Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Law
Religious Lawyering's Second Wave, Russell G. Pearce, Amelia J. Uelmen
Religious Lawyering's Second Wave, Russell G. Pearce, Amelia J. Uelmen
Faculty Scholarship
Since the mid-1990s, the "religious lawyering movement" has expanded dramatically, receiving greater attention within the academy and the bar. As the movement enters what we term its "second wave" of development, this essay begins with a look back to its "first wave" of path-breaking scholarship and its gradual shift toward more institutionalized structures and programs. It argues that the predominant characteristic of first-wave religious lawyering scholarship was to claim a space within the professional conversation for lawyers to bring religious values to bear on their work. The essay then predicts that in the second wave religious lawyering conversations and scholarship …
Religious Lawyering In A Liberal Democracy: A Challenge And An Invitation William A. Brahms Lecture On Law & Religion, Russell G. Pearce
Religious Lawyering In A Liberal Democracy: A Challenge And An Invitation William A. Brahms Lecture On Law & Religion, Russell G. Pearce
Faculty Scholarship
At a time when many believe that law is no longer a noble profession, many lawyers see no reason to devote time and energy to promoting the public good. Religious lawyering may offer a powerful antidote: a robust framework for lawyers to integrate into their professional lives their most deeply rooted values, perspectives and critiques, and persuasive reasons to improve the quality of justice and work for the common good. At its best, religious lawyering echoes Martin Luther King's advice to the street sweeper. How wonderful it would be, indeed, if we practiced law so well that the host of …
Faith And The Lawyer's Practice Symposium: Law Religion And The Public Good, Russell G. Pearce
Faith And The Lawyer's Practice Symposium: Law Religion And The Public Good, Russell G. Pearce
Faculty Scholarship
If there is a religious way to read, is there a religious way to be a lawyer? More and more lawyers, judges and scholars are answering yes to that question. We heard earlier from Cardinal Bevilacqua about the history of the Religious Lawyering Movement, which blossomed in the 1990s. There was writing about the law and religion before that time." We can date religious lawyering as a body of work in mainstream legal literature, as Cardinal Bevilacqua did, to the work of Professor Thomas Shaffer in the 1980s.Why did this movement take off in the 1990s? Again, what accounts for …
Learning From The Unpleasant Truths Of Interfaith Conversations: William Stringfellow's Lessons For The Jewish Lawyer, Russell G. Pearce
Learning From The Unpleasant Truths Of Interfaith Conversations: William Stringfellow's Lessons For The Jewish Lawyer, Russell G. Pearce
Faculty Scholarship
As the religious lawyering movement expands, so too will the opportunities for interfaith conversations about lawyering. At the level of superficial pleasantries, these conversations will probably add warm feelings of camraderie but little else. When they advance to deeper levels of intellectual and emotional connection, they offer the potential for developing close friendships, learning significant new insights, and discovering hurtful differences. Only by risking the pain of such conversations can we gain the full benefit of interfaith conversation for enriching our "zest for spiritual living." This essay will employ the writings of William Stringfellow, a Christian lawyer and theologian, to …
Jewish Lawyer's Question, The Essay, Russell G. Pearce
Jewish Lawyer's Question, The Essay, Russell G. Pearce
Faculty Scholarship
Martin Buber describes the question of how to "affirm" our Jewish identity in the modem world as "the personal Jewish question, the root of all Jewish questions, the question we must discover within ourselves, clarify within ourselves, and decide within ourselves. This essay raises the "Jewish question" for lawyers. First, it explores some reasons why Jewish lawyers answer the question by separating their professional selves from their religious selves. Second, it observes that such an answer is contrary to the perspective-rooted in tradition but also common to the otherwise dissonant streams of Judaism today-that one's Judaism enters every moment of …
To Save A Life: Why A Rabbi And A Jewish Lawyer Must Disclose A Client Confidence Symposium: Executing The Wrong Person: The Professionals' Ethical Dilemmas, Russell G. Pearce
To Save A Life: Why A Rabbi And A Jewish Lawyer Must Disclose A Client Confidence Symposium: Executing The Wrong Person: The Professionals' Ethical Dilemmas, Russell G. Pearce
Faculty Scholarship
As adopted by courts and legislatures, lawyer's ethical codes have the force of law. They require a lawyer to keep information confidential unless the lawyer knows the client will commit a future crime. Jewish tradition generally forbids the disclosure of confidential information as "a terrible invasion of another person's privacy."This interdiction, rooted in the Torah's prohibition on talebearing, applies even when the information disclosed is true. The great medieval commentator, Maimonides, observed that gossip "ruins the world.” He further reproached "the evil tongue of the slander-monger who speaks disparagingly of one's fellow, even if the truth is told." Accordingly, the …