Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Anatomy Of An Aggregate Settlement: The Triumph Of Temptation Over Ethics, Lester Brickman

Articles

In an aggregate settlement, usually of a mass tort claim, a defendant agrees to pay a specific dollar amount to be divided up by the lawyer among her multiple clients which may number in the hundreds and even thousands. Each client, therefore, is in competition with all of the lawyer’s other clients suing the same defendant for a share of the fixed sum. Rule 1.8(g) of the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct requires that each client give their informed consent to their allocation. To facilitate the settlement and the often quite substantial contingency fees to be earned, lawyers may mislead …

Jan. 10, 2011, Ifc, Review-Update Policy And Performance Standards, Ifc

IFC E&S Performance Standards

No abstract provided.

The Model Rules Of Professional Conduct Through The Lens Of The Proverbs, Scott E. Thompson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

New Ways To Teach Drafting And Drafting Ethics, Lisa Penland, David I.C. Thomson, Susan Duncan, Karen J. Sneddon, Susan M. Chesler

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

As foreign as it can seem to not be in a physical classroom with bodies sitting in the chairs listening, it is a very different way of teaching but it can be very effective. If you go through this process of developing and dividing outcomes, dividing modules, and selecting the right technology, it can work. And that is kind of a scary thought to some people. Perhaps not people who have come to this section today or to this conference about What's Next, but for many of our colleagues, this is kind of a scary thought – that you might …

Clinical Professors' Professional Responsibility: Preparing Law Students To Embrace Pro Bono, Douglas L. Colbert

Faculty Scholarship

This article begins by examining the current crisis in the U.S. legal system where approximately three out of four low- and middle-income litigants are denied access to counsel's representation when faced with the loss of essential rights - -a home, child custody, liberty and deportation - - and where most lawyers decline to fulfill their ethical responsibility of pro bono service to those who cannot afford private counsel. The article traces the evolving ethical standards of a lawyer's professional responsibility that today views every attorney as a public citizen having a special responsibility to the quality of justice.

The author …

Modeling The American Lawyer Ethics System, James E. Moliterno

Scholarly Articles

None available.

New Ways To Teach Drafting And Drafting Ethics, Karen J. Sneddon

Articles

Good morning. My name is Karen Sneddon. Today, Sue Chesler and I are going to showcase a technique to incorporate issues of ethics and professionalism into a drafting course. And that technique is Teaching Drafting Ethics Using Video Vignettes. Of course we know at this point that Carnegie’s Educating Lawyers, CLEA's Best Practices have reinvigorated examination of law school curricula, mostly especially with the inclusion of transactional based skills increasing the awareness of issues involving professionalism and ethics. As those transactional focused courses are being added to the curriculum, professors are striving for a way to infuse those issues of …

Legal Ethics And Non-Practicing Entities: Being On The Receiving End Matters Too, David Hricik

Articles

The symposium invited me to speak on the legal ethical issues that face counsel who represent non-practicing entities ("NPEs") in patent litigation as plaintiff patentees. My first reaction was that, although obviously the same common law, statutes, ethical rules, and procedural rules apply to such counsel as any other, owing to the tremendous costs of patent litigation, that counsel who represented such a "troll" necessarily would have enhanced obligations to court and opposing counsel to ensure that the suit was not brought in bad faith, nor so conducted.

Upon analysis, however, I came to the somewhat counter­intuitive conclusion that, although …

Enlightenment Liberalism, Lawyers, And The Future Of Lawyer-Client Relations, Robert F. Cochran Jr.

Campbell Law Review

I am going to address, from a Christian perspective, liberalism's relationship to the role and responsibility of the lawyer. Whether a United States lawyer could define Enlightenment liberalism or not, it is likely that the role he or she plays as an attorney every day was in large part shaped by liberalism's focus on individual autonomy. At the request of the conference organizers, I am also going to reflect on the future of lawyerclient relations.

