Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Courage In The Holocaust, Lawrence Raful

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Review Of: The Genetic Frontier: Ethics, Law, And Policy (Mark S. Frankel & Albert Teich Eds., American Association For The Advancement Of Science 1994), Suzanne A. Sprunger

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: The Genetic Frontier: Ethics, Law, and Policy (Mark S. Frankel & Albert Teich eds., American Association for the Advancement of Science 1994). Acknowledgments, appendix, contributors, figures, index, introduction, notes, references, tables. LC 93-37230, ISBN 0-87168-526-4. [260 pp. Paper $22.95. 1333 H St., NW, Washington DC 20005.]

Risk Management For Lawyers, William H. Fortune, Dulaney O’Roark

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Lawyers are under siege. We have become objects of scorn, ridicule, and occasional hatred. If you take your child to the Stephen Spielberg movie Jurassic Park, be prepared for the cheers when the cloned Tyrannosaurus Rex gobbles the lawyer—not a bad guy at all—cowering in the outhouse. In San Francisco a client burst into a California law firm and killed eight and wounded six persons before taking his own life. In response, the president of the California bar linked lawyer-bashing to hate crimes and prevailed on the Miller Brewing Company to withdraw a television commercial depicting a "lawyer-roping rodeo" …

The Criminal Defense Attorney, Ethics And Maintaining Client Confidentiality: A Proposal To Amend Rule 1.6 Of The Model Rules Of Professional Conduct, David Rosenthal

St. Thomas Law Review

This Essay asserts that the Model Rules do not sufficiently address the unique problems that criminal defense attorneys face, especially in this scenario. Although the authoritative measure of the Model Rules is found within the text of each individual rule, any "bright-line" solution to the problem is obscured when the Preamble and Scope are read in conjunction with the text of Model Rule 1.6. To resolve this dilemma, this Essay proposes an amendment to Model Rule 1.6 that seeks to effectively address the relevant concerns of the presented scenario. According to the proposed amendment, the attorney's solution is mandated by …

Turning And Turning In The Widening Gyre: The Problem Of Potential Conflicts Of Interest In Bankruptcy, Nancy B. Rapoport

Scholarly Works

This article is the first in a series of articles discussing the problem of conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases. It argues that the traditional means for discovering and handling conflicts of interest - based on state-law ethics rules - fundamentally misconceives the problem in a bankruptcy context. State law ethics rules presume that the parties are always in static positions; in bankruptcy law, alliances shift all the time. The article proposes a possible method of handling potential conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases.

Ethical Considerations In Medicaid Estate Planning: An Analysis Of The Aba Model Rules Of Professional Conduct, Eleanor Crosby Lanier, Ira M. Leff

Scholarly Works

The purpose of this article is to provide a starting point for discussion of ethical issues related to the practice of Medicaid estate planning. The authors explore the history of attorney involvement in planning and financing long-term care. They also analyze how the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct address the ethical dilemmas that arise in practice, using a case study to illustrate some of these issues. The individual authors' perspectives on this practice differ with respect to certain issues. One is a former Legal Services lawyer, and the other has a private practice which focuses on Medicaid estate planning.

The Lawyer's Duty Of Public Service: More Than Charity?, Tigran W. Eldred, Thomas Schoenherr

Faculty Scholarship

The question of whether lawyers have an ethical duty to perform public service-and, in particular, whether the obligation requires that a percentage of time be devoted to providing free legal services to the poor'-has a disjointed and uneven history. Leaders of the bar, espousing various and often conflicting views of morality, compassion, noblesse oblige, and individual autonomy, have contributed to this state of affairs, creating a complicated web of vague ideals that today jeopardizes the legal profession's sense of its own public obligations. On the one hand, the legal profession remains dedicated to the traditional view that public service …

An Introduction To The European Community's Legal Ethics Code - Part Ii: Applying The Ccbe Code Of Conduct, Laurel Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

This article, which is Part 2 in a series, examines the CCBE Code of Conduct and continues where the prior article left off. See An Introduction to the European Community's Legal Ethics Code Part I: An Analysis of the CCBE Code of Conduct, 7 Georgetown J. of Legal Ethics 1 (1993). "CCBE" is the acronym used to describe the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Community; the CCBE has been recognized as the official representative of the legal profession with the European Community. In 1988, the CCBE adopted a code of conduct that was intended to …

Jacob Burns, Simon J. Liebowitz

Cardozo Law Review

The demise of Mr. Jacob Bums is a great loss not only to his family but to his many friends. Folks who met him in the course of his manifold humanitarian activities were deeply impressed by his sincerity, kindness, and love for humanity. As a practicing lawyer his great ability served his clients well. Providing pro bono legal services to the poor was a way of life to him.

