral Growth, Vincent R. Johnson
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Vincent R. Johnson, professor at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, reviews The Man in the Ditch: A Redemption Story for Today by Dallas attorney Mike H. Bassett.
The Appearance Of Appearances, Michael Ariens
The Appearance Of Appearances, Michael Ariens
Faculty Articles
The Framers argued judicial independence was necessary to the success of the American democratic experiment. Independence required judges possess and act with integrity. One aspect of judicial integrity was impartiality. Impartial judging was believed crucial to public confidence that the decisions issued by American courts followed the rule of law. Public confidence in judicial decision making promoted faith and belief in an independent judiciary. The greater the belief in the independent judiciary, the greater the chance of continued success of the republic.
During the nineteenth century, state constitutions, courts, and legislatures slowly expanded the instances in which a judge was …
Anti-Discrimination Ethics Rules And The Legal Profession, Michael Ariens
Anti-Discrimination Ethics Rules And The Legal Profession, Michael Ariens
Faculty Articles
“Reputation ought to be the perpetual subject of my Thoughts, and Aim of my Behaviour. How shall I gain a Reputation! How shall I Spread an Opinion of myself as a Lawyer of distinguished Genius, Learning, and Virtue.” So wrote twenty-four-year-old John Adams in his diary in 1759. He had been a licensed lawyer for just three years at that time and had already believed himself to be hounded by “Petty foggers” and “dirty Dablers in the Law”—unlicensed attorneys who, Adams claimed, fomented vexatious litigation for the fees they might earn.
Adams believed his embrace of virtue, along with genius …
The Fall Of An American Lawyer, Michael Ariens
The Fall Of An American Lawyer, Michael Ariens
Faculty Articles
John Randall is the only former president of the American Bar Association to be disbarred. He wrote a will for a client, Lovell Myers, with whom Randall had been in business for over a quarter-century. The will left all of Myers’s property to Randall, and implicitly disinherited his only child, Marie Jensen. When Jensen learned of the existence of a will, she sued to set it aside. She later filed a complaint with the Iowa Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct. That complaint was the catalyst leading to Randall’s disbarment.
Randall had acted grievously in serving as Lovell Myers’s attorney. …