Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Teaching Practical Wisdom, Deborah J. Cantrell

Publications

No abstract provided.

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: …

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 …

Bringing The Practice To The Classroom: An Approach To The Professionalism Problem, Steven H. Goldberg

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Price Of Law: How The Market For Lawyers Distorts The Justice System, Gillian K. Hadfield

Michigan Law Review

Bill Clinton's legal bills in connection with the Lewinsky scandal topped $10 million; the bill for Ken Starr's investigation of the President exceeded $50 million. The cost to the eight families portrayed in the bestseller A Civil Action for their tort suit against a manufacturing company accused of dumping hazardous chemicals into the water supply was $4.8 million (paid from a settlement of about $8 million); the cost for the defense exceeded $7 million. Lawyers who represented the three states in the nationwide suit by state attorneys general against tobacco companies to recoup smoking-related health care costs were awarded $8.2 …

Princes Of Darkness And Angels Of Light: The Soul Of The American Lawyer, David R. Barnhizer

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The increasing belief among many lawyers that life is comprised of "fear and greed and money" has altered the legal profession and helped make lawyers into one of the most feared and powerful groups in American society - and one of the most scorned. In the midst of the widespread contempt American society is showing lawyers, this article seeks to explain the special role the legal profession serves in our complex democracy. At the same time it condemns attitudes such as those reflected in Fritts' statement. The belief that life is driven by fear, greed, and money has created a …

Public Declarations Of Professionalism Professionalism Symposium, Bruce A. Green

Faculty Scholarship

When it comes to the subject of "professionalism," there is a gap between the leaders of the organized bar and its members. Bar leaders are eager to discuss the subject. For example, this year's annual meeting of the American Bar Association ("ABA") afforded bar leaders, as well as legal academics, a host of opportunities to share strategies to promote "professionalism" and "professional values." The Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar sponsored a program on "Professionalism in Law Schools and the Profession." Organizations representing bar executives, bar presidents, and bar foundations jointly presented a program called "Tough Talk, …

Professionalism, Anthony T. Kronman

Journal of the Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics

No abstract provided.

Pragmatic Professionalism: An Exercise In Applied Ethics, Amy R. Mashburn

Journal of the Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics

No abstract provided.

Comments On Professionalism, John M. Walker Jr.

Journal of the Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics

No abstract provided.

Informal Remarks On Professionalism, Burnele V. Powell

Journal of the Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics

No abstract provided.

A Proposal To Require Lawyers To Disclose Information About Procedural Matters, William H. Fortune

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In the absence of a rule clearly requiring disclosure, a lawyer is obligated not to disclose information which is adverse to the interests of a client. However, judges should be able to expect lawyers to disclose information about procedural matters. This Article argues that Model Rule of Professional Conduct 3.3 should be amended to require disclosure of information about procedural matters. Part I describes the events in Potter v. Eli Lilly & Co., a case involving a secret settlement related to Prozac. Part II makes the argument for a rule requiring disclosure of procedural information. Part III describes how …

The Professional And The Liar, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Many individuals in society think that all lawyers are liars. Some think lawyers are allowed to lie. Regrettably, some American lawyers apparently think so too. In the United States there has been, and continues to be, a troubling lack of professional consensus when it comes to litigating a case. Indeed, lawyers who are neither corrupt nor insensitive have been accused of arguing that the elicitation of false testimony, and the use of it, is a professional responsibility. Fairness also calls for some acknowledgment that even the most cunning, zealous, and successful of trial lawyers have agonized over such moral choices. …

Renewed Introspection And The Legal Profession, Eugene R. Gaetke

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

As the twentieth century draws to a close, the legal profession again immersed in a process of self-assessment, reflection, and reform. Operating on several fronts, various constituent elements of the bar have recently completed or have underway significant projects relating to the law of lawyering.

Two efforts stand out in particular. For more than a decade, the American Law Institute has labored in the production of a new Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers, and the organization stands now on the brink of that monumental work's publication. Equally significant, the American Bar Association has again undertaken a comprehensive review of …

Limited Representation: Helping Clients While Protecting Yourself, Mary E. Berkheiser

Scholarly Works

The lawyer-client relationship is defined by what the client retains the lawyer to do, and that retention may be as general or specific as the lawyer and client desire. The Nevada Supreme Court has recognized that even with regard to “a particular transaction or dispute, an attorney may be specifically employed in a limited capacity.” This freedom to contract for broader or narrower representation benefits both lawyers and clients. No lawyer can be a true generalist anymore, and most clients cannot afford the full range of representation that the legal profession offers on a single matter.

