Law Commons^™

Exceptions, Lawrence Raful

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Aba, The Rules, And Professionalism: The Mechanics Of Self-Defeat And A Call For A Return To The Ethical, Moral, And Practical Approach Of The Canons, Benjamin H. Barton

Scholarly Works

In this Article I argue that there was once a single animating goal for American legal ethics - providing moral, ethical, and practical guidance on practicing law. Throughout the 20th Century lawyer regulators worked to bisect that goal, and we now have two quite distinct, and frequently conflicting goals. On the one hand, bar regulators pushed ceaselessly to narrow the regulations governing lawyer conduct to black-letter minimum, and eliminated the broadly moral from the Rules. On the other hand, bar regulators sought to raise lawyers' ethical and moral standards through professionalism and other non-mandatory efforts.

These bisected goals clash in …

Civil Obedience, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Discussions of legal ethics generally assume that lawyers should deliberate straightforwardly on the basis of reasons to act or refrain from acting. This model of deliberation fails to account for the role of the law in resolving normative disagreement and coordinating social activity by people who do not share comprehensive ethical doctrines. The law represents a collective decision about what citizens ought to do, which replaces the reasons individuals would otherwise have to act. This Article contends that legal ethics ought to be understood as an aspect of this theory of the authority of law. On this account, lawyers have …

A New Player In The Boardroom: The Emergence Of The Independent Directors' Counsel, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr., Edward B. Rock

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the last thirty years, the independent directors have occasionally been represented by independent counsel. Instances include: special litigation committees reviewing derivative suits; independent committees in parent subsidiary mergers and MBOs; and internal investigations of misconduct. We predict that, with the additional legal requirements imposed on independent directors by the Sarbanes Oxley Act and related changes to SEC rules and Stock Exchange listing requirements, the independent directors, especially those on the Audit Committee, increasingly will be represented on a continuing basis by independent legal counsel. Out of this will emerge a new figure in the board room: the Independent Directors' …

Interviewing Ex-Employees: One Answer, New Questions, Susan P. Koniak

Faculty Scholarship

In Clark v. Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services, Inc., 440 Mass. 270, 797 N.E.2d 905 (2003), the Supreme Judicial Court held that a lawyer for a party may contact former employees of the opposing party without violating Mass. r. Prof. C. 4.2. Lawyers who represent entities with former employees are not happy because, where 4.2 applies, the Rule makes it harder for the other side's lawyers to obtain information that might be damaging to the organization. Understandable. But some purport to be aghast, which is ridiculous. The Clark holding is in line with the ABA's position, the text of …

Environmental Legal Professionalism Adapted To Citizen Suit Processes, Brion Blackwelder

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Teaching Practical Wisdom, Deborah J. Cantrell

Publications

No abstract provided.

Popular Culture As A Lens On Legal Professionalism, Alex Scherr, Hillary Farber

Scholarly Works

Why use art to teach lawyering?' Despite divergences in method and intention, the two disciplines overlap. If the prevalence of lawyers in movies, television, literature, and even humor means anything, popular culture remains fascinated with lawyers. Our practices, our ethics, and our professional personae serve as a mine for image and narrative, a target for cultural critique, and a catalyst for expression. Not surprisingly, images of lawyers in cartoons, film, television, and literature offer unique opportunities to teach and explore professionalism. The proliferation of lawyer images in popular culture provides an array of material ranging from career choice to particular …

Religious Lawyering In A Liberal Democracy: A Challenge And An Invitation William A. Brahms Lecture On Law & Religion, Russell G. Pearce

Faculty Scholarship

At a time when many believe that law is no longer a noble profession, many lawyers see no reason to devote time and energy to promoting the public good. Religious lawyering may offer a powerful antidote: a robust framework for lawyers to integrate into their professional lives their most deeply rooted values, perspectives and critiques, and persuasive reasons to improve the quality of justice and work for the common good. At its best, religious lawyering echoes Martin Luther King's advice to the street sweeper. How wonderful it would be, indeed, if we practiced law so well that the host of …

On International And Interdisciplinary Legal Ethics Scholarship, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

"Legal Ethics is an international and interdisciplinary journal dedicated to the field of legal ethics." The mission statement of this journal poses three concise challenges for scholars in this discipline: To define the domain of legal ethics, to study it from a perspective that is valid across jurisdictional boundaries, and to incorporate the insights of related disciplines. As befits an emerging and exciting field, lawyers and university faculty throughout the English- speaking common-law world have begun to engage with all three of these problems. The book reviews section of Legal Ethics has highlighted the publication of many of the …