Law Commons^™

The Theory And Practice Of Defending Judges Against Unjust Criticism, Ronald J. Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

Having set forth the above premise and conclusion, the American Bar Association Subcommittee on Unjust Criticism of the Bench promulgated a model program for bar associations to follow when countering inaccurate or unjust criticism of judges. This article presents no quarrel with the model program but instead seeks to relate the model to an empirical account of how it might operate in practice. It must be remembered that the acid test of a theoretical model is not whether the theory is "true" in a purely academic sense but whether the model is useful in describing the "real world. " In …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Professional Responsibility, Timothy M. Kaine

University of Richmond Law Review

This year, like many years, has been marked by increasing public concern over legal ethics. Public attention has been drawn to lawyers' participation in scandals such as the misuse of funds by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the collapse of the savings and loan industry, and numerous ethical breaches by members of Congress.

The Surrogate Mother Contract: In The Best Interests Of Society?, Audrey Wolfson Latourette

University of Richmond Law Review

On March 31, 1987, Judge Harvey R. Sorkow upheld, for the first time, the validity of a surrogate mother-contract in his decision, In the Matter of Baby M. In broad and sweeping language, the judge deemed the contract between the natural mother, Mary Beth Whitehead, (termed the surrogate, pursuant to the contract language) and the natural father, William Stern, specifically enforceable. Judge Sorkow thus terminated Whitehead's parental rights to the child she bore and permanently denied her claims for future custody or future visitation. Creating new law, the judge held that baby selling and adoption laws do not pertain to …

Chipping Away At Lawyer Veracity: The Aba's Turn Toward Situation Ethics In Negotiations, Ruth Fleet Thurman

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This Article questions the wisdom of the Model Rule's exceptions to honest dealings in negotiations on several grounds: (1) Proponents of the exceptions have not offered empirical evidence or professional justification for this approach; 16 (2) The approach will further tarnish the profession's image; (3) The approach will create a slippery slope that leads to unintended ethical violations; and (4) The approach will erode the high degree of trust, veracity and integrity required of lawyers as "officer[s] of the legal system."1 7 For these reasons, the Model Rule's exceptions to honesty in negotiations should be abolished by the ABA and …

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 …