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Full-Text Articles in Law
Alternative Business Structures: Good For The Public, Good For The Lawyers, Jayne R. Reardon
Alternative Business Structures: Good For The Public, Good For The Lawyers, Jayne R. Reardon
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
There has been a shift in consumer behavior over the last several decades. To keep up with the transforming consumer, many professions have changed the way they do business. Yet lawyers continue to deliver services the way they have since the founding of our country. Bar associations and legal ethicists have long debated the idea of allowing lawyers to practice in “alternative business structures,” where lawyers and nonlawyers can co-own and co-manage a business to deliver legal services. This Article argues these types of businesses inhibit lawyers’ ability to provide better legal services to the public and that the legal …
Ethics And The “Root Of All Evil” In Nineteenth Century American Law Practice, Michael Hoeflich
Ethics And The “Root Of All Evil” In Nineteenth Century American Law Practice, Michael Hoeflich
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
This Article discusses the bifurcated notions on the purpose of working as an attorney—whether the purpose is to attain wealth or whether the work in and of itself is the purpose. This Article explores the sentiments held by distinguished and influential nineteenth-century lawyers—particularly David Hoffman and George Sharswood—regarding the legal ethics surrounding attorney’s fees and how money in general is the root of many ethical dilemmas within the arena of legal practice. Through the texts of Hoffman and Sharswood, we find the origins of the ethical rules all American attorneys are subject to in their various jurisdictions.
Electronic Social Media: Friend Or Foe For Judges, M. Sue Kurita
Electronic Social Media: Friend Or Foe For Judges, M. Sue Kurita
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
The use of electronic social communication has grown at a phenomenal rate. Facebook, the most popular social networking website, has over 1,968,000,000 users—a number that has exponentially grown since its inception in 2004. The number of judges accessing and using electronic social media (ESM) has also increased. However, unlike the general population, judges must consider constitutional, ethical, technical, and evidentiary implications when they use and access ESM. The First Amendment forbids “abridging the freedom of speech” and protects the expression of personal ideas, positions, and views. However, the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct and the Texas Code …