Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
"This Is Not Normal": The Role Of Lawyer Organizations In Protecting Constitutional Norms And Values, Leslie C. Levin
"This Is Not Normal": The Role Of Lawyer Organizations In Protecting Constitutional Norms And Values, Leslie C. Levin
Faculty Articles and Papers
Lawyer organizations in the United States perform a range of functions. Some are essentially social clubs that provide networking opportunities for lawyers. Others help their members stay up to date on changes in the law and provide other educational and material benefits.1 Through these efforts, lawyer organizations often serve as a site where lawyers learn the norms and values of the legal profession. Some lawyer organizations also perform more outward facing functions, working through lobbying and litigation to maintain lawyers’ status and protect their economic interests. Others pursue even broader goals, working to enhance the functioning of the courts, provide …
Rhode Was Right (About Character And Fitness), Leslie C. Levin
Rhode Was Right (About Character And Fitness), Leslie C. Levin
Faculty Articles and Papers
Almost 40 years ago, Deborah Rhode chronicled numerous problems with the legal profession’s character and fitness inquiry in her seminal article, Moral Character as a Professional Credential. This essay, which is dedicated to her memory, assesses the current state of that inquiry. The essay notes a few areas of improvement in some jurisdictions, but finds the character and fitness inquiry remains problematic. Some jurisdictions continue to operate without published standards and most character and fitness committees—and even the courts— do not publish information about their decisions. It is still the case, as Rhode noted, that there is little evidence that …