Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

The Ambulance Chasing Epidemic In Texas, Ronald Rodriguez

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Barratry and solicitation of professional employment is illegal and unethical. The Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct define barratry as ethical misconduct and a serious crime. Unfortunately, for citizens and law-abiding attorneys of Texas, the criminal and ethical prohibitions against barratry have rarely been enforced. Consequently, barratry continues to proliferate rapidly throughout South Texas. For lawyers who engage in this unethical practice, the potential for large financial gain proves irresistible given the virtually nonexistent risk of prosecution. The lack of robust and successful prosecutions has created an optimal environment for barratry to proliferate. This Article discusses the current barratry epidemic …

Lawyers In The Mist: The Golden Age Of Legal Nostalgia, Marc Galanter

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No one watching the contemporary furor over the litigation explosion and lawsuits devouring America can fail to be impressed by the power of folklore to overwhelm workaday organized social knowledge. Time and again, the protestations of bean-counters and skeptics are vanquished by stories about perverse institutions peopled by malingering plaintiffs, greedy lawyers, capricious jurors, and arrogant judges, proving yet again that it is not what is so that matters, but what people—at least for the moment—think is so. Tenacious belief may not make it so, but can have powerful effects.

In this essay I address another cluster of folklore about …

College Graduation As An Entrance Requirement To Law Schools, W. Harrison Hitchler

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Section V: Facilitating Dialogue With And About The Profession, Maureen Weidman

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Section I: In The Beginning . . . Volume 1 And What It Means To Be A Lawyer, Kristina J. Kim

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

The Fault In Legal Ethics, Anthony T. Kronman

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

“The Lost Lawyer” Regained: The Abiding Values Of The Legal Profession, Robert Maccrate

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Address Of Justice Edward J. Fox Of The Supreme Court Of Pennsylvania, Edward J. Fox

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Money Didn’T Buy Happiness, Lawrence J. Fox

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Ethics And The “Root Of All Evil” In Nineteenth Century American Law Practice, Michael Hoeflich

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

This Article discusses the bifurcated notions on the purpose of working as an attorney—whether the purpose is to attain wealth or whether the work in and of itself is the purpose. This Article explores the sentiments held by distinguished and influential nineteenth-century lawyers—particularly David Hoffman and George Sharswood—regarding the legal ethics surrounding attorney’s fees and how money in general is the root of many ethical dilemmas within the arena of legal practice. Through the texts of Hoffman and Sharswood, we find the origins of the ethical rules all American attorneys are subject to in their various jurisdictions.

Reforming Recusal Rules: Reassessing The Presumption Of Judicial Impartiality In Light Of The Realities Of Judging And Changing The Substance Of Disqualification Standards To Eliminate Cognitive Errors, Melinda A. Marbes

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

In recent years, high profile disqualification disputes have caught the attention of the public. In each instance there has been an outcry when a presiding jurist was asked to recuse but declined. Unfortunately, even if the jurist explains his refusal to recuse, the reasons given often are unsatisfying and do little to quell suspicions of bias. Instead, litigants, the press, and the public question whether the jurist actually is unbiased and doubt the impartiality of the judiciary as a whole. This negative reaction to refusals to recuse is caused, at least in part, by politically charged circumstances that cause further …

Alternative Business Structures: Good For The Public, Good For The Lawyers, Jayne R. Reardon

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

There has been a shift in consumer behavior over the last several decades. To keep up with the transforming consumer, many professions have changed the way they do business. Yet lawyers continue to deliver services the way they have since the founding of our country. Bar associations and legal ethicists have long debated the idea of allowing lawyers to practice in “alternative business structures,” where lawyers and nonlawyers can co-own and co-manage a business to deliver legal services. This Article argues these types of businesses inhibit lawyers’ ability to provide better legal services to the public and that the legal …

Law Firm Economics And Professionalism, Ward Bower

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Both Dean Kronman in The Lost Lawyer and Professor Glendon in A Nation Under Lawyers attribute some of the problems and challenges facing lawyers today to economic pressures and to a preoccupation with profits and fees. For Kronman, this economic focus interferes with the “moral detachment” necessary for achievement of the “lawyer-statesman” ideal. For Glendon, professional dilemmas caused by the deterioration of the legal economy, competition in the marketplace, lawyer-shopping by clients, early specialization, lack of mentoring and emphasis on the billable hour have created an unhappy generation of ethically challenged practitioners.

