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Full-Text Articles in Law
What Do Clients Want From Their Lawyers, Clark D. Cunningham
What Do Clients Want From Their Lawyers, Clark D. Cunningham
Journal of Dispute Resolution
This article, however, will show how the research upon which the ABA story was based–as well as substantial research with other clients ranging from large organizations to individuals–indicates that what clients want most from their lawyers is an aspect of legal services given too little attention both in legal education and professional development: effective lawyer-client communication. After reviewing extensive social science research on causes of client dissatisfaction, this article will conclude by suggesting a variety of ways–from easy to ambitious initiatives—that law schools and law firms can provide greater emphasis on the importance of effective communication with clients, teach effective …
Relations Between Lawyer And Client In Damages: Model, Typical, Or Dysfunctional, Rodney J. Uphoff
Relations Between Lawyer And Client In Damages: Model, Typical, Or Dysfunctional, Rodney J. Uphoff
Journal of Dispute Resolution
This essay begins, therefore, by briefly examining the question of what constitutes good lawyering. The essay acknowledges the difficulty of defining precisely what is good lawyering. In fact, scholar, judges, and lawyers often disagree markedly when they characterize lawyer behavior using the term. Not surprising, then, even though academic commentators routinely trumpet the importance of establishing a meaningful attorney-client relationship as an important aspect of good lawyering, not all in the legal profession embrace that view.
Law Office As Indicator And Amplifier Of Professional Status, The, Fred I. Williams
Law Office As Indicator And Amplifier Of Professional Status, The, Fred I. Williams
Journal of Dispute Resolution
The following pages contain a detailed discussion of law office design as an indicator, even amplifier, of professional status and lawyer-client relations. Section II examines the effect that office design can play in defining the lawyer's relationship with clients and other visitors to the office. Section Il discusses the power of office design in properly marking the lawyer's office as a professional domain. Finally, Section IV concludes that office decor is an effective communicator of professional status and can be an effective tool for the lawyer in forming the professional persona.
Connecticut's Trail By Lawyer: Contract Disputes And The Attorney Fact-Finder - Beizer V. Goepfert, Craig R. Heidemann
Connecticut's Trail By Lawyer: Contract Disputes And The Attorney Fact-Finder - Beizer V. Goepfert, Craig R. Heidemann
Journal of Dispute Resolution
The rules of professional conduct in most states require attorneys to enter into written agreements with their clients when contracting on a contingent fee basis.2 In so doing, the parties define the existence and limits of their attorney-client relationship. In the present case, an attorney and his client agreed to a ten percent contingent fee; however, the lawyer transferred to a new firm prior to the conclusion of the case.4 Subsequently, the client signed a new, identical agreement provided by the attorney's new firm.5 In the contract, the attorney used the previously agreed-upon fee percentage instead of the standard office …
Chipping Away At Lawyer Veracity: The Aba's Turn Toward Situation Ethics In Negotiations, Ruth Fleet Thurman
Chipping Away At Lawyer Veracity: The Aba's Turn Toward Situation Ethics In Negotiations, Ruth Fleet Thurman
Journal of Dispute Resolution
This Article questions the wisdom of the Model Rule's exceptions to honest dealings in negotiations on several grounds: (1) Proponents of the exceptions have not offered empirical evidence or professional justification for this approach; 16 (2) The approach will further tarnish the profession's image; (3) The approach will create a slippery slope that leads to unintended ethical violations; and (4) The approach will erode the high degree of trust, veracity and integrity required of lawyers as "officer[s] of the legal system."1 7 For these reasons, the Model Rule's exceptions to honesty in negotiations should be abolished by the ABA and …
Training Lawyers To Be More Effective Dispute Preventers And Dispute Settlers: Advocating For Non-Adversarial Skills, Paul L. Tractenberg
Training Lawyers To Be More Effective Dispute Preventers And Dispute Settlers: Advocating For Non-Adversarial Skills, Paul L. Tractenberg
Journal of Dispute Resolution
After briefly recounting some milestones in the history of legal education, and especially efforts to train lawyers in non-Langdellian techniques, I will explore re-orientation of lawyer training, first globally and then more specifically. Most of the ideas in this article are not new. Many of them date back 50 years and more. Articles by Llewellyn and Frank in the 1920's and 1930's could be reprinted with modest changes and seem totally relevant. 3 This in itself bears serious pondering. We do have the advantage of some relatively recent studies which, in the main, tend to support Llewellyn's and Frank's intuitions. …