Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Taking Teaching And Learning Seriously: A Tribute To Professor Susan Martyn, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Works

Professor Susan Martyn is an inspiring and dedicated teacher. She inspires me by her teaching, her work with students in the classroom, as well as with lawyers in continuing legal education programs, and her writing for scholars and the public. The invitation to write in a law review edition honoring this amazing professor and scholar provided the opportunity to contemplate a topic that is central to my life and the lives of most who teach: What is good teaching, and how do we increase good teaching and good learning in legal education today? We are in a time of stunning …

The Law And The “Spirit Of The Law” In Legal Ethics, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

This article aims to explore the notion of the lawyer’s ethical responsibility to go “beyond” the letter of the law and to comply with the “spirit” or “purpose” of the law. The article suggests that, notwithstanding its promotion of admirable principles and goals, a spirit of the law model may prove inconsistent with basic legal and ethical obligations of lawyers. The lawyer’s duties as fiduciary, as agent, and as zealous advocate, responsible for representing the best interests of the client, preclude the lawyer from focusing on the spirit and purpose of the law rather than on the aims of the …

A History Of The Law Clinics At St. Mary's University School Of Law., Sue Bentch

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Tilting At Stratification: Against A Divide In Legal Education, Rebecca Roiphe

Articles & Chapters

Critics suggest we divide law schools into an elite tier whose graduates serve global business clients and a lower tier, which would prepare lawyers for simple disputes. This idea is not new. A similar proposal emerged in the early twentieth century. This article draws on the historical debate to argue that this simplistic approach cannot solve the myriad problems facing the legal profession and legal education. Supporters of separate tiers of law school rely on a caricature of the early history to argue that the Bar is acting in a protectionist way to ensure its own monopoly and keep newcomers …

Mindful Ethics And The Cultivation Of Concentration, Scott L. Rogers, Jan L. Jacobowitz

Articles

No abstract provided.

Redefining Professionalism, Rebecca Roiphe

Articles & Chapters

Most scholars condemn professionalism as self-serving, anti-competitive rhetoric. This Article argues that professionalism can be a positive and productive way of thinking about lawyers’ work. While it is undoubtedly true that the Bar has used the ideology of the professional role to support self-interested and bigoted causes, professionalism has also served as an important way of developing and marshalling group identity to promote useful ends. The critics of professionalism tend to view it as an ideology, according to which professionals, unlike businessmen, are concerned not with their own financial gain but with the good of their clients and the community …

High Court Pretense, Lower Court Candor: Judicial Impartiality After Capterton V. Massey Coal Co., Lynne H. Rambo

Faculty Scholarship

Apolitical, impartial judging has always been our judicial ideal. In the last twenty years, however, special interest groups have sought power over (and through) judges by pouring millions into judicial elections, and the Court has recognized their first amendment right to do so. In the midst of this politicization of judicial elections, the Court five years ago reinforced the impartiality ideal, holding very broadly in Caperton v. Massey Coal Co. that it violates due process for a judge to sit whenever there is a “probability of bias,” i.e., whenever the average judge is unlikely to be neutral. Caperton involved a …

Beginning With Yes: A Review Essay On Michael Wheeler's The Art Of Negotiation: How To Improvise Agreement In A Chaotic World, Leonard L. Riskin

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Review Essay describes the book, introduces a new system for understanding models of negotiation, and uses it to explain and expand upon some of the ideas in The Art of Negotiation. Then it suggests a different title for Wheeler's book, and describes recent efforts to connect improv with negotiation and mediation training and practice. I mean to honor Wheeler's important work by extending it.

Undercover Investigations And Government Lawyers, Eric B. Estes

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing Student Practice For The 21st Century: Educational And Ethical Considerations In Modernizing The District Of Columbia Student Practice Rules, Wallace J. Mlyniec, Haley D. Etchison

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article traces the history of the amendment process. It provides a short history of student practice rules and then, using the student practice rule in effect in the District of Columbia prior to the 2014 amendments, describes the various components of those rules that courts and bars across the nation have implemented to assist courts, advance legal education, and preserve advocates’ ethical obligations to clients. It then describes some of the comments to the proposed amendments offered by the District of Columbia Bar and other D.C. lawyers during the public comment period and the modifications to the District of …

Talk Don’T Touch? Considerations For Children’S Attorneys On The Physical Touch Of Clients, Andrea L. Dennis

Scholarly Works

Researchers focused on the representation of children and attorneys for children have taken great pains to explore issues surrounding the attorney-child client relationship and recommend strategies and policies supporting positive development of the relationship. Notwithstanding the breadth of available information, almost no attention has been aimed at whether attorneys should physically touch their clients. This article fills that gap.

