Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Clark Memorandum: Spring 2008, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Byu Law School Alumni Association, J. Reuben Clark Law School

The Clark Memorandum

• On Being Ethical Lawyers (Sandra Day O'Connor)
• On the Wings of My Fathers (Larry Echo Hawk)
• The Relevance of Religious Freedom (Michael K. Young)
• A Walk by Faith (Elder Bruce C. Hafen)

Curing Congress’S Ills: Criminal Law As The Wrong Paradigm For Congressional Ethics, Josh Chafetz

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Fiduciary Obligation As The Adoption Of Ends, Arthur B. Laby

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Modern Movement Of Vindicating Violations Of Criminal Defendants' Rights Through Judicial Discipline, Keith Swisher

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Government Lawyers In The Liberal State, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

Criticism of the “politicization” of the role of federal government lawyers has been intense in recent years, with the scandals over the hiring practices at the Department of Justice, and the advice given to the administration by lawyers at the Office of Legal Counsel, concerning various aspects of the post-9/11 national security environment. Unfortunately, many of these critiques do not hold up very well under scrutiny. We lack a coherent account of what it means to “politicize” the practice of interpreting and applying the law. This paper argues that our evaluative discourse about the ethics of government lawyers is inadequately …

Tales From The Crypt: Scientific, Ethical, And Legal Considerations For Biohistorical Analysis Of Deceased Historical Figures, Lori B. Andrews, Jordan K. Paradise

All Faculty Scholarship

Biohistorical analysis involves using historic specimens of human remains or human material extracted or derived from historical artifacts to gather evidence about specimens that are identifiable or at least attributed to a historic figure at the time of the research. Biohistorical studies are being undertaken for myriad reasons, such as identification and authentication of remains, investigation into alleged criminal behavior, investigation into medical or psychological conditions, and even for purposes of commercialization. This article analyzes federal statutes, case law, and codes and guidelines from twenty-six professional organizations and societies informative to the field of biohistory. We surveyed the field, identified …

Professional Responsibility In Crisis, Douglas L. Colbert

Faculty Scholarship

Some rare, often catastrophic, events present in stark terms a need for careful reflection over the role of attorneys in our society and their ethical duties as members of the legal profession. The devastation caused by both Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 certainly falls within this category. Professor Colbert uses these events as a backdrop to examine the legal profession’s ethical obligation when crisis compromises the most basic elements of our system of justice. Acknowledging that numerous members of the bar and thousands of volunteer law students courageously stepped forward in those challenging …

Pro Bono Publico: The Growing Need For Expert Aid, Hannah J. Wiseman

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Candor, Zeal, And The Substitution Of Judgment: Ethics And The Mentally Ill Criminal Defendant, John D. King

Scholarly Articles

This Article explores the tension between autonomy and paternalism that characterizes the attorney-client relationship when a criminal defense attorney represents a mentally impaired client. Specifically, the Article analyzes the ethical frameworks that constrain the discretion of the attorney in this situation and proposes a new paradigm for ethical decisionmaking when an attorney represents a marginally competent client.

The criminal defense attorney is both a zealous advocate for her client and an officer of the legal system. In representing a marginally competent client, the initial ethical dilemma facing the attorney is whether she has an obligation to alert the court to …

The Future Regulation Of The Legal Profession: The Impact Of Treating The Legal Profession As Service Providers, Laurel Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

In the past fifty years, one has heard debates about whether law is a business, a profession, or both, what these terms mean and whether it matters. Regardless of what one thinks about these debates, there is a new paradigm that must be added to the mix, which is the paradigm of lawyers as "service providers." In the "service providers" paradigm, the legal profession is not viewed as a separate, unique profession entitled to its own individual regulations, but is included in a broader group of "service providers," all of whom can be regulated together. This new paradigm represents a …

Teaching Ethics In Context: Wood V. Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon In The First Year Curriculum, Celia R. Taylor

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

More and more attention is being placed on the importance of teaching ethics throughout the law school curriculum. This article focuses on the seminal contracts law case of Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon and demonstrates how it raises numerous ethical issues that can serve as the basis for stimulating discussion, encouraging even first-year law students to understand the importance of ethical thinking and behavior in their education and their careers.

