Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
Expecting Too Much And Too Little Of Lawyers, Eugene R. Gaetke
Expecting Too Much And Too Little Of Lawyers, Eugene R. Gaetke
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
The regulation of lawyers' behavior remains a controversial topic. Over the past hundred years, the organized bar has engaged in a number of efforts to generate rules governing lawyers' conduct. Still, prominent lawyers and jurists, the public media, and legal scholars perceive an ongoing decline in the profession's ethics.
Bar leaders tend to respond to the problem by calling for greater "professionalism" among practicing lawyers. Drawing on professional images from earlier times, they urge lawyers to look beyond the rules and to be more virtuous, selfless, independent of clients, and dedicated to justice.
A number of commentators go further. These …
Kentucky's New Rules Of Professional Conduct For Lawyers, Eugene R. Gaetke
Kentucky's New Rules Of Professional Conduct For Lawyers, Eugene R. Gaetke
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
On July 12, 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court adopted its own version of the American Bar Association's 1983 Model Rules of Professional Conduct as the body of disciplinary law applicable to lawyers practicing in the state. These new rules constitute a major improvement in the state's law of legal ethics. Their adoption should be considered a victory for Kentucky lawyers and, more importantly, a victory for the people of the state, the ultimate beneficiaries of the regulation of the legal profession.
As with most victories, the adoption of the new rules was not unequivocally positive. Kentucky's version of the Model …