Legal Profession Commons^™

Should Robots Prosecute And Defend?, Stephen E. Henderson

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Artificial Wisdom? A Potential Limit On Ai In Law (And Elsewhere), Joshua P. Davis

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ai/Esq.: Impacts Of Artificial Intelligence In Lawyer-Client Relationships, Chris Chambers Goodman

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Shooting Fish, Michael L. Smith

Faculty Articles

Many academic legal articles begin with sweeping statements concerning the majesty of law, often noting that "the life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience" and that "the law embodies the story of a nation's development through many centuries, and it cannot be dealt with as if it contained only the axioms and corollaries of a book of mathematics." This is not one of those articles, as it gets straight to the point, asking the question that's on everyone's mind: if you're walking next to a stream, river, lake, or pond, and you happen to see …

Don't Call Me Sweetheart: Why The Aba's New Rule Addressing Harrassment And Discrimination Is So Important For Women Working In The Legal Profession Today, Kristy D'Angelo-Corker

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Punished For Poverty, Andrew Rock

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

Techno-Optimism & Access To The Legal System, Tanina Rostain

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

For legal technologists, apps raise the prospect of putting the law in the hands of disadvantaged people who feel powerless to deal with their legal problems. These aspirations are heartening, but they rest on unrealistic assumptions about how people living in poverty deal with legal problems. People who are poor very rarely resort to the law to solve their problems. In the situations when they do seek solutions, they confront educational and material impediments to finding, understanding, and using online legal tools effectively. Literacy is a significant barrier. More than 15 percent of all adults living in the United States …

Special Report - From Start-Up To Scale-Up: A Report On The Innovation Clinic In Canada, Giuseppina D'Agostino

Commissioned Reports, Studies and Public Policy Documents

Intellectual property (IP) legal clinics play a crucial role in helping Canadian inventors and entrepreneurs bring their inventions to market while strengthening the foundations of the country’s innovation ecosystem. IP legal clinics provide pro bono IP information and assistance to under-resourced inventors who are not served by the profession. At the same time, when based at law schools, these clinics provide experiential learning opportunities to law students who want to work in the IP profession, which contributes to their career development and increases their legal and interpersonal acumen. These client and student-facing goals improve the ability of Canadians to recognize, …

The Problem Of The Faithless Principal: Fiduciary Theory And The Capacities Of Clients, W. Bradley Wendel

Penn State Law Review (2003 - Present)

Philosophers sometimes criticize the lawyer-client relationship for rendering the lawyer “at best systematically amoral.” Legal ethics theorists typically analyze the lawyer-client relationship in terms of role-differentiation or a separation of public and private moralities. But if we concentrate instead on the allocation of responsibility for decisionmaking within a fiduciary relationship, the idea of differentiation or separation of moral spheres falls away somewhat . This Article considers two issues raised by the allocation of moral responsibility within the lawyer-client relationship. First, why should the agency structure of the lawyer-client relationship, with its associated fiduciary duties, do anything to affect the moral …

Foreword: Behind The Classroom: An Examination Of Law Schools In The 21st Century, Brandon Stump

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

No abstract provided.

Allowing Autistic Academics The Freedom To Be Autistic: The Ada And A Neurodiverse Future In Pennsylvania And Beyond, Brandon Stump

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article focuses on those Autistics who have the ability, in terms of intellect credential, and measurable skill, to enter the workplace. In particular, this Article addresses Autistics who are academics and teach at the collegiate level, specifically in the American legal classroom. I have chosen a narrow subset of a broad community to make a targeted argument for employment protection which can help expand the law for the entire Autistic community. While we are different than neurotypically developed persons, "[m]any with [Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)] have a high attention to detail and the ability to sustain intense concentration in …

Don't Call Me Sweetheart! Why The Aba's New Rule Addressing Harassment And Discrimination Is So Important For Women Working In The Legal Profession Today, Kristy D'Angelo-Corker

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Popular culture has recently shone a spotlight on the inequality and discrimination faced by women in many professions. With the “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” campaigns in full swing, it is clear that women are ready to fight to be respected and receive equal treatment. Although there are a plethora of news stories highlighting the issues that women are facing today, this Article will focus specifically on the effect of bias, prejudice, harassment, and discrimination against women in the legal profession. This discrimination and marginalization of women finds its way into law firms, courtrooms, and the corporate arena generally, and …