A Stalwart At The Bar, Arthur Norman Field

Cardozo Law Review

The New York legal community that Jack Bums found upon his admission to the Bar in 1932 was not given to welcoming all comers. It was changing rapidly. To many leaders of the Bar the change was not a positive one.

An Introduction To The European Community's Legal Ethics Code - Part I: An Analysis Of The Ccbe Code Of Conduct, Laurel Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

This article, which is Part 1 of two articles, examines the CCBE Code of Conduct. CCBE is the acronym used to describe the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Community; the CCBE has been recognized as the official representative of the legal profession with the European Community. In 1988, the CCBE adopted a code of conduct that was intended to apply to situations in which lawyers from one CCBE Member of Observer State were involved with lawyers from another CCBE State. This article summarizes the development of the CCBE Code of Conduct, explains who it applies …

The Ethics Of Criminal Defense, William H. Simon

Michigan Law Review

A large literature has emerged in recent years challenging the standard conception of adversary advocacy that justifies the lawyer in doing anything arguably legal to advance the client's ends. This literature has proposed variations on an ethic that would increase the lawyer's responsibilities to third parties, the public, and substantive ideals of legal merit and justice.

With striking consistency, this literature exempts criminal defense from its critique and concedes that the standard adversary ethic may be viable there. This paper criticizes that concession. I argue that the reasons most commonly given to distinguish the criminal from the civil do not …

Legal Developments: Ethics In Government Federal Advisory Committees, Foreign Conflicts Of Interest, The Constitution, And Dr. Franklin's Snuff Box, Gerald S. Schatz

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Big Black Man Syndrome: The Rodney King Trial And The Use Of Racial Stereotyes In The Courtroom, Lawrence Vogelman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Rodney King was portrayed as the prototypical "Big Black Man". Having recognized the existence of the Big Black Man Syndrome as a factor in the Rodney King Case, what are the moral and ethical implications of allowing defense counsel to so cleverly play upon the racial fears they evidently recognized? The issue is whether the use of racist arguments by defense counsel in a criminal trial is unethical. This essay explores the ethical consideration that come into play where a trial advocate is faced with a case where racism, homophobia, or ethnic prejudice is part of the courtroom dynamic.

Financial Arrangements In Class Actions, And The Code Of Professional Responsibility, Daniel J. Capra, Thomas W. Jackson, John Koeltl

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Rules of Professional Conduct impose various restrictions relating to attorney fees and the payment of litigation costs, which are designed to preserve the lawyer's role as a zealous but objective advocate. Class actions stand apart from other kinds of litigation in that they are designed to promote efficiency by their combining like claims into single actions, and individual justice by their vindicating claims that if taken individually might not be economically viable. In light of these special concerns, the courts have carved out several exceptions to ordinary attorney's fees, litigation expense, and disbursement rules that they routinely apply to …

State Of New York Temporary State Commission On Local Government Ethics Final Report

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The New York Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics was constituted in 1987 in response to several ethics scandals in New York City government. The commission was tasked primarily with aiding local governments in evaluating and revising their own ethics standards, and with proposing new municipal ethics legislation for the State of New York. The commission's proposal for local ethics reform rested on the propositions that most local officials are honest and ethical; that local governments are heavily dependent on volunteers; that local government ethics must be enforced at the local level; that ethics rules must be reasonable, sensible, …

Keeping The Faith: A Model Local Ethics Law - Content And Commentary, Mark Davies

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Investigations by the New York Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics has revealed serious problems in local government ethics laws. While in large part local officials behave ethically, due to lack of adequate guidance provided by existing local ethics rules, these officials are often perceived as acting unethically. The commission's investigations reveals a long list of commonplace activities by local officials that, while questionable, do not technically violate existing local ethics standards. The Model Local Ethics Law proposed by the commission, which was not seriously considered by the State legislature, would do much to clarify the bounds of ethical …

The Ethics Of Meaning, James Boyd White

Book Chapters

In choosing what I call "the ethics of meaning" as the subject of this chapter I bring together two of the most complex and difficult terms in our language. To begin with "meaning", few things are harder to talk about than the complex and tangled process by which what we say - or do - takes on a meaning for another. Meaning is a mixture of conscious intention and subconscious wish, of expectation and imagination, of varying and often incompatible perceptions of context, and this on the part of both writer and reader. As for "ethics": it involves nothing less …