This Article consists of three parts. Part I describes the literature commanding attorneys for children to develop quality relationships with their clients. These works recognize that young clients seek good relationships with their attorneys, but that barriers to creating quality relationships …

Examining The Websites Of Canada’S ‘Top Sex Crime Lawyers’: The Ethical Parameters Of Online Commercial Expression By The Criminal Defence Bar, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Online advertising has become a primary source of information about legal services. This trend towards web-based marketing of legal services poses new challenges to the regulation of the legal profession. Challenges which, to date, have not been fully met. It also creates a new source of data for researchers studying aspects of the legal profession such as legal ethics, lawyers’ perspectives and strategies, and legal discourse. The objective of this study is to examine the most prominent websites in Canada that advertise legal representation for individuals accused of sexual offences. The study of these websites yielded two types of observations …

Examining The Websites Of Canada’S ‘Top Sex Crime Lawyers’: The Ethical Parameters Of Online Commercial Expression By The Criminal Defence Bar, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Online advertising has become a primary source of information about legal services. This trend towards web-based marketing of legal services poses new challenges to the regulation of the legal profession. Challenges which, to date, have not been fully met. It also creates a new source of data for researchers studying aspects of the legal profession such as legal ethics, lawyers’ perspectives and strategies, and legal discourse. The objective of this study is to examine the most prominent websites in Canada that advertise legal representation for individuals accused of sexual offences. The study of these websites yielded two types of observations …

Negotiator's Nook: The Ins And Outs Of Effective Negotiation, David Spratt

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Promoting Public Protection Through An “Attorney Integrity” System: Lessons From The Australian Experience With Proactive Regulation Of Lawyers, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

This essay uses the Australian proactive approach to regulating attorneys as a springboard to discussing the role of proactive regulation of lawyers in advancing public protection. The essay provides information on the genesis and implementation of “proactive management-based regulation, the system in Australia. The essay reviews key research findings from empirical studies on the impact of the new system on complaints registered against lawyers and the conduct of lawyers in firms. The essay suggests possibilities for using management-based principles to improve lawyer regulation and conduct in the United States and other jurisdictions. The author concludes with a challenge for regulators …

A Doctor’S Duty Of Disclosure: Uksc Sets New Paradigm In Montgomery V Lanarkshire Health Board, Kee Yang Low

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (“Montgomery”)1 is about a baby being born with severe disabilities. Expectant mothers of small build and suffering from diabetes,2 such as the plaintiff, run the risk of shoulder dystocia, that is – the situation of the baby’s shoulders being unable to pass through the pelvis in a normal delivery.3 In this case, the patient was not told of the risk of shoulder dystocia as, in the doctor’s opinion, the possibility was very small. The doctor was not inclined to warn as most mothers, if told would opt for a ceasarean section and that would deprive …

How Improving Decision-Making And Mindfulness Can Improve Legal Ethics And Professionalism, Peter H. Huang

Publications

Lawyers who behave unethically and unprofessionally do so for various reasons, ranging from intention to carelessness. Lawyer misconduct can also result from decision-making flaws. Psychologist Chip Heath and his brother Dan Heath, in their best-selling book, Decisive: How to Make Better Decisions in Life and Work, suggest a process to improve people’s decision-making. They introduce the acronym WRAP as the mnemonic for these decision-making heuristics: (1) Widen your options, (2) Reality-test your assumptions, (3) Attain distance before deciding, and (4) Prepare to be wrong. The WRAP process mitigates these cognitive biases: (1) narrow framing of a decision problem, (2) …

Lawyer Ethics And The Financial Action Task Force: A Call To Action, John P. Sahl

