Law Commons^™

The Lawyer's Duty Of Competence In A Climate-Imperiled World, John C. Dernbach, Irma S. Russell, Matthew Bogoshian

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The United States has more than 1.3 million practicing lawyers. Under Model Rule 1.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and every state’s rules of conduct, each of these lawyers owes clients competent representation. Under the rule, “[c]ompetent representation requires the knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the services.” While law and rules will undoubtedly change in response to the climate crisis, the duty of competence does not await such change or legal reform. The ubiquitous nature of the duty of competence means it is applicable to each lawyer now and will continue to evolve as …

Generative Ai And Finding The Law, Paul D. Callister

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Abstract

Legal information science requires, among other things, principles and theories. The article states six principles or considerations that any discussion of generative AI large language models and their role in finding the law must include. The article concludes that law librarianship will increasingly become legal information science and require new paradigms. In addition to the six principles, the article applies ecological holistic media theory to understand the relationship of the legal community’s cognitive authority, institutions, techné (technology, medium and method), geopolitical factors, and the past and future to understand the changes in this information milieu. The article also explains …

The Ethical Risk Of Experience, Barbara Glesner Fines

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Practice may make perfect, but in law practice, experience and specialization can actually increase some types of errors - leading to an increased risk of malpractice claims, disciplinary complaints, or client dissatisfaction. This article explores the question of why this may be so. The article first examines the phenomenon of increased malpractice and disciplinary risks for family law attorneys in general and experienced attorneys in par­ticular. The central question this article examines is this, "Why might highly experienced and specialized family law attorneys find themselves facing the most severe of disciplinary sanctions or malpractice judgments?" The answers point to some …

Is The Chemical Genus Claim Really “Dead” At The Federal Circuit?: Part Ii, Christopher M. Holman

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A 2020 law review article entitled The Death of the Genus Claim (“Death”) purports to document a dramatic shift in the Federal Circuit’s interpretation of 35 U.S.C. 112(a)’s enablement and written description requirements, particularly as applied to chemical genus claims. According to the authors of Death, it has become nearly impossible to obtain a chemical genus claim that will be upheld as valid in the face of a challenge for overbreadth under Section 112(a). Death was cited extensively in Amgens’s successful petition for certiorari in Amgen v. Sanofi, a case asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Federal Circuit’s decision …

The Instrumental Case For Corporate Diversity, Naomi Cahn, June Carbone, Nancy Levit

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The moral case for diversity in businesses is compelling. The business case for diversity (that “diverse companies do better”) is mixed: studies in the business literature do not prove that simply adding diversity causes the improvement; instead, they posit that the improvement is likely to be “endogenous,” that is, the factors that encourage and sustain diversity, such as greater transparency, also improve financial performance. In this article, we make what we call “the instrumental case for diversity.” If the same factors that correlate with greater diversity also correlate with improved performance, then greater diversity can be a benchmark for better …

Put Down The Phone! The Standard For Witness Interviews Is In-Person, Face-To-Face, One-On-One., Sean O'Brien, Quinn O'Brien, Dana Cook

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Professor and capital defense attorney Sean O’Brien, private investigator Quinn O’Brien, and mitigation specialist Dana Cook team up in this article to explain why the standard for competent defense investigation requires face-to-face, one-on-one, culturally competent client and witness interviews, and why short cuts to investigation, such as telephone calls or remote video links, are counter-productive, prone to failure, and constitute substandard work. Although the primary focus of this article is on standards that apply to capital mitigation work, the problems created by remote witness interviews are not unique to death penalty work; there are persuasive arguments and authority that the …

Covid-19'S Impact On Families, Lawyers, And Courts: An Annotated Bibliography, Allen K. Rostron

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No abstract provided.

Advocating For The Future, John C. Dernbach, Irma S. Russell, Matthew Bogoshian

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Attorneys in our varied roles need to step up and address the climate crisis for the sake of every person and for the public good. All lawyers must be sustainability lawyers now. This article explains why; it also offers an illustrative set of suggestions on how to get started and what to do.

