Law Commons^™

New Ethics Rules For The New Millennium, Dennis W. Dohnal, John Levy

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

Liberating Lawyers: Diverging Parallels In Intruder In The Dust And To Kill A Mockingbird, Rob Atkinson

Scholarly Publications

Professor Atkinson hopes William Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust will replace Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird as our favorite story of lawyerly virtue. In both stories, a white male lawyer and his protégé try to free a black man falsely accused of a capital crime. But below these superficial similarities, Professor Atkinson finds fundamental differences. To Kill a Mockingbird, with its father-knows-best attorney, Atticus Finch, celebrates lawyerly paternalism; Intruder in the Dust, through its aristocratic black hero, Lucas Beauchamp, and his lay allies, challenges the rule of lawyers, if not law itself. The first urges us to …

If Deliberative Democracy Is The Solution, What Is The Problem?, Emily Hauptmann

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented March 18, 1999 for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.

Lawyering In Law's Republic: William Simon's The Practice Of Justice: A Theory Of Lawyers' Ethics, Rob Atkinson

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Gun Control, Hugh Lafollette

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented October 22, 1998 for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.

Br'er Rabbit Professionalism: A Homily On Moral Heroes And Lawyerly Mores, Rob Atkinson

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Public Values And Professional Responsibility, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tax Lawyers, Ethical Obligations, And The Duty To The System, Watson

Scholarly Works

Perhaps the most elusive area of law is that of legal ethics. While the term itself is easy to define,' the subject all but defies codification because ethics, or morals (the terms are interchangeable), cannot be encapsulated by or in law. This is because law, in general, contains its own standard of validity on which there is usually clear societal consensus. For example, murder, rape, and theft are morally repugnant universally. Hence, punishment for any of these offenses does not impinge upon religious or individual autonomy because there is no ethical freedom to choose whether or not to engage in …

Lawyer Collaboration With Systems Of Evil, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Religion And The Public Defender, Sadiq Reza

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay will argue that the public defender, or any other attorney appointed by the court to defend adults or juveniles charged with criminal offenses, should not undertake, or fail to undertake, any action to the legal detriment of a client on the basis of a conflict the attorney perceives between religious and professional imperatives, except in the rare case of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another. This argument rests on the following four premises: (1) the public defender occupies a unique position in our legal system, and options that may be available to lawyers who serve private …

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 …

Lawyer Disclosure To Prevent Death Or Bodily Injury: A New Look At Spaulding V. Zimmerman, Roger C. Cramton

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The National Association Of Honest Lawyers: An Essay On Honesty, "Lawyer Honesty" And Public Trust In The Legal System, John A. Humbach

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The growing public disquiet about lawyer ethics is not mainly because people think lawyers neglect their professional standards. Rather, the main problem is the belief among lawyers that the duty of loyalty to clients requires a lawyer to mislead. Specifically, the ethical duty of confidentiality and the ethical duty of zealous advocacy are interpreted together to mean that lawyers must conceal some facts (‘confidentiality‘) while forcefully asserting others. This mis-coupling of these two key ethical duties has an inevitable tendency to produce a kind of partial-truth advocacy in which the lawyer knowingly distracts attention from the truth and fosters misconceptions …

Lawyers, Accountants, And The Battle To Own Professional Services, Gary A. Munneke

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Competition between lawyers and accountants is not a new concept. At various times during the past century, these two professions have clashed over the scope and definition of their respective services. Lawyers traditionally have relied upon a professional monopoly to provide “legal” services as a device to exclude nonlawyers from the practice of law. Supported by statutes in many jurisdictions making the unauthorized practice of law a criminal offense and ethics rules prohibiting lawyers from assisting in the unauthorized practice of law, lawyers have always been able to identify some inner sanctum of professional services that only they could handle. …

Attorney-Client Privilege: Continuing Confusion About Attorney Communications, Drafts, Pre-Existing Documents, And The Source Of The Facts Communicated, Paul Rice

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Rationing Justice—What Thomas More Would Say, Michael E. Tigar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Prosecuting Race, Anthony V. Alfieri

Articles

Theoreticians and practitioners in the American criminal justice system increasingly debate the role of racial identity, racialized narratives, and race-neutral representation in law, lawyering, and ethics.

