Law Commons^™

Policing The Prosecutor: Race, The Fourth Amendment, And The Prosecution Of Criminal Cases, Renee Mcdonald Hutchins

Journal Articles

As this article explores, while the Fourth Amendment is commonly criticized for the discretion it affords police officers, an overlooked result of the amendment’s lax regulation of the police is the enhanced power it affords prosecutors. Though for a time a warrant was the notional measure of reasonableness, over the last century the Court has crafted several exceptions to that measure to give the police greater leeway during on-the-street encounters. The Court has concurrently retreated from robust application of the exclusionary rule to remedy constitutional violations. These shifts have meant far more predictable wins for the prosecution at the suppression …

Avoiding Unintended Disclosure: Representing Clients With Hiv And Aids, Lashanda Taylor Adams

Journal Articles

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic was initially recognized in the United States, many attorneys wondered what it would mean to represent a client with HIV. As the number of HIV-infected individuals grew, so did the need for attorneys to represent them. Specifically, attorneys questioned whether or not their duty of confidentiality would expose them to civil liability from failing to protect a third party.1 In response to this concern, several law review articles were written discussing the dilemma faced by attorneys bound by professional rules of conduct.2 These articles focused on the needs of the attorney and the public rather than …

Teaching Public Citizen Lawyering: From Aspiration To Inspiration, Mae Quinn

Journal Articles

A longtime social justice activist and clinical professor, Douglas Colbert,2 recently sought information from colleagues across the country3 for the second part of an important project examining a lawyer’s ethical obligation to engage in pro bono work during a time of crisis, such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or 9/11.4 He sent out surveys to learn which schools actually taught the Preamble to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct in ethics or other courses.5 As Professor Colbert’s letter explained, the Preamble states: “A lawyer, as a member of the legal profession, is a representative of clients, an officer …

Attorney Referral, Negligence, And Vicarious Liability, Bruce Ching

Journal Articles

As a consequence of requests from clients or prospective clients, lawyers are often placed in a position of giving referrals, especially in situations of cross-specialty referrals (such as an estate planning attorney whose longtime client has become a party in a personal injury lawsuit) or cross-jurisdictional referrals (such as an attorney in Michigan who is contacted by a prospective client who must respond to a lawsuit that was filed in Ohio).

But if the lawyer who receives the referral commits malpractice in handling the case, can the lawyer who made the referral be held liable for the client's loss? This …

An Ethos Of Lying, Paul Butler

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The "Corporate Watch Dogs" That Can't Bark: How The New Aba Ethics Rules Protect Corporate Fraud, Monroe H. Freedman

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Telling Stories And Keeping Secrets, Abbe Smith

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Broken Trust And Divided Loyalties: The Paradox Of Confidentiality In Corporate Representation, Laurie A. Morin

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Should a lawyer protect her client's confidences when she knows that client is about to perpetrate a fraud that will cause substantial financial harm to third parties? For decades, the response of the organized bar has been a resounding "yes." 1 Until August 2003, the American Bar Association's (ABA's) Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules) provided that a lawyer owes her client a duty of loyalty to preserve the client's confidences, even if that client is about to commit a criminal fraud.2 The recent wave of corporate scandals that led to record-breaking bankruptcies and investor losses prompted the ABA …

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 …

When Lawyers Break The Law: How The District Of Columbia Court Of Appeals Disciplines Members Of The Bar Who Commit Crimes, Larry Cunningham

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Competent Legal Writing - A Lawyer's Professional Responsibility, Debra R. Cohen

Journal Articles

The legal profession is constantly evolving to keep pace with our increasingly complex society.' Today, the legal profession "is larger and more diverse than ever before." Despite this transformation, "the law has remained a single profession identified with a perceived common body of learning, skills and values." This common body of learning, skills, and values constitutes the fundamental elements of competent representation. Writing is one of the essential skills of competent representation.

"Law is a profession of words." Lawyers use words, both written and oral, in a wide array of contexts-to advise, to advocate, to elicit information, to establish legal …

Legal Developments: Ethics In Government Federal Advisory Committees, Foreign Conflicts Of Interest, The Constitution, And Dr. Franklin's Snuff Box, Gerald S. Schatz

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.