Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

What We Didn't See Before, Allison Anna Tait

Law Faculty Publications

The essays in this Issue concentrate on a primary, and crucial, cluster of analytic concerns about the ways in which governments, artists, and architects have chosen to represent the concept of justice.

Going Native: Incentive, Identity, And The Inherent Ethical Problem Of In-House Counsel, Pam Jenoff

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Misplaced Fidelity, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper is a review essay of W. Bradley Wendel's Lawyers and Fidelity to Law, part of a symposium on Wendel's book. Parts I and II aim to situate Wendel's book within the literature on philosophical or theoretical legal ethics. I focus on two points: Wendel's argument that legal ethics should be examined through the lens of political theory rather than moral philosophy, and his emphasis on the role law plays in setting terms of social coexistence in the midst of moral pluralism. Both of these themes lead him to reject viewing legal ethics as an instance of "the …

The Problem About The Nature Of Law Vis-À-Vis Legal Rationality Revisited: Towards An Integrative Jurisprudence, Imer Flores

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this paper the author argues, following Frederick Schauer, that attempting to move theoretically from-the-necessary-to-the-important may hinder our understanding of law. He further argues that attempting to move from-the-important-to-the-necessary may well be a more promising route for advancing our understanding of law as an interpretive practice which is not merely important or valuable but morally important or valuable and even necessary, as Ronald Dworkin has advocated. The authors argument also draws on the insights of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who by discussing the important, but apparently neither necessary nor sufficient aspects of legal practice, integrated both logic and experience into …

Confucian Virtue Jurisprudence, Linghao Wang, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Virtue jurisprudence is an approach to legal theory that develops the implications of virtue ethics and virtue politics for the law. Recent work on virtue jurisprudence has emphasized a NeoAristotelian approach. This essay develops a virtue jurisprudence in the Confucian tradition. The title of this essay, “Confucian Virtue Jurisprudence,” reflects the central aim of our work, to build a contemporary theory of law that is both virtue-centered and that provides a contemporary reconstruction of the central ideas of the early Confucian intellectual tradition.

This essay provides a sketch of our contemporary version of Confucian virtue jurisprudence, including a view of …

Professionalism Down The Tube: The Use Of Social Networking By And Against Lawyers, Janea Raines

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Hela Cells And Unjust Enrichment In The Human Body, Deleso A. Alford

Journal Publications

Henrietta Lacks achieved fame and immortality in the world of science. In 1951, Johns Hopkins Hospital harvested the tissue of Ms. Lacks, a 31-year-old African American woman diagnosed with cervical cancer to mass produce "HeLa cells."' The money derived from her cell line produced wonders and scientific breakthroughs in technology, biology and medicine which "far exceeds that reflected in the published literature, because it is the reference cell in so many research laboratories.”

In this essay, I place Ms. Lacks' parts (tissue cells) back into her body to raise a claim of unjust enrichment. I discuss the ongoing debate as …

Message In Mortgage: What Dodd-Frank's 'Qualified Mortgage' Tells Us About Ourselves, David Reiss

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Why Your Secretary Is Really Worth A Million Dollars: Exploring The Harsh Penalty For Not Proofreading Your Fee Agreements In Anglo-Dutch Petroleum V. Greenberg Peden., James M. Parker Jr., J.K. Leonard

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

This Article examines the Texas Supreme Court's decision in Anglo-Dutch Petroleum International, Inc. v. Greenberg Peden, P.C. Next, this Article discusses the decision in light of other cases dealing with attorney-client contract issues. Then, an explanation of why the court's decision is inconsistent with other opinions is provided. This Article next analyzes the long-term effects of the Anglo-Dutch decision and the lessons to be learned from the case about drafting contracts and lawyers' obligations to inform clients of material terms. Finally, this Article suggests that the court's decision decreases the legal protection extended to lawyers and holds them closer to …

Taking Limited Representation To The Limits: The Efficacy Of Using Unbundled Legal Services In Domestic-Relations Matters Involving Litigation., Michele N. Struffolino

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The use of unbundled legal services is nothing new in this country, and it is often preferable to no representation at all. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct expressly permit attorneys to provide limited representation to their clients. Domestic-relations attorneys, in particular, have tried to ease the burden on litigants by offering unbundled legal services. However, the use of unbundled services in domestic[1]relations matters has caused difficulties for litigants, attorneys, and the courts. For these domestic-relations cases in particular, full service representation is crucial. To provide full satisfaction for their clients and to fulfill their ethical duty, domestic-relations attorneys must …

Malpractice Liability Related To Foreign Outsourcing Of Legal Services., Vincent R. Johnson, Stephen C. Loomis

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The outsourcing of client-related tasks to service providers in other countries is likely to generate malpractice claims against American law firms. This Article discusses the wide range of theories under which an outsourcing American law firm may be liable for its own negligence or for the actions of outsourcing providers. These theories include negligence by the outsourcing law firm, vicarious liability for the conduct of firm principals and employees, vicarious liability for the conduct of independent contractors, and vicarious liability for the conduct of business partners.

