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Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Law

Legislating Morality: The Duty To The Tax System Reconsidered, Watson Dec 2003

Legislating Morality: The Duty To The Tax System Reconsidered, Watson

Scholarly Works

Four years ago, I presented a paper at a symposium on professionalism jointly sponsored by the University of Kansas Law School and the Kansas Bar Association. That paper espoused the view (contrary to what appears to be the popular view among tax scholars) that tax lawyers owe no special duty to the "tax system" other than to abide by the law and the applicable standards of professional conduct. During the four-year interim since my last visit to Kansas, however, we have witnessed the deleterious effect of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA '98) on IRS enforcement and …


An Institutional Analysis Of Lawyer Regulation: Who Should Control Lawyer Regulation - Courts, Legislatures, Or The Market, Benjamin H. Barton Jul 2003

An Institutional Analysis Of Lawyer Regulation: Who Should Control Lawyer Regulation - Courts, Legislatures, Or The Market, Benjamin H. Barton

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No abstract provided.


Enron, Titanic, And The Perfect Storm, Nancy B. Rapoport Jan 2003

Enron, Titanic, And The Perfect Storm, Nancy B. Rapoport

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This article explores the contention of Jeffrey Skilling, former Enron CEO, that Enron's debacle was due to a perfect storm of events. It rejects his contention, arguing instead that Enron's downfall was more like Titanic's - hubris and an over-reliance on checks and balances led to Enron's downfall. The article then explores how character (especially of those at the top of an organization) can lead to Enron-like disasters, and discusses how cognitive dissonance can lead to very smart people making very stupid decisions. It ends with some musings about how lawyers can learn from Enron.


What Do Clients Want? A Client's Theory Of Professionalism, Leslie C. Griffin Jan 2003

What Do Clients Want? A Client's Theory Of Professionalism, Leslie C. Griffin

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No abstract provided.


Taking Ethical Discretion Seriously: Ethical Deliberation As Ethical Obligation, Samuel J. Levine Jan 2003

Taking Ethical Discretion Seriously: Ethical Deliberation As Ethical Obligation, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

This Article builds on and responds to the work of a number of leading ethics scholars who have offered alternatives to the prevailing model of legal ethics. Specifically, the Article proposes a "Deliberative Model," which posits that the lawyer's professional responsibility carries with it a duty on the individual lawyer to exercise discretion through consideration of the relevant ethical issues. Thus, the Article takes seriously the principle of ethical discretion, respecting the role of individual ethical decision-making but requiring that such decision-making be carried out through a justifiable process of ethical deliberation.