Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

The Virginia Company To Chick-Fil-A: Christian Business In America, 1600–2000, Joseph P. Slaughter

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is one of its most controversial in recent history. Burwell’s narrow 5–4 ruling states that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 applies to closely held, for-profit corporations seeking religious exemptions to the Affordable Care Act. As a result, the Burwell decision thrust Hobby Lobby, the national craft chain established by the conservative evangelical Green family of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, onto the national stage. Firms like Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A, however, reject the conventional wisdom Justice Ginsburg explained in Burwell and instead embrace an approach to business with …

Introductory Remarks, Michael Rogers, Hannah Hamley, Rayshaun D. Williams

Seattle University Law Review

Introductory Remarks.

Marissa Jackson Sow’S “Whiteness As Contract”, Marissa Jackson Sow

Seattle University Law Review

Marissa Jackson Sow’s “Whiteness as Contract.”

Closing Remarks, Dontay Proctor-Mills

Seattle University Law Review

Closing Remarks.

Rock And Hard Place Arguments, Jareb Gleckel, Grace Brosofsky

Seattle University Law Review

This Article explores what we coin “rock and hard place” (RHP) arguments in the law, and it aims to motivate mission-driven plaintiffs to seek out such arguments in their cases. The RHP argument structure helps plaintiffs win cases even when the court views that outcome as unfavorable.

We begin by dissecting RHP dilemmas that have long existed in the American legal system. As Part I reveals, prosecutors and law enforcement officials have often taken advantage of RHP dilemmas and used them as a tool to persuade criminal defendants to forfeit their constitutional rights, confess, or give up the chance to …

The Search For Clarity In An Attorney’S Duty To Google, Michael Murphy

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Third Party And Appointed Monitorships, Veronica Root Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter outlines the history and use of monitors in various contexts, beginning with the original conception of a court-appointed monitor and ending with the more recent development of the public relations and modern-day court-ordered monitor. It next discusses how the specific type of monitorship alters the duties and confidentiality expectations of the parties to the monitorship in both formal and informal ways. Next, it analyzes the sparse regulation of monitorships, suggesting that reputation may currently be the most effective limit on monitor overreach and capture. Finally, it ends by proposing two areas for scholarly focus going forward: (1) mechanisms …

The Role Of Norms In Modern-Day Government Ethics, Veronica Root Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

Many scholars, policymakers, advocacy groups, members of the media, and citizens-at-large are lamenting the perceived decrease in adherence to norms and ethics by certain government officials over the past few years. Informal mechanisms—whether they be norms, ethics, customs, or a “gentleman’s word”—have long been relied upon to ensure certain standards of behavior within all aspects of society. The American government is no exception. From America’s founding, the rule of law created the backstop for its governmental processes, but the virtue of its leaders remained a constant component of its success. To be fair, the country has seen more than its …

Lawyer Ethics For Innovation, Renee K. Jefferson

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Professionalization Of Compliance: Its Progress, Impediments, And Outcomes, James A. Fanto

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Rising Popularity Of The Right To Counsel In Eviction Cases: Rationales Supporting It And Legislation Providing It, Natalie D. Fulk

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Reforming The Eitc And Ctc To Provide Greater Income Stability — An Alternative To Ubi, Jacqueline Heafey

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Conscience Leave, Andrew K. Jennings

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Taking A Positive Approach To Government Ethics, Ann B. Ching

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Reforming The Office Of Legal Counsel, Barry Sullivan

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Truthfulness And The Rule Of Law, W. Bradley Wendel

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Quid Pro No? The Bribery Statute’S Failure To Capture The “Official Acts” Of High-Ranking Public Officials, Lauren N. Vaca

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Guantanamo Military Commission: The Mca 2009 As A Violation Of International Law, Mary-Kate Poulin

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Playing By The Rule: How Aba Model Rule 8.4(G) Can Regulate Jury Exclusion, Anna Offit

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Discrimination during voir dire remains a critical impediment to empaneling juries that reflect the diversity of the United States. While various solutions have been proposed, scholars have largely overlooked ethics rules as an instrument for preventing discriminatory behavior during jury selection. Focusing on the ABA Model Rule 8.4(g), which regulates professional misconduct, this article argues that ethics rules can, under certain conditions, offer an effective deterrent to exclusionary practices among legal actors. Part I examines the specific history, evolution, and application of revised ABA Model Rule 8.4(g). Part II delves into the ways that ethics rules in general, despite their …

Catching Unfitness, Jon J. Lee

Faculty Articles

Bias and prejudice are pervasive in the legal profession. Yet only relatively recently has there been a recognition among those in the profession that it is imperative to sanction attorneys who manifest bias and prejudice through harassment and discriminatory acts. Even then, it took decades for the ABA to adopt Model Rule 8.4(g) to proscribe such misconduct, and its reception by states has been lukewarm at best to antagonistic at worst. This recent controversy leads to an even more fundamental question: How can the legal profession effectively regulate the multitude of ways in which an attorney may commit misconduct, given …