What Happens In North Minneapolis Doesn’T Stay In North Minneapolis: Arguing Credibility In A Criminal Trial, Rebutting Implicit Jury Bias, And Taking A New Look At Why A Prosecutor Would Tell Jurors That Civilian Witnesses Are From A “Different World”, Joshua R. Larson

School of Law Student Projects

In several recent homicide cases from Minneapolis, Minnesota, prosecutors have used a particular rhetorical device in closing argument that suggests to jurors that certain civilian witnesses from North Minneapolis live in a different world than the jurors do and that, therefore, the jurors must consider the witnesses’ unique cultural characteristics when weighing the witnesses’ credibility. Defense attorneys have decried these “different world” arguments, and the Minnesota Supreme Court has expressed concern that such arguments could violate a defendant’s right to a fair trial by insinuating that the defendant is from a different world and by introducing unnecessary racial or socioeconomic …

Crime Doesn't Pay And Neither Do Conflicts Of Interest In Land Use Decisionmaking, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

Conflicts of interest, bias, and appearance of impropriety continue to plague players in the land use game whose conduct, as public sector officials, must be beyond reproach. This article provides an annual review of reported cases and opinions involving allegations of unethical conduct in land use decision making. Conflicts of interest cases focus on attorneys, and address issues including of counsel relationships, disqualification and fees. Conflicts based upon financial interests for board members are explored, as well as unique relationships that may arise when colleges and universities seek approvals. Criminal aspects of decision maker conduct are also reported. Appearance of …

The Core Values Of The Legal Profession For Lawyers Today And Tomorrow, Jonathan Goldsmith

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This Article began life as a speech I gave on the fifth anniversary of the Flemish Bar in Belgium (Orde Van Flaamse Balies) on 24 May 2007. It addresses the changes which are taking place in Europe and elsewhere in the world in relation to the regulation of lawyers, particularly insofar as the core values of the legal profession are concerned.

International Legal Practice Involving England And New York Following Adoption Of The United Kingdom Legal Services Act Of 2007, Sydney M. Iii Cone

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article deals with the regulation of legal services in England and New York in the context of, first, multidisciplinary practice ("MDP") and, second, permitted investment in legal practice. The article summarizes both the background of and potential differences between the regulations in those two jurisdictions, and comments on the possible reconciliation of those differences. Because, chronologically, New York was the first of the two jurisdictions under consideration to adopt rules on MDP, the New York rules will be considered first, and the more recent statute, known as the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007 (hereinafter "U.K. Act"), will then …

Global Law Firms: Globalization And Organizational Spaces Of Cross-Border Legal Work, James R. Faulconbridge, Jonathan V. Beaverstock, Daniel Muzio, Peter J. Taylor

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The aim of this paper is not, however, to generically chart the rise of the global law firm; others have already done this. Instead, our interest lies in better understanding how existing geographies of globalization of law and lawyers, alongside the new geographies of professional partnership and legal work, have created opportunities and challenges for global law firms. More specifically, we seek to unravel the complexities of: (a) the factors driving the presence and absence of global law firms in different cities; and (b) the way that law firms have been reconfigured to operate as spatially distributed organizations present in …

The Legal World Is Flat: Globalization And Its Effect On Lawyers Practicing In Non-Global Law Firms, Laurel S. Terry

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

While lawyers in these large global law firms usually are aware of why globalization is relevant to them, other U.S. lawyers may not think that the globalization phenomenon affects them. A comment frequently heard is "Law is local so I don't have to worry about globalization affecting me or my practice." The goal of this article is to look at Friedman's work through the lens of legal services and to answer several questions, including: • Whether Friedman's analysis is relevant to what has happened in the field of legal services; • Whether a U.S. lawyer who doesn't practice in a …

Globalization And The Business Of Law: Lessons For Legal Education, Carole Silver, David Van Zandt, Nicole De Bruin

