Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Aristotle On Animals, Agency, And Voluntariness, Nancy E. Schauber

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In this article, I propose a way of reading the text that has both interpretive and philosophical merits. It is a more straightforward and literal reading of the text, requiring less interpolation than alternative readings. It also attributes to Aristotle a theory of moral responsibility which is, if not correct, at least as worthy of attention as many of the contemporary theories under debate. My own view is that the objections raised miss their target not because they fail to voice legitimate concerns about an adequate theory of moral responsibility, but because what Aristotle offers in the text in question …

Should Klansmen Be Lawyers? Racism As An Ethical Barrier To The Legal Profession, Carla Pratt

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

An Overview Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act And Its Implications For Attorneys, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

On July 30, 2002, President Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, H.R. 3763, well-publicized in the press as a legislative response to the perceived excesses of corporate America: Enron; WorldCom; Tyco; Global Crossing, etc.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 contains an array of provisions affecting lawyers as professionals serving businesses and contains one provision that will clearly impact corporate counsel in the ethical discharge of their duties. Section 307 of the Act and the recently released Proposed Roles of the Securities Exchange Commission regarding lawyer duties and implementation of Section 307 require counsel to go "up the ladder," to …

Iolta In The Balance: The Battle Of Legality And Morality Between Robin Hood And The Miser Recent Development., Katherine L. Smith

St. Mary's Law Journal

Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) programs recently survived a constitutional challenge. IOLTA programs require interest earned from trust accounts deposited with client money to fund legal services for the poor. Many states, including Texas, maintain a mandatory IOLTA program, requiring all lawyers who handle client funds to participate. Proponents of IOLTA argue it benefits civil justice. Opponents argue it is an unconstitutional taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Circuit held IOLTA accounts to be an unconstitutional taking of client property. The Ninth Circuit, however, found IOLTA accounts constitutional, holding that IOLTA accounts are not a taking …

Accountants' Accountability To Nonclients In Texas., Jessica P. Gomez

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Comment proposes that accountants be held liable to any foreseeable user of their work product to ensure the deterrence of negligence on their part. Currently, the three main common law theories concerning whether nonclients can sue accountants for negligence are: (1) the privity rule; (2) the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 552; and (3) the foreseeability standard. Many states follow the Restatement approach entitled “Information Negligently Supplied for the Guidance of Others.” Texas imposes liability on accountants but fails to extend protections to third parties who rely upon the accuracy of financial statements. Further, Texas liability does not expose …

Securities Law: Section 307 Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Irreconcilable Conflict With The Aba's Model Rules And The Oklahoma Rules Of Professional Conduct?, Jennifer Wheeler

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal And Professional Ethics: The Regulation Of Ancillaries And Law-Related Services Reaches Oklahoma, D. Kencade Babb

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Neglect: Indigent Defense From A Legal Ethics Perspective Ethics Symposium What Do Clients Want: Practice Contexts, Bruce A. Green

Faculty Scholarship

Most criminal defendants in the United States cannot afford to pay for a lawyer's services, and as a result their lawyers are government funded. Unfortunately, some state and local governments drastically under-fund indigent defense services. Criminal defense lawyers serving in these jurisdictions typically carry grossly excessive caseloads and are therefore severely restricted in how much time they can devote to individual clients. Commentators have targeted the under-funding of indigent defense systems as a problem of criminal justice, constitutional law, and civil rights. That is certainly true, but the under-funding of indigent defense also raises a serious and inadequately recognized problem …

A Sanist Will?, Pamela R. Champine

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

It Is Not So Simply Because An Expert Says It Is So: The Reliability Of Gang Expert Testimony Regarding Membership In Criminal Street Gangs: Pushing The Limits Of Texas Rule Of Evidence 702., Placido G. Gomez

St. Mary's Law Journal

The mechanisms developed by the criminal justice system addressing the criminal activities of street gangs, for the most part, have proved ineffective. The evolution of gangs, their complex structure, and multipurpose focus keep them one step ahead of law enforcement. The most recent weapon created to fight the war on gangs, the civil injunction, suffers from numerous inadequacies. One concern is that civil injunctions raise numerous constitutional concerns. Another is that these injunctions fall short of constitutional demands. Furthermore, the practical implementation of the injunction forces an analysis of the reliability of the gang expert’s testimony. This Article proposes courts …

Lawyer Ethics On The Lunar Landscape Of Asbestos Litigation, Roger C. Cramton

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Deception In Morality And Law, Larry Alexander, Emily Sherwin

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Conflicts Of Interest Under The Revised Model Rules, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ethical Versus Procedural Approaches To Civility: Why Ethics 2000 Should Have Adopted A Civility Rule, Christopher J. Piazzola

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keeping The Wheels On The Wagon: Observations On Issues Of Legal Ethics For Lawyers Representing Business Organizations, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article explores the obligations of the lawyer to the corporate client and to society. It examines both established principles and recent developments relevant to the lawyer's role.

Part II discusses some of the rules of legal ethics that provide both guidance and restraints on corporate counsel. It focuses on the lawyer's duty to provide the client with independent professional judgment and to keep the client informed about the representation. It also explores the lawyer's duty to maintain the confidentiality of client information and duties specific to representing an organizational client.