Breaking Past The Parallax: Finding The True Place Of Lawyers In Securities Fraud, Marianne C. Adams

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Lawyers often play an integral part in business transactions and securities offerings. This puts lawyers on the sidelines of not only great business successes, but also, every so often, tremendous failures. Because they are viewed by many as gatekeepers, and in that role provide a degree of assurance (with their reputational capital) that gross illegalities will not occur, a series of questions arise in the minds of many when illegalities do happen on attorneys’ watch. This Note analyzes the legal standards that are in play and those that should be imposed when lawyers aid or abet a fraud. Part I …

Pretrial Procedures For Innocent People: Reforming Brady, Lissa Griffin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In this article, the author proposes that the prosecution’s obligation to disclose exculpatory information to the defense be formalized by statute, court rule, or internal protocol in ways that would reflect the current state of our knowledge of and experience with both Brady and wrongful convictions. This would improve on the current ineffective constitutional protection—and any existing statutory or rule-based regimes—in several ways. First, such a formalized regime would require disclosure of all materials that are reasonably helpful to the defense. Second, unlike the constitutional doctrine, which provides no reliable mechanism for monitoring police disclosure to the prosecution, an accompanying …

Brief Of Amica Curiae, Deborah A. Demott In Support Of The Petitioner, Maples V. Thomas, Deborah A. Demott

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Crisis In The Legal Profession: Don’T Mourn, Organize!, Michael E. Tigar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Guy Lancaster On Genocide: A Normative Account. By Larry May. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2010. 283 Pp., Guy Lancaster

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Genocide: A Normative Account. By Larry May. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2010. 283 pp.

Paul Timmermans On Invisible War: The United States And The Iraq Sanctions. By Joy Gordon. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 2010. 359 Pp., Paul Timmermans

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Invisible War: The United States and the Iraq Sanctions. By Joy Gordon. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. 359 pp.

Confidentiality And Claims Of Ineffective Assistance, Peter A. Joy, Kevin C. Mcmunigal

Faculty Publications

This column discusses what a defense lawyer should do when called upon to reveal client information in response to an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.

Investigative Deceit, Kevin C. Mcmunigal

Faculty Publications

Is it ever ethical for a lawyer to ask or assist another person to lie on behalf of a client? Despite ethical rules categorically banning both personal and vicarious deceit, prosecutors routinely supervise police officers and informants who use deceit in investigating drug and sex offenses, organized crime, and terrorism. May defense lawyers make use of investigative deceit in criminal investigations? In this Essay, the Author examines this issue, the ethical rules bearing on it, and the recent trend in a number of jurisdictions allowing the use of investigative deceit by the defense. Drawing on his participation in a series …

The Problems Of Plagiarism As An Ethics Offense, Peter A. Joy, Kevin C. Mcmunigal

Faculty Publications

This column questions the practices of labeling attorney copying, even without acknowledgement, as plagiarism, and treating it as a per se ethics violation. Instead, the column argues that analysis of copying in the litigation context should focus directly on the quality of the filing at issue and the competence and diligence of the lawyer who prepared it.

We Don't Want Dollars, Just Change: Narrative Counter-Terrorism Strategy, An Inclusive Model For Social Healing, And The Truth About Torture Commission, 6 Nw. J. L. & Soc. Pol'y 1 (2011), Kim D. Chanbonpin

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

In 2007, Professor Eric K Yamamoto acknowledged that reparations theory and practice had reached a crossroads and called for a new strategic framework that reparations advocates could utilize in working to achieve redress for social and historical wrongs. This Article attempts to answer Yamamoto's call. In it, I situate my proposal for a truth commission to redress the post-9/11 torture program in a new Inclusive Model for Social Healing. In the past, reparations advocates have relied on litigation-a strategic model that excludes participants other than the named parties-to

obtain redress. By increasing the number of stakeholders in a reparations scheme, …

Judges, Friends, And Facebook: The Ethics Of Prohibition, 24 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 281 (2011), Samuel Vincent Jones

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Contingent Rewards For Prosecutors?, Peter A. Joy, Kevin C. Mcmunigal

Faculty Publications

This column explores whether contingent reward plans for prosecutors are ethical. After weighing arguments in favor and against such plans, the column concludes that rewards for prosecutors contingent on trial convictions are unsound.

