Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Professionalism Without Parochialism: Julius Henry Cohen, Rabbi Nachman Of Breslov, And The Stories Of Two Sons, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Professor Levine addresses the question of whether the practice of law a business or a profession and looks at sources where practitioners might draw inspiration for ethical behaviors. He examines two works: a 1916 book by Julius Henry Cohen - The Law: Business or Profession?; and a tale by Chasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Both works tell the story of two sons from two different fathers with different ethical natures that manifest in their different choices of and approaches to their careers. Professor Levine uses these two parables to suggest that a more inclusive question than those posed above: …

Taking Ethics Codes Seriously: Broad Ethics Provisions And Unenumerated Ethical Obligations In A Comparative Hermeneutic Framework, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Ethics scholars have documented the increasingly legislative form of twentieth-century ethics regulations, culminating in the enactment and widespread adoption of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Nevertheless, pointing to the presence of broad ethics provisions, a number of leading scholars have questioned the extent to which ethics codes can accurately be conceptualized as a form of legislation. Responding to these critiques, Levine aims to take seriously both the legislative form of ethics codes and their interpretation. Toward that aim, he looks to interpretive methodologies employed in American constitutional law and Jewish law to provide both descriptive and normative models for …

Errata (To V. 9 No. 2)

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

No abstract provided.

What I Think That I Have Learned About Legal Ethics, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In this short piece I want to say a few things that other academics teaching legal ethics may find disturbing. I say this because I believe that I may be swimming against the current academic fashion. Of course, it is possible that I do not have a very good handle on the current academic fashion. I hope I am not setting up a straw person to knock down, but I may be. If I am, I am sure someone will call me to task. What I am going to say is this: contrary to popular belief (among practitioners, at least) …

Lawyers And Biblical Prophets, Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

This is part of a broader exploration of the suggestion that the biblical prophets-Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Nathan, and the others-are sources of ethical reflection and moral example for modern American lawyers. The suggestion appears to be unusual; I am not sure why.

The Prophets were, more than anything else, lawyers-as their successors, the Rabbis of the Talmud, were. They were neither teachers nor bureaucrats, not elected officials or priests or preachers. And the comparison is not an ancient curiosity:

Much of what admirable lawyer-heroes have done in modern America has been prophetic in the biblical sense-that is, what they …

Symposium: Client Counseling And Moral Responsibility, Thomas L. Shaffer, Deborah L. Rhode, Paul R. Tremblay, Robert F. Cochran

Journal Articles

One of the most important challenges to lawyers and clients is addressing issues that are not controlled by law. Will the client take steps (legal steps) that will harm other people? Will the officers of a corporation consider the effects of its actions on workers, on consumers, on the community, on the environment? In a divorce, will the client take actions that will harm a child or spouse? What role should the lawyer play regarding these questions? The way lawyers address such issues may do more to determine whether their practice is socially useful or socially harmful than any rule …

Protecting Human Research Subjects: A Jurisdictional Analysis, Jennifer Llewellyn, Jocelyn Downie, Robert Holmes

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The most recent speech from the throne contained a pledge from the federal government to "work with provinces to implement a national system for the governance of research involving humans, including national research ethics and standards." This commitment signals a desire on the part of the federal government to address concerns about the inadequacies of the current governance of health research involving humans (RIH). To this end, Health Canada's Ethics Division is currently exploring the ways in which such a national governance system for RIH might be implemented. It is important for the federal government, as it moves toward making …

The Cost Of Humanitarian Assistance: Ethical Rules And The First Amendment, John P. Sahl

Akron Law Faculty Publications

For many Americans, the choice between affording legal assistance--a luxury item--and covering basic living expenses appears to represent a choice in name only. Most states prohibit lawyers from providing clients with financial assistance to cover these living expenses. In a few states, lawyers may help clients with living expenses by advancing or guaranteeing financial assistance. Given accurate information about the availability of legal services, poor people may find themselves able to protect important legal rights.

In Part I, this Article reviews the origins of and reasons for the ban on lawyer advancement of living expenses to clients when litigation is …

Competition, Corporate Responsibility, And The China Question, Jospeh Vining

Other Publications

"Corporate responsibility" is not a peripheral matter. It is at the core of all decision-making on behalf of business corporations under American law. This paper examines the effort to add an exemption for "business" in corporate form to the exemptions from ordinary responsibility that are seen in other areas of activity - e.g., for the military, for lawyers in adversarial litigation, or for investigators in scientific research. It looks at a number of well known cases and points to the often neglected relevance of both the criminal law applicable to corporations as such, and the evolving professional responsibility of corporate …

Contractarian Economics And Mediation Ethics: The Case For Customizing Neutrality Through Contingent Fee Mediation, Scott R. Peppet

Publications

No abstract provided.

