Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Committee Opinions And Treasury Regulation: Tax Lawyer Ethics, 1965-1985, Michael Hatfield

Articles

This first section of the Article highlights the themes and tones of the 1945-1965 tax ethics literature, and then provides the political context and an overview of the legal changes in 1965-1985 that frame the tax ethics literature of that period. Section II begins in 1965, documenting the history of the first Formal Opinion (Opinion) on tax lawyer ethics issued by the American Bar Association's (ABA) Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (PR Committee), which after considerable criticism in the ensuing years was substantially revised by a second Opinion in 1985. Section III is focused on 1980-1985, investigating the first …

Law Firm Internships And The Making Of Future Lawyers: An Empirical Study In Singapore, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the findings of an empirical study of law students from the Singapore Management University on their internship experiences at private law firms. As internships are frequently undertaken by law students, it is necessary for stakeholders to understand their impact on the values and ideals of law students in relation to the law and legal practice. This article seeks to increase the consciousness of law school educators, lawyers, and the professional bar about how law firm internships are contributing to the making of future lawyers, so as to facilitate the reflection by these parties as to their roles …

Process, Practice, And Principle: Teaching National Security Law And The Knowledge That Matters Most, James E. Baker

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The meaningful application of national security law requires a commitment to substantive knowledge, good process, and a capacity to cope (and indeed thrive) under the prevailing conditions of practice. This paper describes how and why to teach these three essential elements of national security law from an academic and practitioner perspective.

The paper starts with substantive law, placing emphasis not just on the breadth of knowledge and interpretive skills required, but also on the importance of depth, perspective, theory, purpose, history, and legal values in teaching the law. Next, the paper describes the importance of timely, meaningful, and contextual process, …

The Fate Of Local Food Systems In The Global Industrialization Market: Food And Social Justice In The Rural South, Wylin D. Wilson, Reuben C. Warren, Stephen O. Sodeke, Norbert Wilson

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

This paper investigates the connection between local food systems, health disparities, and social justice in the rural South. It begins with the relationship between food insecurity and health disparities that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority populations, and non-minority women and children. First, we discuss the concept of health disparities within the context of bioethics and public health ethics in order to explore the link between the food system and health as a social justice issue. Second, we define health disparities and discuss how they have historically plagued and disadvantaged racial minority populations. Third, we examine these disparities within the …

Solving Your Ethical Conundrums: Researching The Rules Of Professional Conduct, Joyce Manna Janto

Law Faculty Publications

Ms. Janto provides a practical guide to researching issues of attorney professional responsibilities using both print and online resources, emphasizing Virginia rules and decisions.

Redefining Professionalism? Florida's Code Mandating The Aspirational Raises Challenging Questions, Keith W. Rizzardi

Professionalism Research Library

Responding to continued criticism of the legal profession, Florida recently adopted a new Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints (professionalism code). The new requirements transform the aspiration of professionalism into a mandate, but important questions remain as to the meaning of key terms and the methods of implementation. In its opinion approving the professionalism code, the Florida Supreme Court stated that Florida lawyers had “traditionally followed a more passive, academic approach to enhance and improve professionalism.” In other words, the combination of continuing legal education programs, speeches, contests, and meetings — methods once called “procedural professionalism” in a 2005 Florida Bar …

Something Bad In Your Briefs, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In a profession heavily driven by writing, plagiarism is an ethical issue that plagues the legal community. The legal profession generally views plagiarism as unethical, but often sends mixed messages by condemning it in some settings, but not others. In this short Commentary, Professor Underwood discusses the ethical implications of plagiarism in legal writing.

Systematically Thinking About Law Firm Ethics: Conference On The Ethical Infrastructure And Culture Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

To advance the discourse related to law firm ethics and the impact of formal controls and informal influences on lawyer conduct, we convened on April 5, 2013 the Conference on the Ethical Infrastructure and Culture of Law Firms ("Conference" or "Symposium"). The Conference, conducted under the auspices of the Hofstra Law Review and the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University's Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics, was funded in part by the Abraham J. Gross '78 Conference and Lecture Fund at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Experts who have studied issues …

Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, And Sustainability Education In Aacsb Undergraduate And Graduate Marketing Curricula: A Benchmark Study, Jeananne Nicholls, Joseph F. Hair, Charles B. Ragland, Kurt E. Schimmel

Faculty Articles

AACSB International advocates integration of ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability in all business school disciplines. This study provides an overview of the implementation of these three topics in teaching initiatives and assessment in business schools accredited by AACSB International. Since no comprehensive studies have been conducted for the marketing area, the results provide benchmarks as well as thought-provoking material to initiate business school and marketing faculty discussions on integrating the three topics into their curricula.