In Defense Of The Foundation Stone: Deterring Post-Election Abuse Of The Legal Process, Joyce G. Lewis, Adam M. Sparks

Georgia Law Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the American way of
life and revolutionized the way we vote. Record voter turnout in
2020, including among first-time voters and voters of color, was
met with unprecedented legal challenges seeking to nullify
millions of votes. A coordinated effort to amplify groundless
accusations of voting fraud, shorthanded as “the Big Lie,” was
advanced in multiple states through scores of lawsuits.
Although the cases themselves were dismissed as lacking merit
and as failing to state actionable claims, their impact upon
public confidence in free and fair elections was palpable and
the resources of the courts and …

Change At The Speed Of Leadership, Lee Fisher

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

“The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. . . That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.”

“Lawyers are in the anomalous position of serving as leaders but generally lacking leadership training and skills. Competency in lawyering skills often functions as a proxy for leadership skills, despite the evidence that leadership skills are distinct and may take years to develop. Our neglect of leadership skills is reaching crisis proportions because nearly half of all current law firm partners will retire within the next ten …

Big Pharma, Big Problems: Covid-19 Heightens Patent-Antitrust Tension Caused By Reverse Payments, Hannah M. Lasting

Seattle University Law Review

In the wake of COVID-19, pharmaceutical companies rushed to produce vaccinations and continue to work on developing treatments, while the tension caused by reverse payments intensifies between patent and antitrust law. Lawmakers must address this tension, and the current pandemic should serve as a catalyst to prompt reform at the legislative level. By amending the Hatch-Waxman Act, lawmakers can ease the increasing strain between patent and antitrust policy concerns. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court attempted to resolve this tension in its landmark decision, F.T.C. v. Actavis, but the tension remains as lower courts struggle to produce a uniform standard …

Foreword, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Foreword.

The Deans' Roundtable, Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Dean Danielle Conway, Dean Tamara Lawson, Dean Mario Barnes, Dean L. Song Richardson

Seattle University Law Review

The Deans' Roundtable.

The Informed Consent Doctrine In Legal Malpractice Law, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

The doctrine of informed consent is now deeply embedded into the law of legal ethics. In legal malpractice litigation, the doctrine holds that a lawyer has a duty to disclose to a client material information about the risks and alternatives associated with a course of action. A lawyer who fails to make such required disclosures and fails to obtain informed consent is negligent, regardless of whether the lawyer otherwise exercises care in representing a client. If such negligent nondisclosures cause damages, the lawyer can be held accountable for the client's losses.

Shifting the focus of a legal malpractice action from …

Model Rule 8.4(G) And The Profession's Core Values Problem, Michael Ariens

Faculty Articles

Model Rule 8.4(g) declares it misconduct for a lawyer to "engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status in conduct related to the practice of law." The American Bar Association (ABA) adopted the rule in 2016, in large part to effectuate the third of its four mission goals: Eliminate Bias and Enhance Diversity. The ABA adopted these goals in 2008, and they continue to serve as ABA's statement of its mission.

A …

Lawyers, Mistakes, And Moral Growth (Reviewing Mike H. Bassett, The Man In The Ditch: A Redemption Story For Today), Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

In the literature of legal ethics, relatively little is said about the psychic turmoil that lawyers face while anticipating or defending a grievance, malpractice claim, or criminal charge. Even less is said about how lawyers who are found guilty of violating professional standards should go about rebuilding their reputations and personal lives after such proceedings have run their course, often with embarrassing results having been made public. Against this bleak backdrop, a dazzlingly introspective and hopeful book about lawyers and their mistakes-and about their suffering and possible moral growth-has been published.

In Re Paplauskas, 228 A.3d 43 (R.I. 2020), Amanda V. Reis

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cazul Aparenţei Ca Normativitate Transformativă. Exemple Din Dreptul American = The Case Of Appearance As A Transformative Norm. Examples From American Law, Dana Neacsu

Law Faculty Publications

Acestarticol discută cum adesea credem că aparenţa este o versiune superficială a realităţii. In acest sens, se demonstrează cum, în anumite condiţii, aparenţele pot facilita apariţia unei realităţi juridice. Mai mult, uneori, nu există nicio diferenţă normativă între apariţia şi realitatea unui interes legal. Totodată, se analizează pe scurt aparenţa de legalitate în contextul statului de drept american - în cateva exemple limitate la reglementările bancare şi activitatea judiciară.

This article discusses the relationship between appearance and reality from a legal perspective, dismantling the belief that appearance is a superficial version of reality without any cause or impact on it. …