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Renewed Introspection And The Legal Profession, Eugene R. Gaetke
Renewed Introspection And The Legal Profession, Eugene R. Gaetke
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
As the twentieth century draws to a close, the legal profession again immersed in a process of self-assessment, reflection, and reform. Operating on several fronts, various constituent elements of the bar have recently completed or have underway significant projects relating to the law of lawyering.
Two efforts stand out in particular. For more than a decade, the American Law Institute has labored in the production of a new Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers, and the organization stands now on the brink of that monumental work's publication. Equally significant, the American Bar Association has again undertaken a comprehensive review of …
Kentucky's New Rules Of Professional Conduct For Lawyers, Eugene R. Gaetke
Kentucky's New Rules Of Professional Conduct For Lawyers, Eugene R. Gaetke
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
On July 12, 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court adopted its own version of the American Bar Association's 1983 Model Rules of Professional Conduct as the body of disciplinary law applicable to lawyers practicing in the state. These new rules constitute a major improvement in the state's law of legal ethics. Their adoption should be considered a victory for Kentucky lawyers and, more importantly, a victory for the people of the state, the ultimate beneficiaries of the regulation of the legal profession.
As with most victories, the adoption of the new rules was not unequivocally positive. Kentucky's version of the Model …
Lawyers As Officers Of The Court, Eugene R. Gaetke
Lawyers As Officers Of The Court, Eugene R. Gaetke
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
Lawyers like to refer to themselves as officers of the court. Careful analysis of the role of the lawyer within the adversarial legal system reveals the characterization to be vacuous and unduly self-laudatory. It confuses lawyers and misleads the public. The profession, therefore, should either stop using the officer of the court characterization or give meaning to it. This Article proposes certain modifications of the existing rules of professional responsibility that would bring lawyers' actual obligations more in line with those suggested by the label of officer of the court.