Liberty, Justice, And Legal Automata, Marc Lauritsen

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Legal work is increasingly doable by artificial systems built out of software. Providers in both commercial and non-profit contexts are making such systems available for direct use by consumers. Some lawyers and policy makers understandably worry that these developments pose dangers for users and may inappropriately intrude on the prerogatives of the legal profession. This article reviews the extent to which software-based legal assistance systems can or should be suppressed as the unauthorized practice of law in light of constitutional rights of free expression and the social good of access to justice.

Crisis On The Immigration Bench: An Ethical Perspective, Michele Benedetto

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The troubled status of the immigration court system has garnered much attention from scholars, appellate judges, and even the United States Attorney General. This article suggests a new lens through which to examine the acknowledged crisis in immigration courts: judicial ethics. Because the term judicial ethics encompasses a broad array of principles, the article narrows its focus to bias and incompetence on the part of immigration judges in the courtroom. Immigration judges operate as a unique judiciary under the Executive Branch of government. An examination of the modern immigration court system, including inadequate disciplinary procedures for immigration judges, reveals that …

Seen But Not Heard: Advocating For Children In New York State, Sarah L. Marx

Touro Law Review

On November 1, 2008, the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates approved a resolution affirming their commitment towards establishing a civil right to counsel in New York State. One of the issues identified is a child's right to representation not only in criminal, but also civil proceedings. Unlike other litigant groups, children have a statutorily established right to council in civil proceedings. However, as the white paper, adopted by the New State Bar Association, details, there are gaps in children 's advocacy throughout New York State. While significant steps towards improvement have recently taken place, there is still …

"Uncivil By Too Much Civility"?: Critiquing Five More Years Of Civility Regulation In Canada, Alice Woolley

Dalhousie Law Journal

The author revisits criticisms of the civility movement made in an earlier paper ("Does Civility Matter?" (2008) 46 Osgoode Hall LJ 175). She argues that Canadian law societies remain concerned with lawyer incivility, despite bringing surprisingly few formal prosecutions against lawyers for incivility. In a few cases the law societies' concern can be justified insofar as lawyer incivility in those cases appears to correlate with serious professional dysfunction. Generally however, the focus on incivility is counter-productive. First, in several cases the focus on lawyer incivility elides the complex and difficult ethical issues raised by the behaviour of the lawyers in …

Two Lawyers, One Client, And The Duty To Communicate: A Gap In Rules 1.2 And 1.4, Stephen C. Sieberson

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “There may have been a day in which most American legal matters involved one client and one lawyer, but that day has surely passed. People today travel widely, businesses sell their goods and services across the country, and activity of all sorts—both legal and illegal—can be carried out in cyberspace. In such a society the laws of multiple jurisdictions can be relevant to the broad range of client circumstances. At the same time, legal issues have become increasingly complex, forcing lawyers to make referrals to outside specialists. In addition, some transactions or litigation matters may simply be too large …

Corporate Governance As A School Of Social Reform, Ciarán O’Kelly

Seattle University Law Review

In this paper, I present a vision of the corporation as a moral person. I point to “the separation of ownership and control” as a moment when the corporation broke away from the moral lives of ownermanagers. I then draw out the manner in which we can speak of the company as a moral person. Finally, through a discussion of social reporting in two British banks, I point to a shift in how this moral personhood is articulated, with the rise of corporate governance—or doing business well—as its own foundation of corporate responsibility. I propose a view of corporate responsibility …

The Common Link In Failures And Scandals At The World’S Leading Banks, Justin O’Brien, Olivia Dixon