Rudolph Giuliani And The Ethics Of Bullshit, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Lawyers are communicators. They communicate with clients, courts, adversaries, juries, witnesses, and the public. Lawyers have a special responsibility for the quality of justice. Their communications, therefore, are hedged by various ethical rules to ensure that their statements are knowledgeable, truthful, respectful, and not prejudicial to the administration of justice. But lawyers are not always knowledgeable of the facts. In fact, they sometimes behave disrespectfully, and stray from the truth. False statements by lawyers may be made unwittingly, sometimes intentionally, and sometimes with an indifference, even a contempt for the truth. Discourse of the latter kind may be characterized as …

The Rise Of The Creative Law School, Gregory W. Bowman

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

To Friend Or To Unfriend?: It's Time To Update The Status On What It Means To Be Facebook Friends, Carolina A. Del Campo

St. Thomas Law Review

This comment analyzes what a Facebook friendship encompasses in the legal profession and focuses on what courts, specifically Florida, recognize this relationship to mean. Part II provides an overview of the process for judicial disqualification and reviews the opinions released by the Florida Judicial Ethics Committee regarding judicial participation on social media." Part III discusses how traditional friendships have been considered in regards to judicial disqualification and compares what other states have understood a Facebook friendship to encompass versus what Florida has concluded. Lastly, Part IV proposes a new Judicial Ethics Opinion that reflects a more modernized understanding of the …

Rebooting Empathy For The Digital Generation Lawyer, Lauren A. Newell

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

When Lawyers Screw Up, Leslie Levin

Faculty Articles and Papers

In their book When Lawyers Screw Up: Improving Access to Justice for Legal Malpractice Victims, Herbert Kritzer and Neil Vidmar significantly advance our understanding of these issues. They provide a detailed portrait of lawyer malpractice in the United States and demonstrate why it is so hard for victims to recover damages. Theirs is not an easy undertaking. Legal malpractice often goes undetected. Even when a client learns of lawyer malpractice, the problem is sometimes resolved informally without notifying the LPL insurer of a possible claim.

The authors focus mainly on what can be learned about legal malpractice from malpractice …

Aba Model Rule 8.4(G) In The States, Josh Blackman

Catholic University Law Review

This essay will provide a brief overview of how the states have responded to

ABA Model Rule 8.4(g). Part I reviews opinions from four state attorneys

general who concluded that the rule is unconstitutional: Texas, South Carolina,

Louisiana, and Tennessee. Part II discusses the states that considered the rule

with modifications. Part III reviews the states that considered Rule 8.4(g) as

drafted. So far, only one state adopted the rule: Vermont. However, the process

is still not over, and other states are currently considering the rule.

Sharkfests And Databases: Crowdsourcing Plea Bargains, Kay L. Levine, Ronald F. Wright, Nancy J. King, Marc L. Miller

Faculty Articles

In this Essay, we dive deeper into this final dimension to discuss the influence of professional networks on plea negotiations. In particular, we examine the effects of crowdsourcing tactics in the negotiation setting. We describe, for example, what happens when lawyers bargain in public, benefitting from an audience that provides information about past practices and deals. And then we speculate about what might happen if that audience were instead a widely shared database that documents plea practices in the jurisdiction. We offer a few preliminary thoughts about the potential influence of such techniques, as we are not in a position …

Building Bridges: Examining Race And Privilege In Community Economic Development: Introductory Overview, Priya Baskaran

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Global Networks And The Legal Profession, Laurel S. Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

The importance of networks and the power of exponential growth within networks have become much more apparent to the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Article addresses the topic of global legal profession networks. The introductory section provides information about our global economy and society that helps explain why global legal profession networks are valuable. It argues that global networks are beneficial for clients, lawyers, and other legal services stakeholders.

