Law Commons^™

Professional Identity As Advocacy: The Good, The Bad, The Unseen, Robert Rubinson

Robert Rubinson

The legal profession adheres to a story of a unified profession. Nevertheless, the profession has distinct professional sub-groups which repeatedly represent clients with interests adverse to those represented by attorneys who identify with other sub-groups. The idea of “professional identity as advocacy” describes how such professional sub-groups accuse opposing sub-groups of greed, self-aggrandizement, or worse. This is most notable in two areas: personal injury litigation and criminal cases. This process has two seemingly contradictory consequences. First, it renders narrow areas extraordinarily visible, thus defining popular discourse and conceptions about lawyers and law. Second, it masks vast areas of litigation and …

How Do Roles Generate Reasons? On The Methods Of Legal Ethics, Stephen Galoob

Stephen Galoob

Debates about legal ethics should be oriented around the generative problem, which asks two fundamental questions. First, how does the lawyer’s role generate normatively compelling reasons for action? Second, what kinds of reasons can this role generate?

Every substantive theory of legal ethics is based on a solution to the generative problem. On the generative problem method, we should evaluate these theories based on their implicit solutions to the generative problem. None of the main theories of legal ethics is based on a solution to the generative problem that is both structurally valid and empirically verified.

The generative problem method …

Is The Attorney-Client Privilege A Privilege Of The Rich? Federal Hmis Database Reporting And Homeless Client Confidentiality, Jennifer Hammitt

Jennifer Hammitt

No abstract provided.

On Butlers, Architects, And Lawyers: The Professionalism Of "The Remains Of The Day" And Of "The Fountainhead", Susan Daicoff

Susan Daicoff

Several commentators have explored the relationship of a fictional character of the butler, Stevens, in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, The Remains of the Day, to the proper professional role of the lawyer, since the novel was published. The professionalism of Stevens is here compared to that of another fictional character, the architect, Roark, in Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead, as they might be applied in the legal profession. The relationship of empirical research on lawyers’ values, wellbeing, and decisionmaking preferences to these divergent approaches to professionalism is then explored. A diversity of approaches to professional role is proposed as most appropriate, …