Law Commons^™

An Article We Wrote To Ourselves In The Future: Early 21st Century Views On Ethics And The Internet., David Hricik, Prashant Patel, Natasha Chrispin

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Written from the viewpoint of the year 2050, this Article discusses the clash between legal ethics and the technological revolution of the early twenty-first century. As a result of ethics rules being applied to new technologies in ways never contemplated under traditional circumstances, lawyers had to be overly cautious when they used the Internet to correspond with or seek out clients, or otherwise promote their legal services. The lesson learned is that the legal community should reflect on the harm caused by over zealous regulation and take a more reasoned approach to the use of technology for the benefit of …

Tax Lawyers, Tax Defiance, And The Ethics Of Casual Conversation,, Michael Hatfield

Articles

This essay is to help tax lawyers decide how to handle casual conversations centered on denying, defying, or destroying the tax system. One option is to walk away, ending the conversation and silencing the dialogue. The next option is to engage. I want to persuade tax lawyers that they should usually engage in the conversation. I try to do this in Part III.

There are two kinds of legal ethics essays, and one must choose which kind to write, and it is useful to the reader to know upfront which kind the author chose to write. One kind begins with …

The Ethics Of Representing Clients With Limited Competency In Guardianship Proceedings, Henry Dlugacz, Christopher Winner

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Character Or Code: What Makes A Good And Ethical Lawyer, Donald James Hermann

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ethical Issues In Business And The Lawyer's Role, Robert J. Rhee, Carol Morgan, Tamar Frankel, Mark Fagan

UF Law Faculty Publications

The remarks by Professor Rhee "The Stand Alone Course Approach to Teaching Business Ethics," Professor Morgan "Teaching Business Ethics in Transactional Skills Courses: An Integrated Approach," and Professors Tamar Frankel and Mark Fagan "Teaching Business Ethics: A Collaborative Approach" were made at the conference on "Transactional Education: What's Next?" held at Emory University School of Law, June 4, 2010.

Capital Punishment, Psychiatrists And The Potential Bottleneck Of Competence , Jacob M. Appel

Journal of Law and Health

The purpose of this paper is to merge two largely separate bodies of writing on the subject of psychiatric participation in capital punishment. Much has already been written from the perspective of legal academics regarding the rights of prisoners to be free from unwanted medical care if the purpose of providing such care is to render them fit for execution. Medical ethicists have also written much on the degree to which physicians, and specifically psychiatrists, may participate in facilitating the death penalty before they become so complicit as to violate accepted standards of professional ethics. Surprisingly, these two fields of …

Enforcement Of Law Schools' Non-Academic Honor Codes: A Necessary Step Towards Professionalism?, Nicola A. Boothe-Perry

Journal Publications

As law schools strive to enforce their codes of student conduct, enforcement has called into question the legal standing of the schools, since enforcement affects the fundamental rights of students. Consequently, this Article will address the following question: to what extent can law schools fulfill their responsibility and opportunity to enforce behavioral codes-specifically codes governing non-academic conduct-with a goal of improving professionalism? Through analysis of law schools' enforcement capabilities, this Article will suggest a practical framework by which law schools can promulgate and enforce codes and rules affecting students' non-academic conduct.

Practical Ethics For The Professional Prosecutor., Enrico B. Valdez

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

In Brady v. Maryland, the United States Supreme Court held that the prosecution's withholding of material exculpatory evidence violated the defendant's due process rights regardless of the absence of bad faith. The implications of this duty can be seen in the case of John Thompson, a man who was convicted of murder in Louisiana in 1985 after the prosecution failed to turn over exculpatory evidence. Thompson was able to get his conviction reversed and subsequently sued the district attorney's office. This Article analyzes Brady and the decisions that followed it to outline the obligations of prosecutors who are in possession …

From Hero To Villain: The Corresponding Evolutions Of Model Ethical Codes And The Portrayal Of Lawyers In Film, Amy S. Beard

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unpacking The Apprenticeship Of Professional Identity And Purpose: Insights From The Law School Survey Of Student Engagement, Carole Silver, Amy Garver, Lindsay Watkins

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Drawing on data from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, this paper investigates the ways in which law students develop a sense of professional identity and purpose, the third apprenticeship identified by the Carnegie Foundation in its report, Educating Lawyers. The data offer only a first step toward unpacking how students learn about professional identity and purpose. Generally, the findings point to the importance of law school classes for effective learning about legal ethics, and to the role of clinical legal education as a means for deepening the effectiveness of lessons about ethics, professional identity and purpose.

