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Cleveland State University

Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

1995

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Law

Lawyer Distress: Alcohol-Related Problems And Other Psychological Concerns Among A Sample Of Practicing Lawyers, Connie J.A. Beck, Bruce D. Sales, G. Andrew H. Benjamin Jan 1995

Lawyer Distress: Alcohol-Related Problems And Other Psychological Concerns Among A Sample Of Practicing Lawyers, Connie J.A. Beck, Bruce D. Sales, G. Andrew H. Benjamin

Journal of Law and Health

The findings of the research reported in this study, in conjunction with earlier studies, suggest that the professional and the personal well-being of lawyers is in serious jeopardy. Lawyers are working more, reducing vacation time, spending less time with family members, are prone to alcohol abuse, and face high levels of psychological distress. The combination of elements suggests an impending crisis for lawyers' family lives. Although the data are not sufficient to suggest that psychological distress has detrimentally affected the lawyers' ability to practice competently, the warning signs are present. Further empirical study may well reveal that lawyer distress is …

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Some Thoughts About Developing Constructive Approaches To Lawyer And Law Student Distress, Peter G. Glenn Jan 1995

Some Thoughts About Developing Constructive Approaches To Lawyer And Law Student Distress, Peter G. Glenn

Journal of Law and Health

I am convinced, on the basis of experience as a teacher at five law schools, that it is possible to establish a law school culture in which the administration and faculty can work effectively to substantially reduce the level of unnecessary law student distress. I believe, however, that accomplishing this on any large scale among the law schools generally might require not only implementation of many of the suggestions of Professors Glesner and Kutulakis, but also that we abandon the ideas that all law schools should be fundamentally similar, built on the model of a large-enrollment major research center, and …

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Lawyer Distress: A Comment, Susan S. Locke Jan 1995

Lawyer Distress: A Comment, Susan S. Locke

Journal of Law and Health

I will not debate whether or not the practice of law creates dysfunction, requires dysfunction or perpetuates dysfunction. I am reminded of a colleague who, when looking at his law firm partners who practice in my field of estate planning asked, "Do you have to be eccentric to go into estate planning, or does it just make you that way after a while?" Probably the answer is a little of both, and it is as true for the practice of law in general as it is for estate planning. When the dust settles at some time in the future, we …

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Is There A Solution To The Problem Of Lawyer Stress - The Law School Perspective, James J.A. Alfini, Joseph N. Van Vooren Jan 1995

Is There A Solution To The Problem Of Lawyer Stress - The Law School Perspective, James J.A. Alfini, Joseph N. Van Vooren

Journal of Law and Health

What is the result of all this stress? As previously noted in the Beck, Sales, and Benjamin study, more and more attorneys are turning to alcohol as a "stress reliever." Also, a higher percentage of lawyers are dissatisfied with their personal relationships than the "normal population." A poll conducted for the New York Law Journal by a Manhattan polling firm found that of the lawyers polled who had been divorced, fifty-six percent asserted that their careers in the law had contributed to the breakup of their marriages. Of great concern is the fact that an increasing number of attorneys are …

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Learning And Mental Disability Protection Under The Americans With Disabilities Act In The Quest For Certification For The Practice Of Law, Aaron J. Reber Jan 1995

Learning And Mental Disability Protection Under The Americans With Disabilities Act In The Quest For Certification For The Practice Of Law, Aaron J. Reber

Journal of Law and Health

The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990 as a comprehensive scheme in which previously discriminated against classes would be guaranteed fair treatment in employment as well as other settings. The Act protects those with both physical and mental disabilities. With respect to certification for the practice of law, the Act has almost unique significance as the accommodations the Act calls for arguably clash with state bar standards of competence both in legal education and mental fitness for certification. These clashes tend to stem from two major situations-accommodation of the learning disabled student who may not be able to …

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Commentary: Policy Implications, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr. Jan 1995

Commentary: Policy Implications, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

Journal of Law and Health

It is clear to me that members of the legal profession are obliged to take these findings seriously. I shall suggest below a few reservations about the analysis. Nevertheless, the important findings are established by empirical evidence so powerful that they can be ignored only through a wish not to believe. If the findings are accepted as a description of reality, the challenge is to work out sensible courses of action in response. The challenge is formidable.

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Lawyers, Learning, And Professionalism: Meditations On A Theme, Judith Welch Wegner Jan 1995

Lawyers, Learning, And Professionalism: Meditations On A Theme, Judith Welch Wegner

Cleveland State Law Review

This essay will offer three meditations on the theme of "lawyers, learning and professionalism." First, it lays a foundation by arguing that a commitment to learning is an appropriate and necessary professional value for lawyers. Next, it contends that lawyers need to take this professional value more seriously. It will suggest that lawyers lag behind other professions in learning about learning, and urge more lawyers deliberately do just that. Finally, the essay shares some important lessons about professionalism recently learned through learning experiments with practicing lawyers and law students.

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Proverbial Practice: Legal Ethics From Old Testament Wisdom, Gordon J. Beggs Jan 1995

Proverbial Practice: Legal Ethics From Old Testament Wisdom, Gordon J. Beggs

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The Old Testament book of Proverbs supplied foundational moral values for our nation's legal ethics. With the adoption and revision of formal codes, moral teaching has virtually disappeared from legal ethics. This essay suggests that the wisdom of Proverbs offers a timely challenge to the character of the legal profession by advocating values which include justice, purity, mercy, humility, honesty, candor, truthful testimony, and civility.

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Rhetoric, Evidence, And Bar Agency Restrictions On Speech By Attorneys, Lloyd B. Snyder Jan 1995

Rhetoric, Evidence, And Bar Agency Restrictions On Speech By Attorneys, Lloyd B. Snyder

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

There are two problems with permitting litigation about attorney speech to proceed without requiring bar disciplinary agencies to present empirical data or other evidence to support claims that restrictions on attorney speech are necessary. First, the history of bar association restrictions on attorney speech should make us skeptical that the bar rules are based on lofty ideals about protection of the public. The restrictions began as rules promulgated by elite corporate lawyers whose effect was to limit the activities of their less affluent brethren who were representing criminal defendants and other impoverished clients. The purpose of the rules was to …

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Aba Delegates Amend Model Rule , Susan J. Becker Jan 1995

Aba Delegates Amend Model Rule , Susan J. Becker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The ABA House of Delegates has amended Model Rule 4.2 regarding whom attorneys may ethically contact directly during the course of litigation or other legal matters. This article discusses the ramifications of this change.

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Self-Inflicted Wounds: The Duty To Disclose Damaging Legal Authority, Angela Gilmore Jan 1995

Self-Inflicted Wounds: The Duty To Disclose Damaging Legal Authority, Angela Gilmore

Cleveland State Law Review

This article analyzes Rule 3.3(a)(3) and its implications for opposing parties in an adversarial legal system. The article's conclusion is that strict compliance with Rule 3.3(a)(3) by all members of the Bar is necessary to preserve the integrity of the legal system. Circumvention of the Rule is a disservice to the legal system. Part II explains Rule 3.3(a)(3) so that lawyers can grasp the ethical duty owed. Part III examines three roles simultaneously played by a lawyer: a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system, and a private citizen having a special responsibility for the quality of justice.7 …

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