Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

The Standard Of Care In Legal Malpractice: Do The Model Rules Of Professional Conduct Define It?, Gary A. Munneke

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article will review existing case law and commentary, and propose a new formula for application of rules of professional conduct in determining the standard of care to which attorneys should be held in malpractice cases. The authors will argue in favor of establishing a position that state rules of professional conduct create certain specific standards of lawyer behavior that constitute a minimum standard of conduct and a minimum standard of care for every individual attorney practicing in each jurisdiction.

Judge Hits Quality Of Appellate Advocacy (New York Law Journal), Bill Alden

News Articles

No abstract provided.

Teaching Moral Perception And Moral Judgment In Legal Ethics Courses: A Dialogue About Goals, Lisa G. Lerman

Scholarly Articles

The first topic discussed at the 1997 W.M. Keck Foundation Forum on the Teaching of Legal Ethics was setting goals for the teaching of professional responsibility.

In this Essay, I report some of the ideas that were exchanged during the discussion 17 and comment on a few of them. I also will discuss experimental teaching initiatives that some panelists have undertaken to implement their articulated goals. Then I will comment on some of the problems we encounter in setting goals for the teaching of professional responsibility and on the implications of these observations for our law schools' curricula.

Foreword To Symposium On "Should The Family Be Represented As An Entity?": Reexamining The Family Values Of Legal Ethics, Russell G. Pearce

Seattle University Law Review

This symposium on whether the family should be represented as an entity marks another milestone in the development of legal ethics as a field central to understanding the operation of law in our society, and not merely as a set of dry, largely irrelevant rules. It does so by acknowledging that ethical rules of lawyers who represent families have very real consequences for those families. Building on earlier efforts to address this topic, this symposium's authors confront what some commentators have described as the individualist impulse of the ethics codes and whether this impulse is beneficial or harmful to families.

The Power Of Narrative: Listening To The Initial Client Interview, Raven Lidman

Seattle University Law Review

As I thought about the hypothetical situations posed for consideration by this symposium, I envisioned distinct individuals in context, speaking particular words. I decided to write the initial consultation out as a dialogue to see what happened to the ideas and the interactions as these three, the lawyer, husband, and wife, explored them. I, thus, chose to turn a hypothetical into a real situation. By selecting this format, I was only able to focus on the first hypothetical. This one was perhaps the most challenging for me personally. As a feminist and a family law lawyer, I have struggled and …

Love Among The Ruins: The Ethics Of Counseling Happily Married Couples, Teresa Stanton Collett

Seattle University Law Review

This Article explores the professional tension experienced by lawyers when clients embrace an ideal of marriage as "the two shall become as one," in a legal system that has repudiated this understanding in favor of the "reality" of marriage as an association dedicated to the individual fulfillment of the man and woman involved. Part II describes the three purposes of estate planning that define the parameters of any proposed representation. Estate planning lawyers assist clients in minimizing taxes, directing gifts to particular beneficiaries, and insuring the continuing care of loved ones. The decision to accept or reject proposed representation often …

New Ethical Relationships Under Health Care's New Structure: The Need For A New Paradigm, Robert I. Field

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Law Survey: Professional Responsibility, William H. Fortune

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Notre Dame Lawyer - Fall/Winter 1998, Notre Dame Law School

Notre Dame Lawyer

A Different Kind of Ethics-Lawyers as Healers and Peacemakers

Practical Ethics
The Ethics of the Death Penalty
The Center for Civil and Human Rights-Ethics on a Global Scale
Legal Research and Ethics
Social Justice and Professional Responsibility
Clinical Ethics-Ethics in the Law-Office Setting
Encouraging a Higher Standard

Healing and Peacemaking: Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution

After Hours: With My Dad by Deborah Bauer

Medical Paradigms For Counseling: Giving Clients Bad News, Linda F. Smith

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

When lawyers must give clients "bad news," they should draw upon the lessons that emerge from the world of medical counseling. Lawyers must be direct and candid about the state of affairs. They must fully describe how grim the situation appears nd explain why this is their opinion. They must enter into a dialogue in which the client's questions are answered and the client's feelings are respected and responded to. Lawyers must be self-aware in order to avoid re-sponding dysfunctionally to the client's reactions. They should show empathy and communicate hope to the "whole person" who is the client. Only …

The Attorney-Client Privilege, Ethical Rules, And The Impaired Criminal Defendant, James A. Cohen

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unreasonable Risk: Model Rule 1.6, Environmental Hazards, And Positive Law, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

In Re Sealed Case: The Attorney-Client Privilege - Till Death Do Us Part, Casey Nix

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Professional Responsibility In Appellate Practice: A View From The Bench, Roger J. Miner '56

Law Practice

No abstract provided.