Microaggressions, Questionable Science, And Free Speech, Edward Cantu, Lee Jussim

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The topic of microaggressions is hot currently. Diversity administrators regularly propagate lists of alleged microaggressions and express confidence that listed items reflect what some psychologists claim they do: racism that is, at the very least, unconscious in the mind of the speaker. Legal academics are increasingly leveraging microaggression research in theorizing law and proposing legal change. But how scientifically legitimate are claims by some psychologists about what acts constitute microaggressions? The authors—one a law professor, the other a psychologist—argue that the answer is “not much.” In this article, the authors dissect the studies, and critique the claims, of microaggression researchers. …

Susan Nevelow Mart, Leadership Profile, Paul D. Callister

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No abstract provided.

Attorney As Accompagnateur: Resilient Lawyering When Victory Is Uncertain Or Nearly Impossible, Margaret Reuter

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Social justice lawyers come to the profession intending to make a difference through the instruments of law. And gloriously, they often make a difference in people’s lives for the better. They make our world a more just, compassionate, and tolerant place. But there is no denying that, in poverty law practice, legal success can be elusive, ephemeral, or perhaps a mirage. How does that lawyer feel when the legal remedies at her disposal, even if “successful,” fail to mitigate the injustices suffered by her clients? Are there definitions of professional satisfaction and success that are enduring, even if legal success …

The Brandeis Thought Experiment: Reflection On The Elimination Of Racial Bias In The Legal System, Patrick C. Brayer

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This essay prompts the reader to engage in a thought experiment and consider their own limits in advancing the cause of; a legal system free from racism and bias, and lawyers are encouraged to use the experience of a young Louis Brandeis as a guide in this self-reflection. Specifically, this essay calls attention to the fact that Louis Brandeis started his legal career, at the same time when, and in the same place where thousands of African Americans were escaping persecution and traveling in search of economic and political freedom, yet he was publicly absent on issues of race. As …

The Power Of The Public Defender Experience: Learning By Fighting For The Incarcerated And Poor, Patrick C. Brayer

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This Essay discusses how public defender apprenticeships impact law students and help mold their future careers. Brayer discusses the tangible advantages that the apprenticeship imparts on students as well as the transferable skills that students gain. Brayer then analyzes the internal and professional growth of students that participate in this apprenticeship. Brayer situates this growth within the context of Chief Justice John Marshall’s own similar experience, arguing how the public defender experience focuses and matures aspiring lawyers.

Wait, Wait, Don’T Tell Me: Accountability, Plausible Deniability, Model Rule 1.13, And The Role Of Corporate Counsel In An Age Of Enhanced Monitoring, Irma S. Russell

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No abstract provided.

Transformations In Health Law Practice: The Intersections Of Changes In Healthcare And Legal Workplaces, Louise G. Trubek, Barbara Zabawa, Paula Galowitz

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The passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act is propelling transformations in health care. The transformations include integration of clinics and hospitals, value based care, patient centeredness, transparency, computerized business models and universal coverage. These shifts are influencing the practice of health law, a vibrant specialty field considered a "hot" area for new lawyers. The paper examines how the transformations in health care are intersecting with ongoing trends in law practice: increase in in-house positions, collaboration between medical and legal professionals, and the continued search for increased access to legal representation for ordinary people. Three health law workplace sites …

Taking Teaching And Learning Seriously: A Tribute To Professor Susan Martyn, Irma S. Russell

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Professor Susan Martyn is an inspiring and dedicated teacher. She inspires me by her teaching, her work with students in the classroom, as well as with lawyers in continuing legal education programs, and her writing for scholars and the public. The invitation to write in a law review edition honoring this amazing professor and scholar provided the opportunity to contemplate a topic that is central to my life and the lives of most who teach: What is good teaching, and how do we increase good teaching and good learning in legal education today? We are in a time of stunning …

Introduction To The Symposium On Entrepreneurial Lawyering, Anthony J. Luppino, Ellen Suni

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No abstract provided.

