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Judicial Rhetoric & Lawyers' Roles, Samuel J. Levine
Judicial Rhetoric & Lawyers' Roles, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
Notwithstanding the rich scholarly literature debating the proper roles of lawyers and the precise contours of lawyers’ ethical conduct, as a descriptive matter, the American legal system operates as an adversarial system, premised in part upon clear demarcations between the functions of different lawyers within the system. Broadly speaking, prosecutors have the distinct role of serving justice, which includes the duty to try to convict criminal defendants who are deserving of punishment, in a way that is consistent with both substantive and procedural justice. In contrast, private attorneys have a duty to zealously represent the best interests of their clients, …
Foreword To The Conference: The Law: Business Or Profession? The Continuing Relevance Of Julius Henry Cohen For The Practice Of Law In The Twenty-First Century, Samuel J. Levine
Foreword To The Conference: The Law: Business Or Profession? The Continuing Relevance Of Julius Henry Cohen For The Practice Of Law In The Twenty-First Century, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
No abstract provided.
Introductory Note: Symposium On Lawyering And Personal Values – Responding To The Problems Of Ethical Schizophrenia, Samuel J. Levine
Introductory Note: Symposium On Lawyering And Personal Values – Responding To The Problems Of Ethical Schizophrenia, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
In recent years, legal practitioners and scholars alike have identified a growing crisis in the legal profession. Increasingly, lawyers feel dissatisfied with the roles they are expected to play and the conduct demanded of them. In particular, many lawyers see a widening gap between their personal values and those employed in legal practice. In response to the dichotomy between personal and professional values, some lawyers attempt to develop a corresponding dichotomy in their personalities, separating the “professional self” from the “personal self.” Such a response, however, may lead to a kind of “ethical schizophrenia,” a condition in which an individual …
A Look At American Legal Practice Through A Perspective Of Jewish Law, Ethics, And Tradition: A Conceptual Overview, Samuel J. Levine
A Look At American Legal Practice Through A Perspective Of Jewish Law, Ethics, And Tradition: A Conceptual Overview, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
Levine examines the roles of legislative and judicial bodies, in the context of a discussion of broader principles of legislation in the Jewish legal system. In recent years, American legal scholars have increasingly looked to Jewish law as a model of an alternative legal system that considers many of the issues present in the American legal system. In relation to the roles of legislative and judicial bodies, the Jewish legal system provides a particularly illuminating contrast to the American legal system, in part because in Jewish law, the same authority, the Sanhedrin, or High Court, serves in both a legislative …
Legal Services Lawyers And The Influence Of Third Parties On The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Some Thoughts From Scholars, Practitioners, And Courts, Samuel J. Levine
Legal Services Lawyers And The Influence Of Third Parties On The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Some Thoughts From Scholars, Practitioners, And Courts, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
Among the challenges facing the lawyer who renders legal services to clients with limited means are ethical and professional questions relating to the influence of third parties on the lawyer-client relationship. Although all lawyers may potentially face ethical dilemmas involving third parties, legal services lawyers are particularly vulnerable to such issues because, unlike most lawyers, legal services lawyers generally rely on the financial support of someone other than their client. These challenges may take many forms, affecting a variety of ethical and professional considerations. Levine examines a number of areas in which bar association committees, scholars, and courts have addressed …
Professionalism Without Parochialism: Julius Henry Cohen, Rabbi Nachman Of Breslov, And The Stories Of Two Sons, Samuel J. Levine
Professionalism Without Parochialism: Julius Henry Cohen, Rabbi Nachman Of Breslov, And The Stories Of Two Sons, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
Professor Levine addresses the question of whether the practice of law a business or a profession and looks at sources where practitioners might draw inspiration for ethical behaviors. He examines two works: a 1916 book by Julius Henry Cohen - The Law: Business or Profession?; and a tale by Chasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Both works tell the story of two sons from two different fathers with different ethical natures that manifest in their different choices of and approaches to their careers. Professor Levine uses these two parables to suggest that a more inclusive question than those posed above: …
Taking Prosecutorial Ethics Seriously: A Consideration Of The Prosecutor's Ethical Obligation To Seek Justice In A Comparative Analytical Framework, Samuel J. Levine
Taking Prosecutorial Ethics Seriously: A Consideration Of The Prosecutor's Ethical Obligation To Seek Justice In A Comparative Analytical Framework, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
This article examines the complex nature of the prosecutor's broad obligation to seek justice through a consideration of the similarly broad directive in Jewish law requiring that "in all [of] your ways acknowledge [God]." While many have critiqued the broad directives governing a prosecutor's ethical duties, through this comparative analytical framework it can be seen that the prosecutor's broad ethical directive to seek justice serves as a workable and appropriate standard for prosecutorial ethics. In many ways, a prosecutor faces an ethical obligation unlike other attorneys. Ethical obligations require that a prosecutor forgo conduct that would increase the likelihood of …
Reflections On The Practice Of Law As A Religious Calling, From A Perspective Of Jewish Law And Ethics, Samuel J. Levine
Reflections On The Practice Of Law As A Religious Calling, From A Perspective Of Jewish Law And Ethics, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
This Essay is based on introductory remarks Levine delivered at the inaugural conference of the Pepperdine Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics, "Can the Ordinary Practice of Law be a Religious Calling?," held on February 6-7, 2004 at Pepperdine University School of Law. In thinking about the practice of law as a religious calling, Levine argues that we should first consider the broader issue of the general relevance of religion to various areas of life, including work. From a perspective of Jewish law and ethics, moral conduct comprises an imperative at home and at the workplace no less than at …
Legal Services Lawyers And The Influence Of Third Parties On The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Some Thoughts From Scholars, Practitioners, And Courts, Samuel J. Levine
Legal Services Lawyers And The Influence Of Third Parties On The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Some Thoughts From Scholars, Practitioners, And Courts, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
Among the challenges facing the lawyer who renders legal services to clients with limited means are ethical and professional questions relating to the influence of third parties on the lawyer-client relationship. Although all lawyers may potentially face ethical dilemmas involving third parties, legal services lawyers are particularly vulnerable to such issues because, unlike most lawyers, legal services lawyers generally rely on the financial support of someone other than their client. These challenges may take many forms, affecting a variety of ethical and professional considerations. Levine examines a number of areas in which bar association committees, scholars, and courts have addressed …