Ethics On The Web: An Annotated Bibliography Of Legal Ethics Material On The Internet, 28 Stetson L. Rev. 369 (1998), Darby Dickerson

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Deposition Dilemmas: Vexatious Scheduling And Errata Sheets, 12 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 1 (1998), Darby Dickerson

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Law Firms, Technology, And The Double-Billing Dilemma, 12 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 95 (1998), Kevin Hopkins

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Voluntary Intoxication As A Mitigating Circumstance During The Death Penalty Sentencing Phase: A Proposal For Reform Comment., Jeffrey A. Walsh

St. Mary's Law Journal

When the State of Texas seeks the death penalty against a defendant, the trial court conducts a sentencing proceeding under Article 37.071 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. This proceeding determines whether the defendant will receive the death penalty. During deliberation, the jury must consider all mitigating evidence. The defendant may claim his voluntary intoxication as a mitigating factor. Under Tex. Pen. Code § 8.04(b), the court instructs the jury to consider evidence of voluntary intoxication only if it rendered the defendant temporarily insane. Although Article 37.071 calls upon juries to consider “all” mitigating evidence, a Section 8.04 instruction …

The Impending Wave Of Legal Malpractice Litigation - Predictions, Analysis, And Proposals For Change., Gary N. Schumann, Scott B. Herlihy

St. Mary's Law Journal

Attorneys tend to be viewed antithetically, at once both greedy and manipulative, but also respected and admired. Given this odd mixture of respect and disdain, attorneys are fortunate to have generally avoided being targets as potential defendants. Nevertheless, circumstances in Texas have changed, creating a new legal climate wherein attorneys may soon become defendants of choice. Attorneys in Texas are at a significantly greater risk of becoming the subject of a malpractice suit than they were in the past. Yet, simply because statistics indicate an increase in the number of malpractice claims, this does not mean more malpractice is being …

The React Security Belt: Stunning Prisoners And Human Rights Groups Into Questioning Whether Its Use Is Permissible Under The United States And Texas Constitutions Comment., Shelley A. Nieto Dahlberg

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Remote Electronically Activated Control Technology (REACT) belt infringes upon criminal defendants’ and prisoners’ fundamental rights; therefore, it cannot withstand judicial scrutiny under the United States and Texas Constitutions. This Comment attempts to address and answer issues regarding the REACT belt. The belt constitutes cruel and unusual punishment with the potential to deprive prisoners of their due process rights. The belt disrupts attorney-client communication and destroys a criminal defendant’s presumption of innocence. Furthermore, other alternatives provide effective means to prevent unruly prisoners from destroying the integrity of the courts. Part II of this Comment discusses how the belt works, and …

Unreasonable Risk: Model Rule 1.6, Environmental Hazards, And Positive Law, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article explores the disjuncture of positive law and the duty of confidentiality as formulated by Model Rule 1.6. Its central purpose is to question the decision to exclude positive law from the framework of analysis created by the Rule.

Part II summarizes the duty of confidentiality owed to clients by attorneys. Part III examines Model Rule 1.6. Part IV surveys environmental statutes, noting the strong public policy in favor of protection against environmental hazards. Part V explores common law liability, noting the effect of recent developments in the law, such as the abrogation of the bar of privity and …

Family Matters: Nonwaivable Conflicts Of Interest In Family Law, Steven H. Hobbs

Seattle University Law Review

The hypotheticals prepared for this special symposium issue ask if a lawyer can provide legal services to a family when one family member yields major decision-making authority to another family member. At stake is the disposition of significant individual and family assets. The traditional model of legal representation would require each family member to have an advocate protecting and promoting his or her individual interests while negotiating a reasonable accommodation of the other family members' interests. The challenge presented by the hypotheticals is whether an attorney can simultaneously represent apparent multiple interests without violating ethical provisions.

Mpre Reconsidered, The, Leslie Levin

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Administrative Agency Oversight Of Notarial Practice, 31 J. Marshall L. Rev. 857 (1998), John T. Henderson, Peter D. Kovach

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered ... Disbarred - Notarial Misconduct By Attorneys, 31 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1085 (1998), Christopher B. Young

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mental Culpability And Prosecutorial Misconduct, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article argues that a prosecutor's intent is always relevant to the courts' analysis of misconduct, and that the courts should always consider a prosecutor's intent in determining whether a rule was violated and whether the verdict was prejudiced. Part II of this Article examines the use of the objective test to analyze a prosecutor's trial conduct. Part II offers several reasons courts give for avoiding inquiry into a prosecutor's mental culpability, analyzes those reasons, and concludes that although the application of an objective test is sufficient to correct misconduct in some instances, it does not foreclose application of a …

Prosecutorial Misconduct In Closing Argument In Arkansas Criminal Trials, J. Thomas Sullivan

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Independent, Professional Judgment: The Essence Of Freedom, Bennett H. Brummer

St. Thomas Law Review

This Article will address the concept of professionalism from a criminal defense attorney's perspective and, more specifically, from the perspective of a public defender. The public defender mission is based on our ideals of freedom and equal justice under law. I have spent twenty-five years as a participant in, and observer of, our judicial system. Whether in government or professional circles, public defenders are often outsiders. We are often treated as the illegitimate children at the family reunion. It is from that perspective that I hope to be of some service to you.

The Future Of Legal Services: Legal And Ethical Implications Of The Lsc Restrictions - Opening Remarks, John D. Feerick

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Opening Remarks to "The Future of Legal Services: Legal and Ethical Implications of the LSC Restrictions"

The Future Of Legal Services: Legal And Ethical Implications Of The Lsc Restrictions - Address: Interpretations Of Lsc Restrictions, Matthew Diller, Alan W. Houseman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The purpose of this talk is to set a framework for the discussions on the four panels. I will begin by discussing what has happened in the 104th Congress, describe what can and cannot be done under the restrictions imposed by that Congress, and then frame the context for the later discussions.