Law and Society Commons^™

The Need For A New Sexual Assault Charge In The Texas Penal Code For Victims Of Intimate Partner Sexual Assault, Brianna Hollien Ruiz

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How Well Do Sinkler And Hopson Float?: Vital Operations, Nondelegable Duties, And Agency In Fela And Jones Act Cases, Thomas Galligan Jr., Andrew Hughes

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

In Praise Of Attainder, Nathan Ristuccia

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Differences In Treatment Regarding Affirmative Action And Legacy Admissions, Vanesa Chavez

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Towards A Regulatory Theory Of Platform Rule: Corporate “Sovereignty” Through Immunities, Uta Kohl

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Asegurar La Frontera: Expansion Of Governor Greg Abbott’S Powers Over Border Security, Marshall B. Lloyd

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Revolving Door Of Industry Standards, Zachary Kester, Spencer Rehn

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Mitigating Discrimination By Businesses: Adopting A "Substantial Amount Of Expression" Test In The Wake Of The Court's 303 Creative Decision, Caleb Kunde

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis[1] balanced Colorado’s anti-discrimination public accommodations law and its burden on a website designer’s right to be free from compelled speech.[2] Choosing to hold for the website designer, the Court decided that Ms. Smith was free to refuse her wedding website service to same-sex couples.[3] Put another way, the Court’s decision granted businesses that are open to the public a license to discriminate through the Free Speech Clause. Not only is this the first time that a business’s First Amendment rights overrode a public accommodations law’s compelling …

De-Weaponizing Snap Removal, Philip Weiss

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Race In Howard Law School's Rankings, Michael Conklin

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Thinly Veiled Greed: What Is Really Hindering Railroad Disaster Prevention In America, Arthur J. Meaney Iv

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence: An Impetus To Amend The Aba Model Code Of Judicial Conduct, Davis G. Yee

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Notwithstanding the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence or AI in the legal field, Chief Justice Roberts recently predicted that “human judges will be around for a while.” The reason is that at this time, AI cannot perform judicial mental functions as well as human judges can in deciding cases. Yet, instead of having AI replace human judges, some have explored whether AI can be used to assist human judges with their adjudicative and administrative responsibilities.

This Article focuses on a judge’s ethical obligations when encountering AI on both sides of the bench. That is, what do judicial ethics call for …

Mindful Lawyering: Incorporating Mindfulness Into The American Bar Association’S Model Rules Of Professional Conduct, Lyda Creus Molanphy

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

No abstract provided.

Don’T Byte Off More Than You Can Chew: Ethical Considerations For The Estate Planner In The World Of Generative Artificial Intelligence, Gerry W. Beyer

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly being incorporated into estate planning practices. AI products can increase the speed by which you prepare, review, and summarize estate planning related documents, tax returns, and client communications. Likewise, the speed by which you can conduct legal and financial research is faster than ever. This presentation is designed to explain how AI operates, the potential use of AI in your practice, warnings about the use of AI, techniques you may adapt to enhance your AI competency, and how to address the ethical issues that arise when using AI.

When Can A Lawyer Lawfully Use Threats When Negotiating?, James M. Fischer

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

This Article focuses upon a basic negotiation device—a threat, used in a particular context—threats contained in settlement demand letters. In some, but not all, cases, however, the threat may be deemed a crime (extortion), in which case, the lawyer may be subject to sanction (criminal or civil liability, professional discipline) for making the threat. This consequence has, however, been largely ignored in academic literature. That is unfortunate, for it appears that many lawyers are unaware of the risks negotiation threats present because the risk is not well defined in the professional codes lawyers would normally look to for guidance.

This …

Sighting The Scope Of A Lawyer’S Representation, Douglas R. Richmond

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Clients engage lawyers for many reasons. Regardless of the circumstances, however, the lawyer and the client need to agree on the scope of the lawyer’s representation, meaning the legal services the lawyer will perform for the client. The client must agree to and understand the scope of the lawyer’s representation as aspects of establishing her objectives for the matter and thereafter evaluating whether the lawyer is achieving those objectives. The client must also understand the scope of the representation to be able to decide whether the matter’s potential expense justifies its pursuit and to gauge the reasonableness of the lawyer’s …

Texas Means Business: Constitutional Challenges To New Business And Appellate Courts, Daniel H. Ramirez

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

It Was The Death Of Bruton, It Was The Birth Of Bruton – Why Confrontation Dismantled The Bruton Rule, And How Due Process Can Save It, Noam Kozlov