Part-Time Prosecutors And Conflicts Of Interest: A Survey And Some Proposals, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

For many jurisdictions, the need for part-time prosecutors is a reality that will continue into the foreseeable future. The daunting task of balancing a private practice with prosecutorial duties is made all the more difficult by the lack of a coherent set of guidelines for minimizing the impact of conflicts of interest. What is needed is a set of guidelines flexible enough to permit attorneys to balance the part-time prosecutor's dual practice yet concrete enough to protect the system and its participants from conflicts of interest. Of prime importance in establishing any such system is the need for a clear …

Money Laundering And Lawyers, Eugene R. Gaetke, Sarah N. Welling

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The federal government has recently enacted money laundering laws to track and discourage the use of money generated by crime. Because some of that money is used to pay legal fees, the laws have a direct impact on lawyers. The laws increase the risk of prosecution for lawyers, inhibit some methods of fee payment, and make some cases less attractive financially. Generally, the laws make law practice more complicated and risky.

The laws have been criticized for their impact on criminal defense lawyers. Critics have raised three broad objections. The first objection is constitutional. Critics have also objected to the …

Personal Values And Professional Ethics, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

My purpose on this occasion is to urge reexamination of personal values as a fundamental resource of professional ethics. The essential point is that rules of ethics, such as those embodied in the profession's ethical codes, are insufficient guides to making the choices of action that a professional must make in practice. I will suggest that the same is true of professional tradition and conventional ways of practice. This is not to say that rules of ethics and traditions are irrelevant. Rules of professional ethics frame the ethical problems that are encountered in a lawyer's life throughout practice. Moreover, professional …

A Meditation On The Theoretics Of Practice, Robert Dinerstein

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Not Virgin Enough To Say That (S)He Occupies The Place Of The Other -Jacques Derrida, Glas, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Proving Your Case - Evidence And Procedure In Action, Christopher Finlayson

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should A Jury Say What It Believes Or What It Accepts?, L. Jonathan Cohen

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Crossing The Bridge To Secular Law: Three Models Of Incorporation, Jeffrey I. Roth

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Foreword: Legal Ethics And Government Integrity, Cyrus Vance

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This foreword addresses "the need to uphold and maintain a high level of integrity in both the legal profession and in government." The author discusses the roles of self-regulation and ethical standards for ensuring integrity in the legal and governmental fields. "Public trust and confidence in lawyers and government officials alike require that members of each group strive to maintain the highest ethical standards. This issue of the Urban Law Journal contributes to our thinking about the need for and problems of preserving both government and professional integrity."

Restoring The Public Trust: A Blueprint For Government Integrity, New York State Commission On Government Integrity

Fordham Urban Law Journal

September 1990 report of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity calling for "sweeping reforms to our laws to safeguard the public sector from the pressures brought to bear by private sector special interests and to reduce the temptation of officials to abuse their trust." In this "blueprint," the Commission identified several aspects of state government requiring legal and ethical reform, including: - campaign finance contribution limits, disclosure requirements, the public funding option, and ineffective enforcement by the State Board of Elections; - political influence in the judicial selection process; - limitations of the Ethics in Government Act; - …

Integrity And Ethical Standards In New York State Government: Final Report To The Governor, New York State Commission On Government Integrity

Fordham Urban Law Journal

September 1990 letter from the New York State Commission on Government Integrity to Governor Mario M. Cuomo. “This letter constitutes the final report of the Commission on Government Integrity. The Commission was created by Executive Order 88.1 and directed to examine a wide variety of subjects concerning government integrity in New York State. Since its inception, the Commission has submitted 20 reports containing specific recommendations for reform of New York laws, regulations and procedures. Some of these recommendations can be implemented by executive order; others require action by the New York State Legislature. Most of the recommendations would impose no …

Reflections On Chairing The New York State Commission On Government Integrity, John D. Feerick

Fordham Urban Law Journal

"The New York State Commission on Government Integrity (Commission) was born from a sense of crisis. A series of corruption scandals in New York State, involving officials at all levels of government, produced widespread cynicism and distrust of government and created a perception that unethical, if not illegal, practices were rampant throughout the State. The scandals implicated borough presidents of New York City, political party chairmen, municipal officials, members of the State Legislature, judges and a host of other officials." Following the New York State Commission on Government Integrity's final report to Governor Mario Cuomo in September 1990, Chairman John …