American Legal Ethics, Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

The ethics of American lawyers come from the English gentleman-lawyer of the nineteenth century, with the steady addition of an elitist Jeffersonian gloss. But they have, within the last century, been seperated, so that reulation claims to operate without conscience. The result is that the law of lawyers is now the principal, if not only, feature of the official codes, and ethics as ethics is is spread oer insignificant consensus statements by bar associations and promising scholarship from academic lawyers, some small part of which deserves to be called ethics and even, from small beginnings to be called religious ethics.

Investigating The Special: The Symbolic Function Of The Independent Counsel, Judith Roof

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium on "Law, Morality, and Popular Culture in the Public Sphere" at the Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, April 6, 2001.

Legislating Apology: The Pros And Cons, Jonathan R. Cohen

UF Law Faculty Publications

Should apologies be admissible into evidence as proof of fault in civil cases? While this question is a simple one, its potential ramifications are great, and legislative and scholarly interest in the admissibility of apologies has exploded. Shortly after the idea of excluding apologies from admissibility into evidence was raised in academic circles three years ago, it rapidly spread to the policy arena. For example, California and Florida enacted laws in 2000 and 2001 respectively excluding from admissibility apologetic expressions of sympathy ("I'm sorry that you are hurt") but not fault-admitting apologies ("I'm sorrythat I injured you") after accidents. Eight …

Some Ethical Reflections On Cyberstalking, Frances Grodzinsky, Herman T. Tavani

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

The present study examines a range of moral issues associated with recent cyberstalking cases. Particular attention is centered on the Amy Boyer/ Liam Youens case of cyberstalking, which raises a host of considerations that we believe have a significant impact for ethical behavior on the Internet. Among the questions we consider are those having to do with personal privacy and the use of certain kinds of Internet search facilities to stalk individuals in cyberspace. Also considered are questions having to do with legal liability and (possible) moral responsibility that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have for stalking crimes that occur in …

Between Law And Virtue, Joseph P. Tomain, Barbara Watts

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Legal ethics, professional responsibility, and professionalism are timely topics as lawyers continually reevaluate the standards of their profession, particularly in light of the challenges of multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional practice, as well as the embarrassment facing lawyers involved in and surrounding the Enron collapse. In this article, our goal is to discuss how to think and talk about ethics and professionalism. By way of preview, we need to understand that ethics and professionalism use different vocabularies and, consequently, talk past each other to some extent. Our hope is that understanding the existence of these two vocabularies helps reduce the misunderstanding. Both …

Catholic Social Teaching And American Legal Perspective, Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J.

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay examines possible applications of Catholic social teachings to the practice and teaching of law. The author lists five major topics within Catholic social teaching: human dignity, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, and care of the environment. He then lists ways in which these ideals may be realized through the practice of law, including education, litigation, counseling, judging, and legislation.

Catholic Social Teaching And American Legal Practice: A Practical Response, Jennifer M. Mone

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The author responds to Avery Cardinal Dulles's essay and lecture "Catholic Social Teaching and American Legal Practice," Fordham Urb. L.J., 277 (2002) (available at http://new.fordhamj.org/demonstration/dc/v30/27_30FordhamUrbLJ277(2002-2003).pdf). She provides a practical perspective on the applications of Catholic social teachings to the practice of law. She concludes that Catholic teachings and law intersect in two areas: in the lawyer's discretion and in the lawyer's professional interactions with others.

The Physician As Conscientious Objector, J. David Bleich

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the right of doctors to object, because of conflicts with the doctor's own morals, to treatment requested or refused by patients. Focusing mainly on end-of-life care, the author compares court opinions allowing or prohibiting doctors to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment at the request of patients or their surrogates.

Religious Contributions To The Bioethics Debate: Utilizing Legal Rights While Avoiding Scientific Temptations, Steven Goldberg

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article explores the authors views on the place of religious debate concerning scientific issues. It outlines the author's concerns with religion becoming overshadowed by science, even within relgious communities, and his ideas on how religion may be brought to the forefront.

Toward Epistemic Justice: A Response To Professor Goldberg, Dominic J. Balestra

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article is a response to Steven Goldberg's article and lecture "Religious Contributions to the Bioethics Debate: Utilizing Legal Rights while Avoiding Scientific Temptations," 30 Fordham Urb. L.J., 35 (2002) (available at http://new.fordhamj.org/demonstration/dc/v30/13_30FordhamUrbLJ35(2002-2003).pdf). The author argues that the question is not the place of values in a world of fact, but the place of facts in a world of values.