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How To Conduct Serious Affairs Like Reasonable People, Yakov Malkiel

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Texas County Appraisal System, Chad J. Pomeroy

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

“We All Wear Green, We All Bleed Red, There Is No Difference”: Race-Conscious Admissions Policies Have No Place At Our Military Academies, R. Lawrence Purdy

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Illusion Of Choice: Why Texas’ Open And Obvious Defect Doctrine Fails Injured Workers, Madalyn R. Parr

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Addressing Witness Coaching By Cross-Examination, Gregory C. Sisk

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

In preparing a witness, may a lawyer script the testimony by taking the witness through repeated rehearsals to fabricate a narrative in the form directed by the lawyer and to use words that the lawyer suggests are more favorable for the represented party? Suppose the lawyer believes a suggestion to the witness regarding the specific substance or word choice of testimony does not introduce a falsehood but rather produces a more favorable spin on the witness narrative. May the lawyer justify that shaping of testimonial content as legitimate zealous representation of a client?

Given that any such suggestion by the …

Our Ai, Ourselves: Illuminating The Human Fears Animating Early Regulatory Responses To The Use Of Generative Ai In The Practice Of Law, Margaret Raymond

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Generative artificial intelligence is changing the way lawyers work, and with those changes have come questions and concerns about how it should be regulated. Those questions and concerns, particularly on the individual level, are driven by fears about the implications of the use of generative AI. This Article identifies and explores the fears that drive these regulatory responses: fear of exposing judicial fallibility, anxiety over AI replacing human lawyers, and concerns about missing out on AI’s potential benefits. Ultimately, effective regulation of the use of generative AI in legal practice needs to be attentive to the fears and hopes surrounding …

Trading Places: An Education For Legal Employers: A View From The Perspective Of A New Generation Of Legal Talent, Michele N. Struffolino

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Most lawyers remember the stress associated with walking into their first job interview. The goal being to get the interviewer to “pick me.” Today, legal employers need to be prepared to be more of the interviewee than the interviewer in the hiring process. Over the past few decades, much focus has been on identifying the skills essential to success in the legal profession—mainly those skills and traits legal employers view as important when hiring new associates. These findings led to changes in legal education in order to prepare law students for entering the employment market and successfully securing a position. …

Artificial Intelligence In Texas: Navigating The Risks, Benefits, And Uncharged Boundaries Of An Emerging Technology, Jordanna Tobias

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Rapidly Increasing Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Legal Scholarship, Michael Conklin, Christopher Houston

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has had a profound impact on nearly every industry, including legal academia. As AI-driven tools like ChatGPT become more prevalent, they raise critical questions about authorship, academic integrity, and the evolving nature of legal writing. While AI offers promising benefits—such as improved efficiency in research, drafting, and analysis—it also presents ethical dilemmas related to originality, bias, and the potential homogenization of legal discourse.

One of the challenges in assessing AI’s influence on legal scholarship is the difficulty of identifying AI-generated content. Traditional plagiarism-detection methods are often inadequate, as AI does not merely copy …

Self-Discipline, Faith, And Civility: Promoting A Civil Society And Lawyer Professionalism, Honorable Douglas S. Lang

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

All lawyers are bound to assiduously adhere to the Law, including the strictures of legal ethics, professionalism, and all secular law. Moreover, lawyers of faith must adhere to the tenants of their faith as a way of life. The principles of those two sets of imperatives are not only compatible, they are inextricably intertwined. Together, they compel lawyers to treat others civilly and with respect and dignity. This paper demonstrates that lawyers, particularly Catholic lawyers, must unselfishly and civilly live their lives in a way to combat the scourge of incivility in the legal profession and in society. All …

Restoring The Public’S Faith: Character Education And The Supreme Court, Benjamin Rigney

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The current news cycle is full of reports on the alleged ethical scandals rocking the Supreme Court. A significant result of these ethical failures is rapidly declining public trust in the Supreme Court as an institution, which in turn negatively impacts the public’s trust in the entire legal system. The role of judicial ethics is fundamental to the American legal system as illustrated in Charles Geyh’s article, The Architecture of Judicial Ethics, published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Amanda Frost’s article, Judicial Ethics and Supreme Court Exceptionalism, published in the Georgetown Journal of Legal …

The Impact The Monetary Value Of A Case Has On Effort And Productivity Within The Field Of Personal Injury, Maximiliano Elizondo

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

No abstract provided.