Part III explains recent developments that may affect the …

Protecting Human Research Subjects: A Jurisdictional Analysis, Jennifer Llewellyn, Jocelyn Downie, Robert Holmes

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The most recent speech from the throne contained a pledge from the federal government to "work with provinces to implement a national system for the governance of research involving humans, including national research ethics and standards." This commitment signals a desire on the part of the federal government to address concerns about the inadequacies of the current governance of health research involving humans (RIH). To this end, Health Canada's Ethics Division is currently exploring the ways in which such a national governance system for RIH might be implemented. It is important for the federal government, as it moves toward making …

Destruction Of Documents Before Proceedings Commence: What Is A Court To Do?, Camille Cameron, Jonathan Liberman

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The effective performance by courts of their adjudicative role depends on the availability of relevant evidence. In civil proceedings, the discovery process aims to ensure that such evidence is available. If documents that would be relevant evidence in a trial are destroyed, a fair adjudication is made difficult, if not impossible. This is so whether the destruction of documents occurs before or after proceedings commence. This article asks what a trial judge should do in a situation where relevant evidence is unavailable because one of the parties has destroyed documents before the proceedings commenced but anticipating that such proceedings were …

Subordinate Lawyers And Insubordinate Duties, Douglas R. Richmond

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Humanitarian Assistance: Ethical Rules And The First Amendment, John P. Sahl

Akron Law Faculty Publications

For many Americans, the choice between affording legal assistance--a luxury item--and covering basic living expenses appears to represent a choice in name only. Most states prohibit lawyers from providing clients with financial assistance to cover these living expenses. In a few states, lawyers may help clients with living expenses by advancing or guaranteeing financial assistance. Given accurate information about the availability of legal services, poor people may find themselves able to protect important legal rights.

In Part I, this Article reviews the origins of and reasons for the ban on lawyer advancement of living expenses to clients when litigation is …

Our Love-Hate Relationship With Heroic Lawyers, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Biblical Prophets As Lawyers For The Poor, Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

Lawyers practicing poverty law often lack mentors and role models. This author discusses how biblical figures, who served poor people, could be mentors and role models for lawyers practicing poverty law. Prophets, and particularly prophets-as-lawyers, redefine power relationships. Shaffer discusses his personal journey through out his career in using religious guidance to help him better understand his career. He also discuss his teachings to his law students of the value of learning from prophets in their legal careers.

Integrity: Its Causes And Cures, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Integrity is a good thing, isn't it? In ordinary parlance, we sometimes use it as a near synonym for honesty, but the word means much more than honesty alone. It means wholeness or unity of person, an inner consistency between deed and principle. "Integrity" shares etymology with other unity-words-integer, integral, integrate, integration. All derive from the Latin integrare, to make whole. And the person of integrity is the person whose conduct and principles operate in happy harmony. Our psyches always seek that happy harmony. When our conduct and principles clash with each other, the result, social psychology teaches us, is …

Ethics, Law Firms, And Legal Education, Milton C. Regan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A rash of recent corporate scandals has once again put professional ethics in the spotlight. It's hard to pick up the Wall Street Journal each day and not read that authorities have launched a new investigation or that additional indictments are imminent. Stories of financial fraud and outright looting have galvanized the public and shaken the economy. What ethical lessons can we draw from these events? Two explanations seem especially prominent. The first is a story of individuals without an adequate moral compass. Some people's greed and ambition were unchecked by any internal ethical constraints. For such deviants, no amount …

The Unruliness Of Rules, Peter A. Alces

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Incremental Bar Admission: Lessons From The Medical Profession, Jayne W. Barnard, Mark Greenspan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Contractarian Economics And Mediation Ethics: The Case For Customizing Neutrality Through Contingent Fee Mediation, Scott R. Peppet

Publications

No abstract provided.

Is There A Role For Lawyers In Preventing Future Enrons, Jill E. Fisch, Kenneth M. Rosen

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Putting Health Care Providers At A Loss And Consumers At Risk: Why Hmos Should Be Held Accountable For The Financial Instability Of Their Delegated Networks., Anish P. Michael

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Comment explores why health maintenance organizations (HMOs) such as PacifiCare should be held accountable for the financial instabilities of their delegated networks. Part II discusses the organization of the managed care system and the assessment of Texas laws currently enforcing managed care in the state. Incorporated in this discussion is a look at the risks delegated networks bear when contracting with HMOs to provide payment for individualized care. Part III analyzes the increasing trend of financial instability by presenting the views of the HMOs, the delegated networks, the health care providers, and the consumers enrolled in the health plan. …

Competition, Corporate Responsibility, And The China Question, Jospeh Vining

Other Publications

"Corporate responsibility" is not a peripheral matter. It is at the core of all decision-making on behalf of business corporations under American law. This paper examines the effort to add an exemption for "business" in corporate form to the exemptions from ordinary responsibility that are seen in other areas of activity - e.g., for the military, for lawyers in adversarial litigation, or for investigators in scientific research. It looks at a number of well known cases and points to the often neglected relevance of both the criminal law applicable to corporations as such, and the evolving professional responsibility of corporate …

Privacy Lost: Comparing The Attenuation Of Texas's Article 1, Section 9 And The Fourth Amendment., Kimberly S. Keller

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that all searches and seizures be reasonable. Article I, Section 9 of the Texas Constitution mirrors its federal counterpart, requiring reasonableness in regard to intrusive governmental action. In examining these texts, both the federal and state provisions are comprised of two independent clauses: (1) the Reasonableness Clause, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures; and (2) the warrant clause, which provides that warrants may issue only upon a showing of probable cause. Both the federal and Texas constitutions include explicit language regulating the government’s right to intrude on a person’s privacy. This …