Ethical Issues In Business And The Lawyer's Role, Carol Morgan, Robert Rhee, Tamar Frankel, Mark Fagan

Scholarly Works

This is a transcript of a panel discussion on teaching Business Ethics.

Steven M. Schneebaum On The Death Penalty And Human Rights. By Sir Fred Phillips. Q.C. Kingston, Jamaica: Caribbean Law Publishing Company. 2009. 101pp., Steven M. Schneebaum

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Death Penalty and Human Rights. By Sir Fred Phillips. Q.C. Kingston, Jamaica: Caribbean Law Publishing Company. 2009. 101pp.

Chasing The Greased Pig Down Wall Street: A Gatekeeper’S Guide To The Psychology, Culture And Ethics Of Financial Risk-Taking, Donald C. Langevoort

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The current financial crisis has once again focused attention on lawyers, corporate directors and auditors as gatekeepers, who are expected to introduce some degree of cognitive independence to the task of risk assessment and risk management in public companies, including financial services firms. This essay examines the psychological and cultural forces that may distort risk perception and risk motivation in hyper-competitive firms, beyond the standard economic incentives associated with agency costs and moral hazards, warning gatekeepers against too easily assuming that all is well when insiders display high levels of intensity, focus and devotion to hard-to-achieve goals. In fact, these …

Government Lawyering, Jessica Tillipman, Robert B. Mahini

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The legal profession is regulated with numerous ethical rules designed to ensure that practitioners comply with its high standards of professional conduct. Federal Government attorneys, while generally held to the same ethical standards as other attorneys, are subject to an additional set of requirements mandated by federal laws and regulations. This article focuses on the rules most crucial to the protection of the public welfare: 1) Government attorneys’ ethical obligations, and 2) Government attorneys’ duty to properly control information.

Government attorneys of the Executive Branch must comply with the “Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.” This …

Ensuring Public Trust At The Municipal Level: Inspectors General Enter The Mix, Patricia E. Salkin, Zachary Kansler

Scholarly Works

Although federal, state and local government officials are subject to applicable codes of ethical conduct and are under the jurisdiction of ethics enforcement agencies created pursuant to these laws, ethics oversight agencies are limited in the breadth and scope of covered activities. With an increase in reported allegations of corruption, particularly at the local government level, this article explores the addition of the audit function, through inspectors general, to ensure greater transparency and accountability of public officials.

The article begins with a very brief historical overview of the emergence of the inspector general concept in Europe and its adoption in …

Prosecuting The Informant Culture, Andrew E. Taslitz

Michigan Law Review

Alexandra Natapoff, in her outstanding new book, Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice, makes a compelling case for reform of the system by which we regulate police use of criminal informants. Indeed, as other writers have discussed, law enforcement's overreliance on such informants has led to a "snitching culture" in which informant snitching replaces other forms of law enforcement investigation (pp. 12, 31, 88-89). Yet snitches, especially jailhouse snitches, are notoriously unreliable.

Social Networking And Land Use Planning And Regulation: Practical Benefits, Pitfalls And Ethical Considerations, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

This article explores how social networking sites have been used or might be used in the land use context. Part I focuses on the use of social networking for land use planning and zoning. It includes a discussion of the pros and cons of the use of social networking sites to present public information and to gather public input and invite general participation in the process, as well as to provide notice to the public of forthcoming government decision-making. This section offers concrete examples of how this technology is currently being used in the land use context. Part II focuses …

Attorney Deceit Statutes: Promoting Professionalism Through Criminal Prosecutions And Treble Damages, Alex B. Long

Scholarly Works

Unbeknownst to many lawyers, numerous jurisdictions - including New York and California - have statutes on the books that single out lawyers who engage in deceit or collusion. In nearly all of these jurisdictions, a lawyer found to have engaged in deceit or collusion faces criminal penalties and/or civil liability in the form of treble damages. Until recently, these attorney deceit statutes have languished in obscurity and, through a series of restrictive readings of the statutory language, have been rendered somewhat irrelevant. However, in 2009, the New York Court of Appeals breathed new life into New York’s attorney deceit statute …

Concepts Of Bias And Appointments To The Governing Council Of The Canadian Institutes Of Health Research, Elaine Gibson

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In October 2009, the academic health research community and the pharmaceutical industry were brought closer together with the appointment of Dr. Bernard Prigent, vice-president of Pfizer Canada, to the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). This bridging of the two worlds has stirred up considerable debate before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, in letters to CMAJ and in an online petition that garnered more than 4400 signatures. There are at least two distinct and vocal camps in the debate: those categorically in favour (including the federal minister of health and the president of …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2010

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Toward A Cosmopolitan Ethic In Debt Restructuring, Carmen Amalia Corrales

Law and Contemporary Problems

Corrales discusses the sovereign debt restructuring process. Process -- or the series of actions, actors, and influences involved in a transaction -- is rarely examined in law. But the dynamics of process and the unspoken codes that affect it are, nonetheless, key to complex transactions and sovereign debt restructuring.