Both authors accurately assess the state of the …

Smu And Rht Rajan Menon Foundation Affirm Commitment To Cultivate Pro Bono Spirit Among Law Students And Within The Legal Fraternity, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

In conjunction with the official launch of the Singapore Management University (SMU) Pro Bono Centre’s new premises at the SMU School of Law building today, the University announced a gift of S$300,000 from the RHT Rajan Menon Foundation, which will support the Centre for a period of five years starting from Academic Year 2017-2018. Both parties are also delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Chan Sek Keong, former Chief Justice and current Senior Judge of the Singapore Supreme Court as the Centre’s Advisor. Mr Chan unveiled the new premises today at the launch ceremony today, together with SMU Provost, …

Smu Pro Bono Centre’S New Premises Officially Unveiled, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

“Pro bono legal services represent the highest form of social work that the legal profession can perform in service to the public. Everyone needs some form of legal assistance or advice at one time or another. It is not just free work, but free work for our poor ‘neighbours’ without expectation of any kind of material reward – it is the work of the Good Samaritan. It is free work, given from the heart,” said Mr Chan Sek Keong, former Chief Justice and current Senior Judge at the Singapore Supreme Court, at the official opening of the SMU Pro Bono …

Electronic Social Media: Friend Or Foe For Judges, M. Sue Kurita

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The use of electronic social communication has grown at a phenomenal rate. Facebook, the most popular social networking website, has over 1,968,000,000 users—a number that has exponentially grown since its inception in 2004. The number of judges accessing and using electronic social media (ESM) has also increased. However, unlike the general population, judges must consider constitutional, ethical, technical, and evidentiary implications when they use and access ESM. The First Amendment forbids “abridging the freedom of speech” and protects the expression of personal ideas, positions, and views. However, the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct and the Texas Code …

Professional Responsibility Of The Criminal Defense Lawyer Redux: The New Three Hardest Questions, Todd A. Berger

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

In 1966, Professor Monroe Freedman authored Professional Responsibility of the Criminal Defense Lawyer: The Three Hardest Questions, a work that occupies an important place in the cannon of legal ethics. Freedman believed that the three hardest questions facing a criminal defense attorney relate to whether it is ethical to discredit a truthful witness; whether it is proper to knowingly allow a client to testify falsely; and whether a lawyer may provide a client with legal advice when the lawyer suspects the client may use that advice to commit a crime. Beyond Freedman’s queries there are other important, yet largely unaddressed, …

The Culture Of Misdemeanor Courts, Jessica A. Roth

Articles

The misdemeanor courts that preside over the majority of criminal cases in the United States represent the “front porch” of our criminal justice system. These courts vary in myriad ways, including size, structure, and method of judicial appointment. Each also has its own culture – i.e., a settled way of doing things that reflects deeper assumptions about the court’s mission and its role in the community – which can assist or impede desired policy reforms. This Article, written for a Symposium issue of the Hofstra Law Review, draws upon the insights of organizational culture theory to explore how leaders can …

Transactional Real Estate Law: From Contract To Closing, Jacqueline A. Revis, Ronald Brown

NSU Law Seminar Series

This particular seminar is designed to educate attorneys about how to process a real estate transaction from contract to closing, focusing on the current rules and regulations for financed transactions.

