Law Commons^™

Contempt Power And The United States Courts, Joshua Carback

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

Contempt power is one of the most important legacies of English common law in federal common law. Substantively, the contempt power of the United States Courts is relatively similar to that employed by the Court of King’s Bench in the eighteenth century. Procedurally, however, it is quite different. The Rules Enabling Act of 1934 created an interbranch framework for crafting procedural rules for the United States Courts. All three branches of the federal government collaborated under that framework with the intention of rationalizing, systemizing, and delimiting the boundaries of contempt power. The culmination of decades of strenuous rulemaking, unfortunately, was …

The Other Bar Hurdle: An Examination Of The Character And Fitness Requirement For Bar Admission, David L. Hudson Jr., Andrea Gemignani

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

How #Freebritney Exposes The Need To Disable The Model Rules Of Professional Conduct, Heather Swadley

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

Common Interest Doctrine In Ip Transactions, John C. Reich, Sangki Park

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Contracts: An Eight-Factor Test For Quantum Meruit Compensation For A Dismissed Contingency Fee Counsel—Faricy Law Firm, P.A. V. Api, Inc. Asbestos Settlement Trust, 912 N.W.2d 652 (Minn. 2018), Mitch Ohiwa

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Torts: Missing The Forest For The Factors—Frederick V. Wallerich, 907 N.W.2d 167 (Minn. 2018), Michelle Gibbons

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Lutheran Lawyer: Some Reflections On The Ethics Contributions Of Susan Martyn, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

Recently, Professor Susan Martyn, who is honored in this tribute issue, contributed to a forthcoming volume on Lutheran theological views of secular law of which I am co-editor. Ever the professional, Professor Martyn expressed initial uncertainty about her ability to make a contribution to this volume without more theological expertise. Not to worry, Professor Martyn's prodigious work ethic and creative lawyering produced an insightful chapter entitled, "Can Luther Help Modem Lawyers Understand Fiduciary Duty?" As it turns out, she argued, Martin Luther can help modem lawyers because he understood the ancient roots of fiduciary law that lie at the foundation …

The Promise Of Client-Centered Professional Norms, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

In this year’s Saltman Lecture, Jennifer Gerarda Brown and Liana G.T. Wolf argue that restorative justice models have much to offer a broken attorney disciplinary system. While their specific proposals are problematic for reasons discussed more fully in this article, there is considerable merit to the authors’ larger point that the lawyer disciplinary system could benefit from incorporating a greater level of client participation. The authors point to a number of the benefits of a more client-participatory attorney disciplinary system, including the opportunity for lawyers to better appreciate the consequences of their misconduct, the opportunity to focus on repairing the …

Engaged Client-Centered Representation And The Moral Foundations Of The Lawyer-Client Relationship, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

The field of legal ethics, as we know it today, has grown out of thoughtful, systematic grounding of lawyers’ duties in a comprehensive understanding of lawyers’ roles and the situating of lawyers’ roles in underlying theories of law, morality and justice. Unfortunately, the field of theoretical legal ethics has mostly lost track of the thing at the heart of a lawyers’ role: the integrity of the lawyer-client relationship. The field of theoretical legal ethics has developed in ways that are deeply lawyer-centered rather than fundamentally client-centered. This paper, which was delivered at Hofstra Law School as the Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor …

The Jurisprudential Turn In Legal Ethics, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

When legal ethics developed as an academic discipline in the mid-1970s, its theoretical roots were in moral philosophy. The early theorists in legal ethics were moral philosophers by training, and they explored legal ethics as a branch of moral philosophy. From the vantage point of moral philosophy, lawyers’ professional duties comprised a system of moral duties that governed lawyers in their professional lives, a “role-morality” for lawyers that competed with ordinary moral duties. In defining this “role-morality,” the moral philosophers accepted the premise that “good lawyers” are professionally obligated to pursue the interests of their clients all the way to …

Navigating The Murky Waters Of Untruth In Negotiation: Lessons For Ethical Lawyers, Deborah A. Schmedemann

Faculty Scholarship

This article answers the following questions: What does the law-both general principles applicable to truthfulness in negotiation and professional responsibility rules- say about this dilemma? What do we know about the practice of truthfulness in lawyer negotiations? What have social scientists learned about deception in negotiations over the last few decades? Finally, what lessons can be drawn for lawyers seeking to behave ethically, as well as for those interested in assisting lawyers navigate the “murky waters of untruth?