This debate holds special bearing on the growing prosecution and defense of acts of racially motivated violence. In this continuing investigation of the prosecution and defense of such violence, Professor Alfieri examines the recent federal prosecution of five white New York City police officers charged with assaulting Abner Louima, a young male Haitian immigrant, in 1997. Professor Alfieri presents a race conscious, community-oriented model of prosecutorial discretion guided by constitutional precepts, citizenship ideals, professionalism …

Corporate-Family Conflicts, Charles W. Wolfram

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Kosovo, Casualty Aversion, And The American Military Ethos: A Perspective, Charles J. Dunlap Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Leak And The Craft: A Hard Line Proposal To Stop Unaccountable Disclosures Of Law Enforcement Information, John Q. Barrett

Faculty Publications

The critics of Kenneth W. Starr accused him, in the five-plus years that he served as the multi-tasked Independent Counsel, of many failings, mistakes, and improprieties. One of the most prevalent charges was one that has significance to lawyers and resonates with the general public's sense of bad behavior by prosecutors: the allegation that Starr and/or members of his staff "leaked" information. This general accusation was, of course, imprecise. It also might have been overbroad. Prosecutorial "leaks" include such plain illegalities as disclosing grand jury information to the media or other unauthorized persons, and also the much less regulated practice …

Evaluating Effective Lawyer-Client Communication: An International Project Moving From Research To Reform, Clark D. Cunningham

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

Of Cell Phones And Electronic Mail: Disclosure Of Confidential Information Under Disciplinary Rule 4-101 And Model Rule 1.6, Karin M. Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Regardless of the known security risks, it is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine a law firm in the twentieth century operating without the technological advancements that make it possible to communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time. These advancements often enable immediate responses that are beneficial to attorneys and clients alike. Cellular phone usage and electronic mail are an integral mode of communication between firm members, negotiating attorneys, as well as between attorneys and their clients. While it has developed into a mode of communication making the practice of law more efficient, it is doubtful that most attorneys give …

The Zealous Advocacy Of Justice In A Less Than Ideal Legal World, Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In The Practice of Justice, William Simon addresses a widely recognized dilemma -- the moral degradation of the legal profession that seems to be the unpleasant by-product of an adversarial system of resolving disputes -- with a bold claim: Lawyers involved in either the representation of private rights or the public interest should be zealous advocates of justice, rather than their clients' interests. If lawyers were to do what this reorientation of their basic identity would dictate -- that is, if lawyers were to zealously pursue justice according to law, rather than zealously pursue through all marginally lawful means whatever …

Representing Indigents In Serious Criminal Cases In England's Crown Court: The Advocates' Performance And Incentives, Peter W. Tague

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

While indigent defendants charged with serious criminal offenses can be represented by lawyers in the United States and by barristers and solicitors in England and Wales. Gauging the quality of that help is an important but elusive inquiry. This article has two purposes: to map how the indigent criminal defendant charged with very serious offenses is represented in England's Crown Court, and to examine whether economic incentives can induce the defendant's representatives to perform as expected.

While barristers profess to be skilled advocates, and while many lawyers have likewise extolled the barrister's advocacy, testing the point is extremely difficult. Apart …

Faculty Pro Bono And The Question Of Identity, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

My aim in this essay is to explain and defend a simple proposition, which I'll call the pro bono thesis: law teachers and law schools have the same pro bono responsibilities as lawyers and law firms. By "pro bono" I mean something more particular than community service or civic involvement. I mean free or reduced-rate legal work for those who cannot afford to pay for it. The pro bono thesis is that law teachers and law schools have pro bono responsibilities in this sense.

Ex Post Facto Payments In Legally-Aided Criminal Cases In The Old Bailey, Peter W. Tague

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A much more pervasive scheme for overseeing the reasonableness of fees charged by legal professionals exists in England than in the United States. In England, for example, with or without a specific agreement over the fee, the client can challenge the solicitor's charges, and the court or the Law Society will assess their reasonableness.' Similarly, as part of assigning costs to the losing party, the reasonableness of the winning solicitor's claim for fees is evaluated. The lay client can even dispute the reasonableness of the barrister's fee after the fact.

In the United States, by contrast, lawyers hammer out agreements …

Ethics And Professionalism In Non-Adversarial Lawyering, Carrie Menkel-Meadow

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Traditional notions and rules of professionalism in the legal profession have been premised on particular conceptions of the lawyer's role, usually as an advocate, occasionally as a counselor, advisor, transaction planner, government official, decision maker and in the recent parlance of one of this symposium's participants-a "statesman [sic]. '" As we examine what professionalism means and what rules should be used to regulate its activity, it is important to ask some foundational questions: For what ends should our profession be used? What does law offer society? How should lawyers exercise their particular skills and competencies?

Professionalism: Restoring The Flame, Donald L. Burnett Jr.

Articles

No abstract provided.

Professionalism: Restoring The Flame, Donald L. Burnett Jr.

Articles

No abstract provided.

1998 Survey Of Ethics In Land-Use Planning, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.