Seattle University Law Review

This Article argues that both the root cause of the crisis and the route to restoring trust and confidence is to be found in ascertaining how to regulate culture across mandates, processes, and use of discretion. Part II identifies the internal and external failings of four of the most recent global banking scandals within the CEDAR matrix. Part III discusses the regulatory challenges faced when compliance serves no practical function and the consequent material risk to market integrity. This Article concludes by suggesting that it is unsustainable for regulation to be decided, implemented, and monitored at a national level. Global …

Limits Of Disclosure, Steven M. Davidoff, Claire A. Hill

Seattle University Law Review

One big focus of attention, criticism, and proposals for reform in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has been securities disclosure. Many commentators have emphasized the complexity of the securities being sold, arguing that no one could understand the disclosure. Some observers have noted that disclosures were sometimes false or incomplete. What follows these issues, to some commentators, is that, whatever other lessons we may learn from the crisis, we need to improve disclosure. How should it be improved? Commentators often lament the frailties of human understanding, notably including those of everyday retail investors—people who do not understand or …

Chasing The Atticus Code - Preserving Adjudication Integrity In Local Administrative Hearings , Michael N. Widener

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

In the United States administrative law realm, there purportedly exist more than 19 thousand municipal governments, 16 thousand town or township governments; three thousand county governments, 13 thousand school districts and 35 thousand special district governments. This essay argues that these local adjudicative loci largely neglect the ethical guidance or direction of lawyers serving in government-official capacities without holding elected nor judicial positions. I dub these decision-makers “Atticus.” Citizens support the notion of external codes of professional responsibility for such persons not necessarily because they believe that “lawyering rules” are well constructed or property enforced, but because they doubt lawyers …

How To Make Rules For Lawyers: The Professional Responsibility Of The Legal Profession, Stephen Gillers

Pepperdine Law Review

When considering the professional responsibilities of American lawyers, two questions often arise: (1) whether a particular rule strikes the right balance among the multiple interests it purports to reconcile and (2) whether in a particular circumstance a lawyer's or law firm's behavior complied with the governing rules. This article explores a third question. What is the responsibility of the profession itself when, through its various institutions and especially bar associations, it asks courts, lawmakers, or agencies to adopt particular rules governing the conduct of lawyers? Rather than exploring the discussing the conduct of individual lawyers or the correctness of any …

Local Government Ethics Programs: A Resource For Ethics Commission Members, Local Officials, Attorneys, Journalists, And Students, And A Manual For Ethics Reform, Robert Wechsler, City Ethics Inc.

AALL Legal Website of the Month

As stated on its website, this book is intended as an introduction to local government ethics for those who want to have a grasp on the various issues involved in government ethics; as a resource for those faced with a specific situation, who want to understand the legal and ethical issues involved, as well as the alternative ways of dealing with the situation; as a guidebook for those involved in government ethics reform; and as a text for students of public administration as well as supplementary reading for local public administrators.

Legal Malpractice In A Changing Profession: The Role Of Contract Principles, Vincent R. Johnson

Cleveland State Law Review

In little more than four decades, the field of American legal ethics has been transformed from an unimportant backwater into a mighty river of legal principles that drives the practice of law in countless respects. Today, this complex matrix of substantive provisions and enforcement mechanisms ensures, to a great extent, that clients are protected from unnecessary harm, that lawyers are safeguarded from improper accusations, and that the provision of legal services is consistent with the public interest. However, the fabric of legal ethics is threatened by a looming transformation of the legal profession. That potential restructuring may revolutionize the delivery …

Judicial Ethics And Supreme Court Exceptionalism, Amanda Frost

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In his 2011 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts cast doubt on Congress’s authority to regulate the Justices’ ethical conduct, declaring that the constitutionality of such legislation has “never been tested.” Roberts’ comments not only raise important questions about the relationship between Congress and the Supreme Court, they also call into question the constitutionality of a number of existing and proposed ethics statutes. Thus, the topic deserves close attention.