Beyond Cardboard Clients In Legal Ethics, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the construction of cardboard clients in legal ethics has disserved legal ethics by obscuring what is arguably a more central problem of legal professionalism: the problem of legal objectification. The problem of legal objectification is the tendency of lawyers to "issue-spot" their clients as they would the facts on a blue-book exam, overemphasizing the clients' legal interests and minimizing or ignoring the other cares, commitments, relationships, reputations and values that constitute the objectives clients bring to legal representation. This Article proposes an alternative ideal of legal professionalism for "three-dimensional clients" based on helping clients articulate and …

Lawyers In Character And Lawyers In Role, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

Legal ethicists have long been fascinated by the relationships between lawyers’ roles in an adversary system of justice and the character, attitudes, or dispositions that best suit the practice of law. Leonard Riskin’s scholarship has explored how lawyers’ practice of mindfulness can improve their legal practice, and his claim in this body of work – that the practice of mindfulness helps to develop the internalized trait of mindfulness – ties his scholarship to the work of legal ethicists who have endeavored to develop character-based theories of legal ethics. Riskin’s analysis of how lawyers might incorporate mindfulness into law practice also …

Conflicts Of Interest And Disclosures: Are We Making A Mountain Out Of A Molehill, David Allen Larson

Faculty Scholarship

The ethical standards governing conflicts of interest disclosure requirements for arbitrators and mediators are numerous and varied. In spite of the considerable attention that conflict of interest questions attract, both the extent to which an arbitrator must disclose past, present, and potential conflicts of interest and the consequences of a failure to make an appropriate disclosure remain unclear. This article examines disclosure requirements themselves, as well as the sanctions and penalties that may result from a failure to disclose information concerning a neutral's impartiality. Particular attention is paid to what generally is regarded as the most extreme consequence of failure; …

The Human Dignity Of Clients, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

This essay reviews David Luban's forthcoming book, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity. At the heart of this new book is an argument that interactions between lawyers and clients ought to be at the center of jurisprudential inquiry. Pointing out that most cases do not go to trial and that much transactional work occurs outside the litigation context, he argues that law's defining moments occur when a "client sketches out a problem and a lawyer tenders advice," rather than when a judge decides a litigant's case. This review essay examines how Luban might elaborate a new "jurisprudence of lawyering" by examining …

Preventive Law: A Strategy For Internal Corporate Lawyers To Advise Managers Of Their Ethical Obligations, Z. Jill Barclift

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the efficacy of Preventive Law jurisprudence to internal corporate law practice. The article compares internal corporate law practice to the practice approach of Preventive Law. The article explores the benefits of Preventive Law jurisprudence to internal corporate law practice. Part I discusses the history and various vectors of Preventive Law. Part II examines the responsibilities of corporate law departments. Part III compares Preventive Law practice skills to internal corporate law practice, and explores the utility of Barton’s problem solving approaches to internal corporate law practice. Finally, the article concludes arguing internal corporate law practice is Preventive Law …

Federal Court Special Masters: A Vital Resource In The Era Of Complex Litigation, Mark A. Fellows, Roger S. Haydock

William Mitchell Law Review

This article is dedicated to all those who have served as special masters in federal court. After serving as a judicial master, it is easy to believe in the importance of the role in our grand system of justice. After reading this article, we hope it will be clear how vital masters are to everyone receiving fair, just, and expedient civil justice.

Special Masters In State Court Complex Litigation: An Available And Underused Case Management Tool, Lynn Jokela, David F. Herr

William Mitchell Law Review

This article examines the role masters have played in litigation and explores the benefits that might be obtained from the greater use of masters in the future. The FJC survey of federal judges appointing special masters concluded that special masters were “extremely or very effective.” The FJC study is an empirical survey of the effectiveness of special masters, and it includes commentary from judges regarding their experience after appointing special masters. These benefits include better, faster, and fairer resolution of litigation in the cases in which masters are used, as well as an easing of the burdens these cases place …

2004 Special Masters Conference: Transcript Of Proceedings, Various Special Masters

William Mitchell Law Review

A historic gathering of special masters occurred on October 15th and 16th, 2004 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Federal and state court-appointed masters from around the country met for the first time to share their experiences as special masters and to form a national association of court appointed masters. This issue of the William Mitchell Law Review contains articles presented at the conference and the transcript of faculty presentations. Throughout the transcript of faculty presentations, the word “speaker” denotes a conference attendee.

Corporate Responsibility: Ensuring Independent Judgment Of The General Counsel - A Look At Stock Options, Z. Jill Barclift

Faculty Scholarship

Recent corporate scandals and allegations of corporate fraud in public companies have most people asking how things went so wrong. When looking to assess blame for corporate malfeasance, many ask, “Where were the lawyers?” In several high-profile corporate fraud investigations, outside and in-house lawyers were criticized for not doing more to prevent corporate executives from violating the law, and several general counsels were charged with criminal misconduct by state and federal authorities. Why would the general counsel of a public corporation risk his or her career, reputation, and criminal prosecution to assist executives in perpetuating corporate fraud? The answer may …

Lawyers, Justice And The Challenge Of Moral Pluralism, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

The debate over whether it serves or undermines the interests of justice for lawyers to temper the zeal of their advocacy based on considerations of morality or justice has largely been polarized between two camps: traditionalists and moralists. Traditionalists defend the amoral role of lawyers, arguing that lawyers should remain moral neutral in their representation of clients. Moralists propose alternative social justice lawyering models, which urge lawyers' morally engagement in their choice of clients, their interpretation of law, and their counseling of clients.