Civility And Collegiality—Unreasonable Judicial Expectations For Lawyers As Officers Of The Court?, Lonnie T. Brown Jr.

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

It is a well-settled and often-recited fact that lawyers are "officers of the court." That title, however, is notoriously hortatory and devoid of meaning. Nevertheless, the Eleventh Circuit recently took the somewhat unprecedented step of utilizing the officer-of-the-court label to, in effect, sanction an attorney for the purportedly uncivil act of failing to provide defendant attorneys with pre-suit notice. While the author applauds the court's desire to place greater emphasis on lawyer-to-lawyer collegiality as a component of officer-of-the-court status, the uncertainty the decision creates in terms of a lawyer's role will potentially force litigators to compromise important client-centered duties. This …

A Custom Fit: Tailoring Texas Civil Jury Selection Procedures To Case Tiers., Jarod S. Gonzalez

St. Mary's Law Journal

Citizens serving on a civil jury are entrusted with making factual decisions about disputes that impact legal rights and remedies of litigants and set standards for the behavior of the public. Unfortunately, civil jury trials take place less frequently in twenty-first century Texas than in prior eras. Part of the justice system’s rejuvenation should involve a re-evaluation and improvement of the current process for selecting civil juries. Currently, the primary flaw in Texas jury selection procedures is the one-size-fits-all approach. Because some cases need twelve impartial jurors who are lay persons, and others require twelve people who are knowledgeable of …

Expanding Protective Order Coverage., Kellie K. Player

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Texas legislature should eliminate the relationship requirement for a protective order. Although the Texas legislature passed the Kristy Appleby Act, which expanded the definition of dating violence, some victims of domestic violence may still be unable to qualify for a protective order. Specifically, some third-party individuals in a love triangle may not be eligible to receive a protective order. In Texas, a potential or current victim of domestic abuse needs to demonstrate a relationship with the perpetrator. Despite the broadened definition of relationship, some potential victims may still be unable to meet this burden. If the person cannot, they …

The Double Irish Sandwich: Reforming Overseas Tax Havens., Stephen C. Loomis

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Social Networking And Judicial Ethics., Craig Estlinbaum

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Linkedln, and Twitter have become an increasingly ever-present feature in American life since first appearing in the late 1990s. SNSs now impact virtually all parts of daily life, and the judiciary is not immune to this effect. Recent statistics show that approximately 40% of judges nationwide utilize SNSs for personal, professional, and electoral purposes. Social media, like any public communication form, presents special ethical challenges for judges. In recent years, judicial ethics committees in various states have weighed in on these questions and have not shown any clear consensus. However, it is generally …

Standard Lawyer Behavior? Professionalism As An Essential Standard For Aba Accreditation, Nicola A. Boothe-Perry

Journal Publications

This article addresses the ABA as a source of pressure to encourage and foster professionalism education in law schools. The ABA holds a uniquely powerful position in the American legal community, and with it the ABA enjoys the attendant ability to influence professionalism training and awareness. The principal tool at the ABA's disposal considered in this article is the ABA's ability to promulgate standards for professionalism as a requirement for law school accreditation. This article argues that this is the proper time for the ABA to institute a specific standard in an effort to increase professionalism in the legal profession.

No Laughing Matter: The Intersection Of Legal Malpractice And Professionalism, Nicola A. Boothe-Perry

Journal Publications

In an effort to increase professionalism among lawyers, an analysis of the relationship between lawyers' professional behavior and legal malpractice claims is warranted. This Article will explore that relationship, and address the need to fuse the two components in an effort to enhance professionalism. The Article will specifically seek to address the questions: (1) Should professionalism be admissible, or even conclusive, evidence of the standard of care of the "reasonable attorney" in legal malpractice cases? and (2) Will a proper definition of the "reasonable attorney" in the context of legal malpractice cases encourage and ultimately enhance professionalism in legal society?

Epistemology And Ethics In Relationship-Centered Legal Education And Practice, Susan L. Brooks, Robert G. Madden

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

New Roles To Solve Old Problems: Lawyering For Ordinary People In Today’S Context, Marsha M. Mansfield, Louise G. Trubek

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.