Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Law
Janus As A Client: Ethical Obligations When Your Client Plays Two Roles In One Fiduciary Estate, Karen E. Boxx, Philip N. Jones
Janus As A Client: Ethical Obligations When Your Client Plays Two Roles In One Fiduciary Estate, Karen E. Boxx, Philip N. Jones
ACTEC Law Journal
Is it possible for an attorney to have a conflict of interest when the attorney represents a trustee who is also a beneficiary of the trust? Is that situation similar to having two clients? What if the trustee is not only a beneficiary, but also a claimant against the trust? Since the trustee has three roles to play, is that situation similar to an attorney having three clients? The issue presented by these potential conflicts was one of the most vexing for the drafters of the Fifth Edition of the ACTEC Commentaries. The range of possible approaches goes from a …
Legislating Morality: The Duty To The Tax System Reconsidered, Watson
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 …
Living Trusts In The Unauthorized Practice Of Law: A Good Thing Gone Bad, Angela M. Vallario
Living Trusts In The Unauthorized Practice Of Law: A Good Thing Gone Bad, Angela M. Vallario
All Faculty Scholarship
An elderly man recently lost his wife and visits the lawyer's office for assistance in the administration of her estate. After the attorney expresses her condolences, she asks if his wife had a will. The client reaches into a brown shopping bag and retrieves a two-and-a-half inch black binder containing several trusts. The elderly gentleman and his deceased wife were told this would eliminate the expensive legal nightmare of probate. Unfortunately, like many others, this couple was victimized by a trust mill.
Tax Lawyers, Ethical Obligations, And The Duty To The System, Watson
Tax Lawyers, Ethical Obligations, And The Duty To The System, Watson
Scholarly Works
Perhaps the most elusive area of law is that of legal ethics. While the term itself is easy to define,' the subject all but defies codification because ethics, or morals (the terms are interchangeable), cannot be encapsulated by or in law. This is because law, in general, contains its own standard of validity on which there is usually clear societal consensus. For example, murder, rape, and theft are morally repugnant universally. Hence, punishment for any of these offenses does not impinge upon religious or individual autonomy because there is no ethical freedom to choose whether or not to engage in …