Protestant Perspectives On Informed Consent (Particularly In Research Involving Human Participants), James F. Childress

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines Protestant positions on informed consent/refusal regarding the use of human subjects in research. Primarily focusing on the work of Paul Ramsey, a Protestant scholar in science and ethics, the article describes the relationship between the God-man covenant and man-to-man covenants and the consequences thereof. Exploring the line between what Ramsey calls "charity" and "justice," the article finds differences between therapeutic and nontherapeutic research and who may participate with or without consent.

Informed Consent Without Autonomy, Daniel P. Sulmasy

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay explains why and how the Roman Catholic basis for informed consent is different from the secular basis. It argues that the Catholic basis, which is rooted in "natural law," is the better model for society to adopt. The author explains that the secular view is rooted in the belief that patient autonomy must never be violated but the Catholic view is based on human dignity, which simply requires doctors to allow patients to exercise their free will within moral limits. This view allows doctors to override patients' decisions if those decisions are morally wrong or irrational.

The Physician's Conscience, Conscience Clauses, And Religious Belief: A Catholic Perspective, Edmund D. Pellegrino

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay explores how physicians may handle conflicts of conscience facing Roman Catholic health practitioners regarding "human life" issues, especially through conscience clauses. In five parts, the author examines "first, why conscientious objection is so important in our day; second, the moral grounding for freedom in the exercise of conscience; third, the components of the physician's conscience; fourth, specific conflicts of conscience for Catholic physicians and institutions; and fifth, competing models of conflict resolution."

Fortifying A Law Firm's Ethical Infrastructure: Avoiding Legal Malpractice Claims Based On Conflicts Of Interest Symposium: Legal Malpractice And Professional Responsibility., Susan Saab Fortney, Jett Hanna

St. Mary's Law Journal

This article addresses the prevailing problem of malpractice claims based on conflicts of interest. Part I of this article introduces the topic by underscoring the seriousness of all conflicts of interest and recommending preventative action. Part II describes measures that law firms can take to detect and manage conflicts and analyzes the effect of the firm’s ability to avoid conflicts claims on a firm’s ethical infrastructure. Part III focuses on some of the most common conflicts situations that result in malpractice claims and sanctions. The discussion includes selected conflicts cases that illustrate problems and patterns. Part IV concludes by urging …

Fit And Functional In Legal Ethics: Developing A Code Of Conduct For International Arbitration, Catherine A. Rogers

Michigan Journal of International Law

In this Article, the author develops a methodology for prescribing the normative content of a code of ethics for international arbitration, and in a forthcoming companion article, integrated mechanisms for making those norms both binding and enforceable are proposed. In making these proposals, the author rejects the classical conception of legal ethics as a purely deontological product derived from first principles. This Article argues, instead, that ethics derive from the inter-relational functional role of advocates in an adjudicatory system, and that ethical regulation must correlate with the structural operations of the system. The fit between ethics and function, the author …

Ethics, Race, And Reform, Anthony V. Alfieri

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Psychology Of Competence And Informed Consent: Understanding Decision-Making With Regard To Clinical Research, Barry Rosenfeld

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the importance of patient autonomy and competence in medical decision making and how questions of competence affect informed consent. The author explores three hypothetical cases which "outline the parameters of 'competence' by illustrating the methodologies used in making [determinations of competence], distinguishing between ethical and legal issues in the assessment of competence, and reviewing the procedures for surrogate decision making when competence is deemed impaired." The cases present questions on when to respect patient autonomy and when it may be appropriate to allow a surrogate to take over decision making.

Religious Teachings And Reflections On Advance Directive - Religious Values And Legal Dilemmas In Bioethics: An Islamic Perspective, Faroque A. Khan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay analyses Islamic law and attempts to apply it to issues surrounding end-of-life care. The author concludes that Islam allows physicians to withdraw life-sustaining technologies if there is no hope for a cure, in the effort to prevent prolonged suffering.

Response To Avery Cardinal Dulles, John D. Feerick

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Dean Feerick responds to Avery Cardinal Dulles's essay and lecture "Catholic Social Teaching and American Legal Practice," 30 Fordham Urb. L.J., 277 (2002) (available at http://new.fordhamj.org/demonstration/dc/v30/27_30FordhamUrbLJ277(2002-2003).pdf). He expands upon the application of Catholic teachings to legal practice and highlights Fordham Law's implementation of those ideals.

The Intractable Problem Of Bankruptcy Ethics: Square Peg, Round Hole, Nancy B. Rapoport

Scholarly Works

This article continues my earlier research on conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases, particularly in chapter 11 cases. It suggests that conflicts in interest in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases should not be handled the same way that conflicts are handled under state ethics rules, and it proposes a new section of the Bankruptcy Code to cover conflicts of interest in cases filed under chapter 11.