This Essay contends that Congress has broad constitutional authority to regulate the Justices’ ethical conduct, just as it has exercised control over other vital aspects of the …

Foreword To The Conference: The Law: Business Or Profession? The Continuing Relevance Of Julius Henry Cohen For The Practice Of Law In The Twenty-First Century, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

'Simple' Takes On The Supreme Court, Robert Tsai

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This essay assesses black literature as a medium for working out popular understandings of America’s Constitution and laws. Starting in the 1940s, Langston Hughes’s fictional character, Jesse B. Semple, began appearing in the prominent black newspaper, the Chicago Defender. The figure affectionately known as “Simple” was undereducated, unsophisticated, and plain spoken - certainly to a fault according to prevailing standards of civility, race relations, and professional attainment. Butthese very traits, along with a gritty experience under Jim Crow, made him not only a sympathetic figure but also an armchair legal theorist. In a series of barroom conversations, Simple ably critiqued …

Transnational Legal Practice (International) [In 2010-2012], Laurel S. Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

This article covers three years of Transnational Legal Practice developments outside of the US. (It is the companion piece to 47 Int'l Law. 499 (2013) which discusses US developments.) This article discusses the approval of an Alternative Business Structure licensing system by the UK Solicitors Regulation Authority and its subsequent issuance of ABS licenses. The second section reviews the emergence of the “Troika” as a new regulatory influence in Europe, citing as an example the joint ABA-CCBE letter to the IMF. (The Troika refers to the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission.) The third section …

Transnational Legal Practice (United States) [In 2010-2012], Laurel S. Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

This article covers three years of Transnational Legal Practice developments in the U.S. (It is the companion article to 47 Int’l Lawyer 485 (2013) which discusses transnational legal practice developments outside of the U.S.) This article begins by briefly reviewing the uncertainty about the future of U.S. legal education and legal services. The next section discusses the proposals and changes that emanated from the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20, which was tasked with evaluating what changes were needed in light of globalization and technology developments. The third section of this article discusses the Uniform Bar Exam and its implications for …

Reflections On Us Policies Regarding Effective Regulation And Discipline And Foreign Lawyer Mobility: Has The Time Come To Talk About The Elephant In The Room, Laurel S. Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

The ABA has adopted four model policies that address, in one way or another, the issue of foreign lawyer mobility. These policies are the ABA Model Foreign Legal Consultant Rule, which is commonly known as the FLC rule, the ABA Model Rule for Temporary Practice by Foreign Lawyers, which is commonly known as the FIFO rule, ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5, which permits foreign lawyers to serve as in-house counsel, and the ABA Model Rule on Pro Hac Vice Admission. All four of the ABA’s foreign lawyer mobility recommendations include a requirement that the mobile foreign lawyer is …

Behavioral Legal Ethics, Jean R. Sternlight, Jennifer K. Robbennolt

Scholarly Works

Complaints about lawyers’ ethics are commonplace. While it is surely the case that some attorneys deliberately choose to engage in misconduct, psychological research suggests a more complex story. It is not only “bad apples” who are unethical. Instead, ethical lapses can occur more easily and less intentionally than we might imagine. In this paper, we examine the ethical “blind spots,” slippery slopes, and “ethical fading” that may lead good people to behave badly. We then explore specific aspects of legal practice that can present particularly difficult challenges for lawyers given the nature of behavioral ethics - complex and ambiguous ethical …

Guilt By Association: How “Standby Co-Counsel” Exposes Attorneys To Malicious Prosecution Liability., Colleen V. Lisowski

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Attorneys should not assume that lending their name to a case is a risk-free practice. The California appellate decision, Cole v. Patricia A. Meyer & Associates, answered the question of whether non-participating, standby co-counsel could be held liable for malicious prosecution by merely being listed as counsel of record. Cole established the clear message behind being aware of “co-counsel” risks. According to the court, co-counsel cannot escape liability if they failed to know enough about the case. By rejecting the “passive counsel” defense, Cole held that associated attorneys still have a duty to research the validity of a case even …

The Disappearing Fourth Wall: Law, Ethics, And Experiential Theatre, Mary Lafrance

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The cutting edge of experiential theatre blurs the lines between performer and audience. Both the performer and the audience are vulnerable. Audiences may be subject to assaultive or disturbing behavior or images. The performance may take place in an unconventional venue that poses safety hazards. A single audience member may be alone with a performer, who may engage in provocative or shocking behavior, including verbal abuse or touching. The performer may invite similar conduct from the participant. Typically, the participant does not know in advance what will take place and does not sign a waiver. While the performer has a …