After introducing some of the scientific literature about networks in general and legal profession networks specifically, Section II identifies ways in which lawyers participate in global legal …

The Evolution Of Private Equity And The Change In General Partner Compensation Terms In The 1980s, Stephen Fraidin, Meredith Foster

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

While the business model of private equity has remained largely unchanged since the 1980s, private equity as an industry has undergone a dramatic transformation. In the early 1980s, private equity was both highly profitable and highly controversial. Today, on the other hand, it is an important asset class and its returns are modest. This paper will document both of these changes and identify the several factors that contributed simultaneously to private equity’s declining profitability and to its increasing public acceptance. This paper will also identify another change that private equity underwent in the 1980s, which has been largely ignored: the …

The 'Second Wave' Of Spanish Clinical Legal Education: Empirical, Pedagogical, And Institutional Lessons For A Pilot Course And Program At The University Of Granada, Andrew King-Ries, Masao Javier Lopez Sako, Eduardo R.C. Capulong, Pilar Fernandez Artiach

Faculty Law Review Articles

Spanish clinicians today benefit from the ‘first wave’ of early adopters. We also benefit from decades of clinical scholarship—most recently about the Western European and global clinical legal education movements—and empirical data on what lawyers actually do and need in practice. In this article, the authors summarize key empirical, pedagogical, and institutional lessons to ground the creation of a pilot course and program at the University of Granada.

Torts: Missing The Forest For The Factors—Frederick V. Wallerich, 907 N.W.2d 167 (Minn. 2018), Michelle Gibbons

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Virtual Hearings And Blockchain Technology Solutions In Criminal Law, Chantell Bergquist

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Technology has evolved and raided our personal and professional lives. Although the courts are not immune to the advancement and integration of technology, the courts are not keeping up with relevant technological advancements. Historically, courts have been hesitant to embrace new technologies despite the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure creates the right to a “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.” Likewise, the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct have determined attorneys must “keep abreast of …

Legal Analytics, Social Science, And Legal Fees: Reimagining "Legal Spend" Decisions In An Evolving Industry, Nancy B. Rapoport, Joseph R. Tiano Jr.

Scholarly Works

This article discusses how legal analytics can help law firms and clients understand, monitor, and improve the components that comprise bills for legal fees and expenses.

Leveraging Legal Analytics And Spend Data As A Law Firm Self-Governance Tool, Nancy B. Rapoport, Joseph R. Tiano Jr.

Scholarly Works

This paper discusses the advantages that law firms can get by using legal analytics (big data) to analyze how they do their work for their clients (and how their clients can benefit as well). We discuss the external forces that are reshaping the economics of today’s legal industry; the types of decisions, in determining how best to represent a client in a given matter, that tend to drive up costs; the possible reasons for those decisions; how law firms can use data-analytics tools to examine their own choices; and the benefits that stem from a data-driven analysis of those choices.

What Law Must Lawyers Know?, Joan W. Howarth

Scholarly Works

What constitutes the body of legal knowledge that every lawyer must
possess? I used to know, or think I did, but no longer. I suspect no one else
knows either. This difficult question is not just an intriguing theoretical
matter but also an urgent, practical problem. Licensing regulators assume
that minimal competence in any profession requires certain fundamental
knowledge, skills, and abilities.Bar examiners must determine what
knowledge, skills, and abilities are necessary for minimum competence as
an attorney and then design tests and other requirements to attempt to align
licensure with minimum competence. Today’s tangled attorney licensing
puzzle cannot be …

Why Women? Judging Transnational Courts And Tribunals, Kathryn M. Stanchi, Bridget J. Crawford, Linda L. Berger

Scholarly Works

Calls for greater representation of women on the bench are not new. Many people share the intuition that having more female judges would make a difference to the decisions that courts might reach or how courts arrive at those decisions. This hunch has only equivocal empirical support, however. Nevertheless legal scholars, consistent with traditional feminist legal methods, persist in asking how many women judges there are and what changes might bring more women to the bench. This essay argues that achieving diversity in international courts and tribunals – indeed on any bench – will not happen simply by having more …

Ringing Changes: Systems Thinking About Legal Licensing, Joan W. Howarth, Judith Welch Wegner

Scholarly Works

Part I examines core assumptions associated with licensing systems as well as associated ambiguities. In particular, it acknowledges multiple understandings about what “competence” is and differing assumptions about how to evaluate or measure it. Part I thus sets forth important predicates for our argument that only a multi-faceted licensing system can do what is needed in assuring minimal competence, and that not all forms of competence are best measured by traditional licensing examinations.

Part II raises the possibility of creating a post-first-year examination designed to assess critical thinking in the context of the first-year curriculum. It also considers ways in …