This article revisits the debate by recasting the question at its center. Instead of inquiring what a …

Note: Exclusive Licensing Of Dna Diagnostics: Is There A Negative Effect On Quantity And Quality Of Healthcare Delivery That Compels Nih Rulemaking?, Edward Weck

William Mitchell Law Review

This comment surveys the costs of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) diagnostic tests and argues in favor of non-exclusive licensing as a means to provide broad access to affordable DNA diagnostic testing. Part II provides background information on genetic testing, patenting genes as applied to genetic testing, the Bayh-Dole Act, and technology transfer. In addition, Part II summarizes academic commentary regarding the implications of exclusive licensing for biotechnology. Scholars propose a number of solutions, including expanding the experimental use exception. Part III details proposed rulemaking for DNA diagnostics. Part IV reviews anecdotal examples of genetic testing for breast cancer, hereditary hemochromatosis, and …

Learning From Practice: What Adr Needs From A Theory Of Justice, Kate Kruse

Faculty Scholarship

Adding to the impressive body of work that has made her a leading voice in the fields of both alternative dispute resolution and professional responsibility, Carrie Menkel-Meadow's Saltman Lecture connects the theoretical exploration currently occurring on two parallel tracks: (1) theories of justice that investigate the ideal of a deliberative democracy; and (2) theories of alternative dispute resolution arising from its reflective practice. As she notes, theorists on both tracks are grappling with similar questions about the processes or conditions that will best bring together parties with widely divergent viewpoints to consensus-building dialogue around contested issues.

While Menkel-Meadow focuses on …

Legal Scholarship For Equal Justice: Summary Of Panel Discussion, Sam Magavern

William Mitchell Law Review

In 2002, a group of professors, deans, equal justice practitioners, and a Minnesota Supreme Court justice formed a Legal Scholarship for Equal Justice committee (LSEJ) to explore ways to link the work of professors and students to the equal justice issues faced by the bench and bar in our state. Since then, LSEJ has become a formal project of the Minnesota Justice Foundation, a nonprofit group that works at the four Minnesota law schools to integrate public service into the law school experience. So far, LSEJ has created an issues list, a class, and an annual symposium. The issues list …

Towards A New Scholarship For Equal Justice, James S. Liebman

William Mitchell Law Review

Over the last thirty years, the legal academy has turned a cold shoulder to the subject matter of this symposium: scholarship for equal justice. I am here to suggest that a thaw may be on the way. By scholarship for equal justice--as distinguished from scholarship about that topic--I mean academic work undertaken for the purpose of improving outcomes for individuals and members of groups who have been systematically held back by their race, sex, poverty, or any other basis for rationing success that our legal system treats with suspicion. With reference to some of my own work and that of …

Federal Whistleblower Protection: A Means To Enforcing Maximum-Hour Legislation For Medical Residents, Robert Neil Wilkey

William Mitchell Law Review

The extension of whistleblower protection to medical residents is by no means a panacea to current abusive working conditions. Roles exist for the federal government, the states, and institutional organizations such as the ACGME. Whistleblower protection provides one subtle yet effective regulatory tool that could undoubtedly result in enforcement of labor standards and ultimately better working conditions for medical residents.

The Healing Presence Of Clients In Law School, Angela Mccaffrey

William Mitchell Law Review

William Mitchell College of Law is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Law Clinic. As a beneficiary of clinical legal education at William Mitchell, I write this essay to reflect on the value of clinical legal education to law students, to the clients served, and to the community at large. In my view, clinical legal education is timeless--as valuable to law students today as it was thirty years ago when William Mitchell started its first clinic. Although many things combine to make clinical education valuable, three aspects are particularly noteworthy. First, clinics give law students the chance to represent clients …

Unlawful Discrimination Or A Necessity For A Fair Trial?: Exclusion Of A Law Clerk With A Disability From The Courtroom During Jury Trial Of A Personal Injury Case, Luther A. Granquist

William Mitchell Law Review

Today, the judicial system, broadly viewed to include bench and bar, jurors, and court personnel, includes more persons of color and more women than ever before. Issues of discrimination on the basis of race and gender continue, but progress has been made. However, few persons with evident disabilities practice law or sit on the bench. Perhaps that is why the very presence of a man with serious disabilities prompts concerns about the effect that he will have, just being there, on the outcome of a case. When more persons with evident disabilities, more persons who use wheelchairs or have personal …

In Support Of A Unitary Tenure System For Law Faculty: An Essay, Nina W. Tarr

William Mitchell Law Review

[L]aw faculties are made up of diverse groups of people who contribute to the academic mission in a variety of ways. Given this, there is no reason to isolate one subset--those who teach in the clinic--and treat them differently when it comes to influence, power, autonomy, access to resources, security, or remuneration. In short, to give them a different “status” has become a historical anachronism.

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.