• How to competently act as a closing agent for a real estate transaction in Florida
• Review requirements of a title agent
• Discuss difference between being only a title agent and the additional role representing a particular party (buyer or seller)
• Understanding the new closing disclosure form and the difference between a buyer closing disclosure and a seller closing disclosure
• Handling special challenges that arise in the context of real estate …

Disclosure Versus Confidentiality, Richard D. Kuhn

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Rock, Paper, Scissors... Loot!, Michael Mogill

Nevada Law Journal Forum

As teachers, we always try to inspire our students. That inspiration can be kindled in many forums, whether in the classroom, our offices, our communities—or, more rarely, in front of an entire graduating class. This article reflects the remarks I delivered to my students, our graduating class, on such a rare occasion, now several years past. The genesis of my speech, a simple child’s game (one we all know), led me through the reflections I offered to the class of 2014 and now offer to a much larger audience. I began writing these remarks with a question in mind: What …

A Report On The Morals And Manners Of Advocates, Henry G. Miller

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Rediscovering Realism In Ethics, Rev. Ronald D. Lawler

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Volume 1, Issue 1 (2017) Inaugural Issue

International Journal on Responsibility

Contents:

1 – 4 Terry Beitzel, Who is Responsible to do what for Whom? A letter from the Editor-in-Chief.

5 – 20 Arun Gandhi, What Does Responsibility Mean to Me?

21 – 42 T.Y. Okosun, Political Flip-flopping, Political Responsibility, Current Governance, and the Disenfranchised.

43 – 54 Hal Pepinsky, Resolving the Paradox of Holding People Responsible.

55 – 66 Kendra A. Hollern, Dying with Dignity: Where is the Compassion in Compassionate Release Programs?

67 – 82 Sabiha Shala & Gjylbehare Muharti, Who is Responsible for Ethical Legal Education, for what and to whom? Case of Kosovo.

83 Acknowledgments.

Monitoring Responsibility And Measures Of The Recycling Company In Water Pollution Prevention During The Process Of Ship Recycling, Rui Tu

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Aligning Opioid Prescribing Pathways, Andrea Lai, Outpatient Pharmacy, Haley Pelletier, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

There is a drug epidemic sweeping the State of Maine and it continues to worsen each passing year. In 2017, the Maine legislature passed Public Law Chapter 488 to strengthen the controlled substance prescription monitoring program. An outpatient pharmacy, located in a large acute care hospital, created a performance improvement project to clarify opioid prescription and resolve any non-compliance with Chapter 488.

After a root cause analysis, several KPIs were established to include tracking the number of phone calls made by pharmacists to non-compliant providers to clarify scripts, provide one on one education and ultimately resolve non-compliance. Repeat offenders were …

Egyptian Confidential: An Analysis Of Confidentiality In The Egyptian Arbitration System, Kayla Snowberger

Arbitration Law Review (2009 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Bolstering The Foundation Of Fundamental Fairness: The Ninth Circuit Declares Equitable Tolling Now Applies To The Federal Arbitration Act, Matthew E. Selmasska

Arbitration Law Review (2009 - Present)

No abstract provided.

A Cross-Sectional Exploration Of Household Financial Reactions And Homebuyer Awareness Of Registered Sex Offenders In A Rural, Suburban, And Urban County., John Charles Navarro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As stigmatized persons, registered sex offenders betoken instability in communities. Depressed home sale values are associated with the presence of registered sex offenders even though the public is largely unaware of the presence of registered sex offenders. Using a spatial multilevel approach, the current study examines the role registered sex offenders influence sale values of homes sold in 2015 for three U.S. counties (rural, suburban, and urban) located in Illinois and Kentucky within the social disorganization framework. Homebuyers were surveyed to examine whether awareness of local registered sex offenders and the homebuyer’s community type operate as moderators between home selling …

The Changing View Of The “Bystander” In Holocaust Scholarship: Historical, Ethical, And Political Implications, Victoria J. Barnett

Utah Law Review

The role of “bystanders” has been a central theme in discussions about the ethical legacy of the Holocaust. In early Holocaust historiography, “bystander” was often used as a generalized catchall term designating passivity toward Nazi crimes. “Bystander behavior” became synonymous with passivity to the plight of others, including the failure to speak out against injustice and/or assist its victims. More recent scholarship has documented the extent to which local populations and institutions were actively complicit in Nazi crimes, participating in and benefitting from the persecution of Jewish citizens, not only in Germany but across Europe. This newer research has sparked …