Akron Law Faculty Publications

This article examines the ethical responsibilities of lawyers in the context of global anti-money laundering (AML) efforts, particularly focusing on the role of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It discusses the implications of FATF's recommendations for the legal profession and emphasizes the need for lawyers to actively engage in combating financial crimes. The author argues that lawyers must balance their duty to uphold client confidentiality with the imperative to prevent illicit financial activities. The article calls for the legal community to adopt proactive measures, including enhanced due diligence and compliance protocols, to align with international AML standards. By doing …

Listening From The Bench Fosters Civility And Promotes Justice, Paula Lustbader

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Posse Comitatus Act Of 1878 And The End Of Reconstruction., Andrew Buttaro

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Indemnification Agreements For Intentional Misconduct: Balancing Public Policy And Freedom To Contract In Texas., Meagan Mckeown

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Revisiting The Client Conundrum: Whom Does Lawyer For A Government Represent, And Who Gives Direction To That Governmental Lawyer?, Hugh D. Spitzer

Articles

The issue of identifying a government attorney’s client is age-old, and Washington’s Rules of Professional Conduct provide somewhat different answers for lawyers who are government employees and for those who are with private firms. The matter becomes even more interesting when a government entity’s attorney is a publicly-elected legal official: an attorney general, prosecuting attorney, or city attorney in the case of Seattle and a number of other cities around the country. Others have written thoughtful pieces on the topic from a national perspective, and there is at least one excellent but slightly outdated piece by District of Columbia municipal …

Agreements To Alter The Limitation Period Imposed By U.C.C. Section 2-725: Some Overlooked Complications., Gregory Crespi

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Cueing Democracy: Replacing The Texas Election Code's Title Prohibition., Christopher M. Childree

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Resolving Drug Manufacturer Liability For Generic Drug Warning Label Defects., Frank Scaglione

St. Mary's Law Journal

Although generic drugs are beneficial to consumers because they are offered as a more cost effective alternative to brand-name prescriptions, brand-name manufacturers are vulnerable to potential lawsuits because of generic drugs. Under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Hatch-Waxman Act), generic manufacturers are able to quickly enter the market following the termination of a brand-name drug’s patent. As a result of the Hatch-Waxman Act, 75% of all drugs on the market are generic. The Hatch-Waxman Act, however, also requires generic drug manufacturers to duplicate the brand-name drug’s warning label. As an unintended consequence, injuries have …

Texas Inventory Tax: Appraisal Districts' Misunderstanding Of The Law Causing Texas Retailers To Pay The Price., Timothy Johnson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Employee Recourses To Manager-Revealed Private Health Information., Molly Thomson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Ethics For Media Lawyers: The Lessons Of Ferguson, Leonard M. Niehoff

Articles

Ferguson, Missouri, has a population of roughly 21,000 people. Thirty cities in Missouri have larger populations. The Edward Jones Dome, where the St. Louis Rams play football, seats three times as many people. Most of us had never heard of Ferguson prior to August 9, 2014, when a police oficer named Darren Wilson shot and killed an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown. But, to paraphrase the grim observation of Ambrose Bierce, war is how Americans learn geography. So, as violence and vandalism erupted on its streets, the nation turned its attention toward Ferguson and labored to understand the place, …

For Men Only: A Gap In The Rules Allows Sex Discrimination To Avoid Ethical Challenge, Michelle N. Struffolino

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

The billboard states: “Divorce: Men Only.” The reaction is one of confusion. Something just does not seem right. Isn’t this discrimination? Is the system willing to allow this message because the need to protect men’s rights in divorce outweighs the systemic and societal harms associated with the message?

Although this article focuses on the ethical issues associated with firms that exclude women from the pool of potential divorce clients, the existence of women only law firms is acknowledged. The analysis of the ethical issues raised by these gender specific firms is somewhat the same regardless of what gender is excluded. …

Monroe Freedman: Servant Leader, Bridge Builder, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

Without question, Monroe was dedicated to serving others, wholeheartedly committed to helping clients and community members achieve their potential. As many have attested, Monroe epitomized the servant leader who freely gives time and support to others. I hope that the many people whom Monroe touched will continue to be sustained by Monroe’s ethic of service.