The Chemical Castration Of Recidivist Sex Offenders In Canada: A Matter Of Faith, Matthew R. Kutcher

Dalhousie Law Journal

Chemical castration refers to the use of medication to reduce male testosterone to pre-pubertal levels. Since the mid-20th century reports have detailed this practice in attempts to control pathological sexual behaviour. In 2006, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal ruled it constitutional for the National Parole Board to require that recidivist sex offenders, if found to be long-term offenders, be chemically castrated under their conditions of release. This paper examines the chemical castration of recidivist sex offenders in Canada through a review of long-term offender hearings reported between 1997 and 2009. The practice is analyzed from ethical, medical and legal …

A Conflict By Any Other Name Would Smell As Foul: A Comment On The Appointment Of A Vice-President Of Pfizer To The Cihr Governing Council, Jocelyn Downie

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

If one had to pick the pharmaceutical company most associated with unethical and illegal conduct this past year, it would likely be Pfizer. So it seems reasonable to respond with disbelief and outrage to the federal government’s October 5, 2009 appointment of Dr. Bernard Prigent – Vice President, Medical Director and registered lobbyist for Pfizer Canada – to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Governing Council (CIHR GC). This is the body that sets the strategic direction for most federally funded health research in Canada. A senior executive from a for-profit pharmaceutical company should not be given a seat at …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Summer 2010

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Gideon'S Ghost: Providing The Sixth Amendment Right To Counsel In Times Of Budgetary Crisis, Heather P. Baxter

Faculty Scholarship

This Article discusses how the budget crisis, caused by the recent economic downturn, has created a constitutional crisis with regard to the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel. The landmark case of Gideon v. Wainwright required states, under the Sixth Amendment, to provide free counsel to indigent criminal defendants. However, as a result of the current financial crisis, many of those who represent the indigent have found their funding cut dramatically. Consequently, Gideon survives, if at all, only as a ghostly shadow prowling the halls of criminal justice throughout the country.

This Article analyzes specific budget cuts from various states and …

Making Stuff Up, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Beginning with an article in this Journal almost thirty years ago, Professor Underwood continues to research and write about legal ethics and litigation. In this Commentary, he offers a witty look at several cases where, in his opinion, the judge allowed improper arguments to the jury.

Legal And Ethical Implications Of Corporate Social Networks, Gundars Kaupins, Susan Park

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Corporate social networking sites provide employees and employers with considerable opportunity to share information and become friends. Unfortunately, American laws do not directly address social networking site usage. The National Labor Relations Act, civil rights laws, and various common law doctrines such as employment at-will and defamation provide the pattern for future social networking laws. Ethical considerations such as productivity, security, goodwill, privacy, accuracy, and discipline fairness also affect future laws. Corporate policies on corporate social networking should balance the employer‘s and employee‘s interests. Existing laws and ethical issues associated with social networking should impact social networking policies related to …

Ethical Obligations Of Indigent Defense Attorneys To Their Clients, Phyllis E. Mann

Missouri Law Review

This Article is a basic introduction to the provision of indigent defense services in state courts throughout the country and the ethical obligations of the attorneys who provide those services. First, the Article briefly quantifies what currently exists in our right to counsel systems - what we know, and what we do not know. The Article then discusses the rules that generally govern the ethics of representation provided by indigent defense attorneys. Third, the Article examines the measures by which attorneys can know whether they are fulfilling and will continue to fulfill their ethical obligations. Finally, the Article discusses the …

Ensuring The Ethical Representation Of Clients In The Face Of Excessive Caseloads, Peter A. Joy

Missouri Law Review

This Article is divided into three substantive parts. First, I begin with a short discussion of the most important criminal justice right guaranteed to each of us under the Bill of Rights - the Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel. For most Americans, the right to counsel is obtained through indigent defense providers, and the quality of the representation is inextricably tied to three lesser known rights, or perhaps wishes, found in the Public Defender Bill of Rights: "[t]he right to meaningful, weighted caseload standards"; "[t]he right to judges who understand my [the public defender's] role in the [justice] …

Of Cameras And Courtrooms, Alex Kozinski, Robert Johnson

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.