Around The Nation, Paula Hannaford-Agor

Popular Media

A number of courts have taken strong steps to deal with issues of lawyer professionalism and competence. Some state appellate courts have declared incivility unacceptable, and some trial courts have closely regulated lawyer conduct in the courtroom. Some state court systems have instituted com­missions, standards and programs to improve significantly professionalism, ethics, and excellence in practice. But more judicial leadership and daily involvement is needed in all these areas. It is this goal that the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) has addressed in its bold and comprehensive National Action Plan on Lawyer Conduct and Professionalism, unanimously adopted by the CCJ …

Legal Services Lawyers And The Influence Of Third Parties On The Lawyer-Client Relationship: Some Thoughts From Scholars, Practitioners, And Courts, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Among the challenges facing the lawyer who renders legal services to clients with limited means are ethical and professional questions relating to the influence of third parties on the lawyer-client relationship. Although all lawyers may potentially face ethical dilemmas involving third parties, legal services lawyers are particularly vulnerable to such issues because, unlike most lawyers, legal services lawyers generally rely on the financial support of someone other than their client. These challenges may take many forms, affecting a variety of ethical and professional considerations. Levine examines a number of areas in which bar association committees, scholars, and courts have addressed …

Independent, Professional Judgment: The Essence Of Freedom, Bennett H. Brummer

St. Thomas Law Review

This Article will address the concept of professionalism from a criminal defense attorney's perspective and, more specifically, from the perspective of a public defender. The public defender mission is based on our ideals of freedom and equal justice under law. I have spent twenty-five years as a participant in, and observer of, our judicial system. Whether in government or professional circles, public defenders are often outsiders. We are often treated as the illegitimate children at the family reunion. It is from that perspective that I hope to be of some service to you.

Publicity In High Profile Criminal Cases, H. Patrick Furman

Publications

No abstract provided.

Lawyer,Know Thyself: A Review Of Empirical Research On Attorney Attributes Bearingon Professionalism , Susan Daicoff

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Professionalism In Perspective: Alternative Approaches To Nonlawyer Practice, Deborah L. Rhode

Journal of the Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Towards An Inclusive Professionalism, Peter Margulies

St. Thomas Law Review

The landscape of lawyering seems bewilderingly chaotic today, compared with images of practices past, replete with country clubs and white male practitioners.' Despite their exclusiveness, corporate law firms of old at least had some shared values, and some commitment to norms other than those generated by the market. Our society, as well as the legal profession, is more diverse than it was. The present-day invocation of professionalism is one reaction to the increased diversity of the legal profession, and to the vaulting prominence of market forces, which has reduced many lawyers in major firms to a race to the bottom …

Professionalism And Life In The Trenches: The Case Of The Public Defender, Rodney Thaxton, Lida Rodriguez-Taseff

St. Thomas Law Review

I would like to start with a little story. This actually happened during my employment at the Dade County Public Defender's office, when I was in juvenile court. There was this very bright young man who, having been arrested for stealing bicycles, was in detention. He had figured out an ingenious way to steal bicycles. He would go into the bicycle section in department stores, get a bicycle, and start riding it around. An employee would invariably say, "Oh, you can't ride that bicycle in here. Take it out," and would escort him to the door with the bicycle. He …

Greetings, Daniel J. Morrissey

St. Thomas Law Review

No abstract provided.

Be Just To One Another: Preliminary Thoughts On Civility, Moral Character, And Professionalism, Mark Neal Aaronson

St. Thomas Law Review

The premise of this Article is that the inability of lawyers to conduct themselves in a reasonable fashion has less to do with a lack of good manners or ignorance about what conduct is expected, but has more to do with not having the strength of character needed to exercise self-discipline when making practical or ethical choices. I focus on civility because it speaks to both the profession's present distress over an apparent deterioration in lawyer behavior and its ongoing interest in lawyers of high moral character. My main agenda is to reintroduce certain ancient, classical ideas about civility as …

How The Butler Was Made To Do It: The Perverted Professionalism Of The Remains Of The Day, Rob Atkinson

St. Thomas Law Review

No abstract provided.

Regulating Attorney Conduct: Specific Statutory Schemes V. General Regulatory Guidelines, Chris G. Mcdonough, Michael L. Epstein

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

Bias In The Washington Courts: A Call For Reform, Melisa D. Evangelos

Seattle University Law Review

Because of the documented threat that racial and gender bias pose to the effective administration of justice in Washington, this Comment advocates amending the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct to explicitly make intentional gender and racial bias an act of attorney misconduct and to discipline any attorney who engages in such behavior. Section I of this Comment identifies and describes instances of attorney behavior that result in gender and racial bias and explains the impact of such bias on attorneys, clients, and the judicial system. Section II explores similar anti-bias rules proposed or in place in other states. Section III …

Honoring The Law In Communities Of Force: Wildman And Terrell's Teleology Of Practice, Linda H. Edwards, Jack L. Simmons

Scholarly Works

When King & Spalding publicly reflects upon itself, through its Managing Partner and its Director of Professional Development, it has improved our profession. All of us profit when a powerful law firm searches for itself. But reflection alone, as Terrell and Wildman know, does not improve the professionalism or the morality of our practice. In order for reflection to work this way it must be based upon a good teleology. Terrell and Wildman offer a teleology of practice in which lawyers are to become people who honor the law. This is justified, they tell us, because the law alone holds …