Minding The Court: Enhancing The Decision-Making Process, Pamela Casey, Kevin Burke, Steve Leben

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A compelling and growing body of research from the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience provides important insights about how we process information and make decisions. This research has great potential significance for judges, who spend much of their time making decisions of great importance to others. For most judges, this research literature is not part of their judicial education. This article reviews cutting edge research about decision making and discusses its implications for helping judges and those who work with them produce fair processes and just outcomes. It builds on a 2007 American Judges Association paper that encouraged judges …

The Connected Lawyer: The Evolving 'Operating System' Of The Networked Professional, Patrick C. Brayer

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The legal profession must prepare for generations of networked law students and attorneys who demand interaction with a professional system in the same way they experience connection in their social system. As technology evolves, new professionals will expect more autonomy and control over their interactions. The central thesis of this Essay is that technology allows greater control of an individual’s professional interactions, and this control can provide a benefit, but devices of connection can also serve as a barrier to the authentic experiences that provide professional learning and innovation.

The Supreme Court’S Regulation Of Civil Procedure: Lessons From Administrative Law, Lumen N. Mulligan, Glen Staszewski

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In this Article, we argue that the Supreme Court should route most Federal Rules of Civil Procedure issues through the notice-and-comment rulemaking process of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee instead of issuing judgments in adjudications, unless the case can be resolved solely through the deployment of traditional tools of statutory construction. While we are not the first to express a preference for rulemaking on civil procedure issues, we advance the position in four significant ways. First, we argue that the Supreme Court in the civil procedure arena is vested with powers analogous to most administrative agencies. Second, building upon this …

Fifty Years Of Family Law Practice The Evolving Role Of The Family Law Attorney, Barbara Glesner Fines

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No abstract provided.

Criminal Acts & Ethical Dilemmas: Some Client Nightmares Sneak Up On You, Barbara Glesner Fines

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No abstract provided.

Lawyers Suing Law Firms: The Limits On Attorney Employment Discrimination Claims And The Prospects For Creating Happy Lawyers, Nancy Levit

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It is more than a mild irony that anti-discrimination law fails lawyers in particular. This article addresses doctrinal and pragmatic limits on employment discrimination lawsuits by lawyers against their law firms. It considers the failures of the Title VII template to remedy the sorts of discrimination and dissatisfactions lawyers face in the practice of law, and concludes that many of the things that make lawyers unhappy are simply not reachable through employment discrimination lawsuits. The latter portion of the article turns to the recently emerging science of happiness literature. It suggests that the interests of lawyers and their firms may …

Missouri's Public Defender Crisis: Shouldering The Burden Alone, Sean O'Brien

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No abstract provided.

Pressures Toward Mediocrity In The Representation Of Children, Barbara Glesner Fines

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When children are the subject of dependency, adoption or guardianship proceedings, protecting those children requires attention to a variety of interests. Children need a voice: an advisor and an advocate whose judgment is unclouded by conflicting interests. Courts need information that the adult parties to the proceedings may not easily discover or willingly provide. The families and social services agencies need monitors and mediators. The attorney guardian ad litem (GAL) is, in many situations, called upon to meet all these needs. During the past decade, major academic conferences and professional organizations have devoted thousands of hours to developing standards of …

Ethical Issues In Collaborative Lawyering, Barbara Glesner Fines

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No abstract provided.

The Evolving Regulation Of The Legal Profession: The Costs Of Indeterminacy And Certainty, Irma S. Russell

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This Article examines the incentive systems of the common law and modern rules of lawyer discipline, which combine to form a dual system of lawyer regulation in this country. The Article considers discontinuities between this dual system of regulation created by the common law, which influenced the 1908 Canons of Professional Ethics, and the current disciplinary rules, presented by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. While the Model Rules form the basis of lawyer discipline in most states, the approach presented in the Canons continues to have force because the common law applies to lawyers through contract and tort law. …

Fundamental Principles And Challenges Of Humanizing Legal Education, Barbara Glesner Fines

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No abstract provided.

Calling For Stories, Nancy Levit, Allen Rostron

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Storytelling is a fundamental part of legal practice, teaching, and thought. Telling stories as a method of practicing law reaches back to the days of the classical Greek orators. Before legal education became an academic matter, the apprenticeship system for training lawyers consisted of mentoring and telling war stories. As the law and literature movement evolved, it sorted itself into three strands: law in literature, law as literature, and storytelling. The storytelling branch blossomed.

Over the last few decades, storytelling became a subject of enormous interest and controversy within the world of legal scholarship. Law review articles appeared in the …

Conflicts Of Interest, Ellen Y. Suni

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No abstract provided.