Issues Concerning Charges For Driving While Intoxicated In Texas Federal Courts., Brian L. Owsley

St. Mary's Law Journal

Each year numerous defendants appear in courts located in Texas, both state and federal, charged with offenses related to driving while intoxicated (DWI). Defendants appearing before state courts are prosecuted pursuant to Texas statutes, regulations, and binding case law. In certain circumstances, defendants appearing in federal courts face the same statutory elements of a crime and the same potential penalties as in a Texas state court. In many of the cases, however, statutory elements and potential penalties differ. Furthermore, certain rights and regulations afforded to Texas state defendants are unavailable to those charged in federal courts located in the state. …

Home Sweet Homestead - Not If You Are Subject To A Mandatory Homeowners' Association., Bridget M. Fuselier

St. Mary's Law Journal

Changes must be made to current Texas laws to strike a proper balance between the homeowners’ rights and the homeowners association’s (HOA) rights. The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Inwood North Homeowners’ Ass’n v. Harris allows liens to attach to what would otherwise be considered homestead-protected property. Although the promise in Inwood was set forth in writing, touched and concerned the land, was intended to run with the land, and was properly recorded, that did not create a contractual lien. The court, however, incorrectly combined the concepts of liens and covenants. Furthermore, the court seemed to ignore the important and …

What Happened: Confronting Confrontation In The Wake Of Bullcoming, Bryant, And Crawford., Dibrell Waldrip, Sara M. Berkeley

St. Mary's Law Journal

Crawford v. Washington and its progeny demonstrate the difficulty of delineating both the core and the perimeter of the Confrontation Clause. Crawford abrogated Ohio v. Roberts, forcing trial lawyers to re-evaluate the use of various types of hearsay formerly admitted upon a finding of adequate “indicia of reliability.” Later the Court issued two decisions further altering the contours of Confrontation Clause jurisprudence. Michigan v. Bryant and Bullcoming v. New Mexico. With these options, the old Roberts “indicia of reliability” test transformed into the new “primary purpose” test to identify certain testimonial statements. By significantly altering the contours of Confrontation Clause …

Limiting The Foreclosure Power Of Texas Hoas With A Percentage Threshold Comment., Laci Ehlers

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

What Do We Mean By An Independent Judiciary, 38 Ohio N.U. L. Rev. 133 (2011), Michael P. Seng

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

Issues continue to arise about judicial independence in the United States. The term judicial independence is often not defined with precision. Judicial independence has its roots in the doctrine of separation of powers. It is also grounded in due process and in ethical standards that require judges to be competent and impartial decision-makers. Judicial independence depends upon society having faith in the integrity of the courts. Accountability is thus the handmaid of an independent judiciary. This article defines both the structures and the ethical standards that ensure an independent judiciary.

The Panic Defense And Model Rules Common Sense: A Practical Solution For A Twenty-First Century Ethical Dilemma, Teresa M. Garmon

Georgia Law Review

The attorney-client relationshipremains one of the most
highly regarded associations in society and is of
indispensable importance for criminal defendants, but it
is not a relationship that lasts forever. The Model Rules of
Professional Conduct (Model Rules) not only allow
breaking this affiliation, but also sometimes demand it.
Yet, in other circumstances, the Model Rules and judicial
custom may force an attorney to proceed with a
representation-even in the face of fundamental
disagreement with the core defense in a criminal case.
Through the avenue of the gay panic defense, this Note
explores how attorneys can become trapped between their
own …

Taking The Ethical Duty To Self Seriously: An Essay In Memory Of Fred Zacharias, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Changes To The Culture Of Adversarialness: Endorsing Candor, Cooperation And Civility In Relationships Between Prosecutors And Defense Counsel, Lissa Griffin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Following a brief history of prior versions of the relevant Standards in Part I, Part II describes the current draft of the proposed Prosecution and Defense Functions, focusing on new requirements for candor, civility, and cooperation. The article concludes that the proposed revisions represent a healthy step toward a more reliable, trustworthy, and efficient criminal justice system. The revisions explicitly recognize the central, powerful, and multidimensional role of the prosecutor and attempt to respond accurately and realistically to the needs and demands of that role. As the drafting and approval process continues, certain specific areas need greater clarification and thus …

Getting Good Results For Clients By Building Good Working Relationships With 'Opposing Counsel', John M. Lande

Faculty Publications

Lawyers’ relationships with their “opposing counsel” make a big difference in how well they handle their cases. “Opposing counsel” often do oppose each other, sometimes quite vigorously, though they also regularly cooperate with each other. In the normal course of litigation, lawyers need to cooperate on many procedural matters. In some cases, they also cooperate to achieve their respective clients’ substantive interests. If the lawyers have a bad relationship, the case is likely to be miserable for everyone involved. If they have a good relationship, they are more likely to agree on procedural matters, exchange information informally, take reasonable negotiation …