Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 11 of 11
Full-Text Articles in Law
A Glass Half Full Look At The Changes In The American Legal Market, Benjamin H. Barton
A Glass Half Full Look At The Changes In The American Legal Market, Benjamin H. Barton
Scholarly Works
The American legal profession finds itself in the midst of dizzying changes. What was once viewed as a brief downturn now looks like a much more substantial restructuring and downsizing. The main commentators on these trends have been those most likely to be affected: law professors and corporate lawyers, and they have largely presented these trends as disastrous. This Essay argues that while these changes will be painful in the near term, they will prove beneficial overall.
The obvious reason for optimism is that America will be significantly better off if we spend less on legal services. Whatever else the …
Shrinking Gideon And Expanding Alternatives To Lawyers, Stephanos Bibas
Shrinking Gideon And Expanding Alternatives To Lawyers, Stephanos Bibas
All Faculty Scholarship
This essay, written as part of a symposium at Washington and Lee Law School entitled Gideon at 50: Reassessing the Right to Counsel, argues that the standard academic dream of expanding the right to counsel to all criminal and major civil cases has proven to be an unattainable mirage. We have been spreading resources too thin, in the process slighting the core cases such as capital and other serious felonies that are the most complex and need the most time and money. Moreover, our legal system is overengineered, making the law too complex and legal services too expensive for …
Cat, Cause, And Kant, Richard J. Peltz-Steele
Cat, Cause, And Kant, Richard J. Peltz-Steele
Faculty Publications
These are precarious times in which to launch a new law school and a new law review. Yet here we are. The University of Massachusetts is now in its first year of operation with provisional ABA accreditation. This text is a foreword to the first general-interest issue of the University of Massachusetts Law Review. Now marks an appropriate time to take stock of what these institutions mean to accomplish in our unsettled legal world.
When Bad Guys Are Wearing White Hats, Catherine A. Rogers
When Bad Guys Are Wearing White Hats, Catherine A. Rogers
Journal Articles
Allegations of ethical misconduct by lawyers have all but completely overshadowed the substantive claims in the Chevron case. While both sides have been accused of flagrant wrongdoing, the charges against plaintiffs’ counsel appear to have captured more headlines and garnered more attention. The primary reason why the focus seems lopsided is that plaintiffs’ counsel were presumed to be the ones wearing white hats in this epic drama. This essay postulates that this seeming irony is not simply an example of personal ethical lapse, but in part tied to larger reasons why ethical violations are an occupational hazard for plaintiffs’ counsel …
The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession In Crisis, By Stephen J. Harper (Book Review), Michael S. Ariens
The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession In Crisis, By Stephen J. Harper (Book Review), Michael S. Ariens
Faculty Articles
Stephen J. Harper’s The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis, is the latest iteration of the “institutional failure” or “business disaster” story. A number of such books were published around 1990, and have been quite popular since then, for businesses (such as Enron and Tyco) keep failing in such spectacular fashion. The Great Recession that began in December 2007 led to another round of business disaster books, and like their forebears these books make a hard sell for the claim that the disaster was of a titanic nature. And where the business disaster book is found, the legal disaster book …
Legal Malpractice In A Changing Profession: The Role Of Contract Principles, Vincent R. Johnson
Legal Malpractice In A Changing Profession: The Role Of Contract Principles, Vincent R. Johnson
Faculty Articles
American legal ethics are based upon a set of legal principles that ensure clients are protected from unnecessary harm and that the provision of legal services is consistent with the public interest. However, the fabric of American legal ethics is threatened by a looming transformation of the legal profession. Such changes, if they come to pass, will undercut the foundations upon which the principles and law of modern legal ethics is founded.
The current model of American legal ethics is animated by three important assumptions, each of which is now under attack. The first is that legal services are ordinarily …
Who's Eating Law Firms' Lunch? The Legal Service Providers, Law Schools And New Grads At The Table, William D. Henderson, Rachel M. Zahorsky
Who's Eating Law Firms' Lunch? The Legal Service Providers, Law Schools And New Grads At The Table, William D. Henderson, Rachel M. Zahorsky
Articles by Maurer Faculty
No abstract provided.
Why Environmental Law Clinics?, Adam Babich, Jane F. Barrett
Why Environmental Law Clinics?, Adam Babich, Jane F. Barrett
Faculty Scholarship
The law clinic has become an increasingly important part of legal education, giving students the opportunity to learn practical skills as well as to internalize core legal values. Pedagogical concerns preclude clinics from letting fear of criticism drive decisions about how they represent clients. The legal profession's idealistic aspirations pose challenges, and political attacks have answered clinicians' efforts to live up to these aspirations. An error underlies such attacks, however: holding lawyers responsible for their clients' legal positions despite the profession's duty to ensure that such positions get a fair hearing.
Blacks In The Nevada Legal Profession, Rachel J. Anderson
Blacks In The Nevada Legal Profession, Rachel J. Anderson
Scholarly Works
This article discusses the history of African-Americans in the Nevada legal profession. It is part of "A Special Series on African Americans in Nevada Politics - Past and Present" on pages 16-21 of the issue. Sources are on page 21 of the issue.
Law Firm Malpractice Disclosure: Illustrations And Guidelines, Anthony V. Alfieri
Law Firm Malpractice Disclosure: Illustrations And Guidelines, Anthony V. Alfieri
Articles
No abstract provided.
Professionalism And The New Normal, Philip J. Weiser
Professionalism And The New Normal, Philip J. Weiser
Publications
No abstract provided.