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Cross-border law practice is growing to serve the increasingly global business of its clients, and U.S. and U.K. firms have been leaders in this global expansion of law practice. Expansion takes several forms, including the physical--with law firms opening offices in faraway locations to serve existing and new clients1--as well as the virtual--based on technology that supports the economics of cross-border activity by enabling practice apart from physical presence. Whether working for global or local organizations, lawyers today are increasingly faced with the prospect of working with colleagues and competitors who are diverse in terms of nationality, education and training, …

Lawyers, Law Firms, And The Stabilization Of Transnational Business, John Flood, Fabian Sosa

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Cross-border business transactions are complex. But in this globalized age, as commentators such as Ohmae have argued, business ought to be conducted simply despite national boundaries. Yet there are features of business that run counter to globalization and maintain a resolutely local character. A crucial aspect of this is the nature of law. No transaction can be carried out without a normative structure to provide a framework for the actors to operate within. Obligations, rights, warranties, covenants, and so on have to be specified and allocated. Even economists agree that the rule of law is essential for the conduct of …

Always Be Disclosing: The Prosecutor's Constitutional Duty To Divulge Inadmissible Evidence, Brian D. Ginsberg

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Most Dangerous Power Of The Prosecutor, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This is the James D. Hopkins Memorial Lecture in honor of Judge Hopkins, who was the Dean of Pace Law School from 1982 to 1983 and earlier served with great distinction on the New York Appellate Division's Second Judicial Department. Judge Hopkins served on that court when I worked in the special prosecutor's office, and as head of the appeals bureau, I argued several cases in Judge Hopkins' court. One case stands out, the case of Salvatore Nigrone v. Murtagh. It was an extensive undercover investigation. My office used informants, wiretaps, and a sham arrest to expose corrupt attempts to …

A New Frontier Or Merely A New Medium - An Analysis Of The Ethics Of Blawgs, Justin Krypel

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The purpose of this Note is to investigate those rules of ethics which interact with attorney blogs, placing a special emphasis on advertising rules. The central finding is that, under the Supreme Court's current First Amendment jurisprudence, attorney blogs (or, more cleverly, "blawgs") are not subject to regulation by the ethics codes of the ABA or the various state bars. Furthermore, if the Supreme Court were to, for some reason, construe blawgs as falling outside of First Amendment protection, evidence suggests that regulating this new medium would be neither desirable nor effective. Part II outlines the historical framework which underlies …

Aall Special Interest Section Recommended Reading Lists: Social Responsibilities Sis, Camille Broussard, Meg Butler

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

Deception In Undercover Investigations: Conduct-Based Vs. Status-Based Ethical Analysis, Barry R. Temkin

Seattle University Law Review

As part of the public school system, online schools “have a responsibility to provide equal access to [their] educational opportunities[,] and restricting access to these opportunities can be problematic, if not illegal.” Given the rapid growth of online education in Washington, legislators must examine whether online schools that receive public education funding are benefiting the entire public or are benefiting merely a select group of students. Part II of this Comment briefly discusses the history of online schools in Washington, including how they receive funding within Washington's unique statutory and regulatory framework. Part III then examines how online schools discriminate …

Military Lawyering And Professional Independence On The War On Terror : A Response To David Luban, Charles J. Dunlap Jr., Linell A. Letendre

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Implementing A New City Charter: Thoughts On My Tenure As Corporation Counsel In A Time Of Transition, O. Peter Sherwood

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Responsibility Status Of The Psychopath: On Moral Reasoning And Rational Self-Governance, Paul J. Litton

Faculty Publications

This article does not aim to describe the opposing views and argue for one over the other. Rather, I propose to deflate the debate as far as possible, attempting to reduce the area of disagreement. Meaningful disagreement exists only if there are, or could be, agents who have an undiminished capacity for practical reasoning or rational self-governance, yet truly are incapable of moral reasoning. However, I suggest that the capacity for rational self-governance entails the capacity to comprehend and act on moral considerations; thus, to the extent that an individual truly is incapable of grasping moral reasons, we should expect …

Corporate Ethics In A Devilish System, Kent Greenfield

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act On Non-Shareholder Constituents: A Silver Lining, But Will It Endure?, Lisa M. Fairfax

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002: Setting A Baseline For The Adoption Of Enterprise Ethics, Dean Krehmeyer

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.