Law Commons^™

Enron, Watergate And The Regulation Of The Legal Profession, Arnold Rochvarg

All Faculty Scholarship

The most famous scandal of the twentieth century was the Watergate scandal, which most notably led to the resignation of Richard Nixon as President of the United States. The significance of Watergate, however, extends further than the resignation of Nixon. Because Watergate involved so many lawyers, it had a great impact on the regulation of the legal profession. Although the twenty-first century has just started, the strongest contender for this century's most famous scandal is the Enron scandal. Although the Enron scandal is identified mostly with misconduct by accountants and corporate officials, it too involved lawyers and has impacted on …

Estate Planning Malpractice: Is Strict Privity Here To Stay?, Angela M. Vallario

All Faculty Scholarship

Under Maryland case law, a plaintiff in an estate planning malpractice action must be in strict privity with the attorney who drafted the will. To date, Maryland has not extended the third-party beneficiary exception to the estate planning arena.

Legatees specifically identified in a will by name or class are generally precluded from bringing a cause of action against the attorney for the attorney's alleged negligence, because in Maryland in order to recover for legal malpractice, a plaintiff must:show: "(1) the attorney's employment; (2) his neglect of a reasonable duty; and (3) loss to the client proximately caused by that …

Ethical Concerns In Drafting Employment Arbitration Agreements After Circuit City And Green Tree, Martin H. Malin

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Is There A Role For Lawyers In Preventing Future Enrons?, Jill E. Fisch, Kenneth M. Rosen

All Faculty Scholarship

Following the collapse of the Enron Corporation, the ethical obligations of corporate attorneys have received increased scrutiny. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, enacted in response to calls for corporate reform, specifically requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to address the lawyer’s role by requiring covered attorneys to “report up” evidence of corporate wrongdoing to key corporate officers, and, in some circumstances, to the board of directors. Failure to “report up” subjects a lawyer to liability under federal law.

This Article argues that the reporting up requirement reflects a second-best approach to corporate governance reform. Rather than focusing on the actors …

No Other Gods: Answering The Call Of Faith In The Practice Of Law, Howard Lesnick

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Bringing Moral Values Into A Flawed Plea Bargaining System, Stephanos Bibas

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Toward A Multiple Party Representation Model: Moderating Power Disparity, Henry Ordower

All Faculty Scholarship

Argues that the zealous representation model of contemporary legal practice with its emphasis on primacy of the client causes lawyers to assist and motivate their clients to exploit the clients' power advantages in non-litigation contexts. The article recommends that ethical rules shift to a multiple client representation model. The model would be based upon the Brandeisian "lawyer for the situation" and would empower attorneys in non-litigation settings to consider and evaluate the impact of their activities on other constituencies that the representation affects. Attorneys would become better able to encourage their clients to seek distributional fairness and balance in their …