Law Commons^™

Breaking The Silence: Holding Texas Lawyers Accountable For Sexual Harassment, Savannah Files

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Following the 2017 exposure of Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement spread rapidly across social media platforms calling for increased awareness of the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault and demanding change. The widespread use of the hashtag brought attention to the issue and successfully facilitated a much-needed discussion in today’s society. However, this is not the first incident prompting a demand for change.

Efforts to bring awareness and exact change in regards to sexual harassment in the legal profession date back to the 1990s. This demonstrates that the legal profession is not immune from these issues. In fact, at least …

Why Should I Become An Associate At A Large Law Firm? And If I Do, Then What Should I Expect And How Do I Succeed?, David A. Grenardo

Faculty Articles

For law students contemplating employment with large law firms, it is helpful to consider the advantages of working at a large law firm, what to expect, how to succeed, and how to make partner. A number of attributes make big law firms attractive to students, including salaries, bonuses, and opportunities for future employment after large law firm life, such as potential in-house positions and other prestigious employment.

Law students who are looking for a steady, stable income, a tremendous resume builder or a career, and are ready to work extremely hard may enjoy working at a large law firm. Nevertheless, …

Enforcing Civility: Holding Attorneys To A Higher Standard Of Conduct, David A. Grenardo

Faculty CLE

As there continue to be incidents of attorneys slapping opposing counsel at depositions, attorneys personally attacking each other during litigation (including in one case disparaging remarks about an attorney’s alleged lack of parenting ability), and numerous other rude and disrespectful behavior by attorneys, incivility remains a pervasive problem in the legal profession. The response thus far to incivility by the legal profession includes voluntary civility codes and calls for professionalism. These responses fail to address the systemic issue of incivility in the legal profession. As a result, several states added civility to their oaths of admission, while several jurisdictions took …

Making Civility Mandatory: Moving From Aspired To Required, David A. Grenardo

Faculty Articles

Despite the rise of voluntary civility codes and calls for professionalism, incivility persists in the legal profession. The practice of law is a privilege, not a right, and attorneys must be held to a higher standard of conduct as a lawyer is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system, and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice. The time for mandatory civility has long come, and all state bars should follow the lead of the few jurisdictions that have made civility mandatory.

This article examines what civility is, its importance, and the problem …

Tales From The Abyss: What Does It Take To Get Disbarred These Days?, David A. Grenardo

Faculty CLE

As the behavior of attorneys appears to become more repugnant as the years pass, legal scholars continue to lament over the decline in civility and quality of attorneys in the profession. One cannot avoid the YouTube clip where a judge finds that an attorney has shown up drunk in her court, or stories like that of a prominent plaintiff’s attorney whose conduct included failing to obey court orders, failing to maintain respect to the courts, seeking to mislead the jury, and committing several acts of moral turpitude, which the reviewing court deemed outrageous. The punishment for these two lawyers included …