Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Law And Modern Technology: Lack Of Tech Knowledge In Legal Profession May Cause Injustice, Md Wahidur Rahman, Marissa Moran

Publications and Research

There is no such field where technology hasn’t reached. It will be a dream to think something without technology. In today’s world every field requires tech knowledge. The courtroom and law offices have changed with the evolution of technology. Most courts don’t accept paper files anymore. Law offices use virtual file to store client information. However, due to old age or other reason a significant number of attorneys and judges are not competent in technology.

This paper will examine the use of technology in our legal system and what problem arises due to lack of proper tech knowledge. Increasing use …

If Animals Are Like Our Children Let Us Treat Them Alike: Creating Tests Of An Animal’S Intelligence For Determinations Of Legal Personhood, Paul Mclaughlin

Law Library Faculty Scholarship

Children and animals are treated much the same under the law. Both are seen as having limited, if any, legal rights. For children there are legal processes that can be used to determine if a minor is mature enough to be considered a legal person for life affecting decision making considerations and emancipation proceedings. Animals, no matter what their intelligence levels, are not allowed an opportunity to be found as legal persons and are denied the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that legal personhood bestows. This article looks at the similarities between the historical treatment of children and animals and argues …

The Relevance Of Fatf's Recommendations And Fourth Round Of Mutual Evaluations To The Legal Profession, Laurel S. Terry, Llerena Robles, Jose Carlos

Faculty Scholarly Works

More than two hundred countriesin the world have agreed to abide by the anti-money laundering ("AML") recommendations developed by the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF"), which is an intergovernmental organization. This Article focuses on the potential impact on the legal profession of FATF's fourth round of mutual evaluations. During these mutual evaluations, which currently are underway, FATF-affiliated countries examine each other's compliance with the FATF Recommendations and recommend follow-up action. This Article first presents the legal profession-related results from the completed Mutual Evaluation Reports. A number of these FATF Reports recommend changes that include requiring lawyers to report suspicious client …

Legal Malpractice Claims: What The Data Indicate, Vincent R. Johnson

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Abstract forthcoming

Breaking The Silence: Holding Texas Lawyers Accountable For Sexual Harassment, Savannah Files

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Following the 2017 exposure of Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement spread rapidly across social media platforms calling for increased awareness of the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault and demanding change. The widespread use of the hashtag brought attention to the issue and successfully facilitated a much-needed discussion in today’s society. However, this is not the first incident prompting a demand for change.

Efforts to bring awareness and exact change in regards to sexual harassment in the legal profession date back to the 1990s. This demonstrates that the legal profession is not immune from these issues. In fact, at least …

Ethical Cannabis Lawyering In California, Francis J. Mootz Iii

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Cannabis has a long history in the United States. Originally, doctors and pharmacists used cannabis for a variety of purposes. After the Mexican Revolution led to widespread migration from Mexico to the United States, many Americans responded by associating this influx of foreigners with the use of cannabis, and thereby racializing and stigmatizing the drug. After the collapse of prohibition, the federal government repurposed its enormous enforcement bureaucracy to address the perceived problem of cannabis, despite the opposition of the American Medical Association to this new prohibition. Ultimately, both the states and the federal government classified cannabis as a dangerous …

Autonomy Isn't Everything: Some Cautionary Notes On Mccoy V. Louisiana, W. Bradley Wendel

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The Supreme Court’s May 2018 decision in McCoy v. Louisiana has been hailed as a decisive statement of the priority of the value of a criminal defendant’s autonomy over the fairness and reliability interests that also inform both the Sixth Amendment and the ethical obligations of defense counsel. It also appears to be a victory for the vision of client-centered representation and the humanistic value of the inherent dignity of the accused. However, the decision is susceptible to being read too broadly in ways that harm certain categories of defendants. This paper offers a couple of cautionary notes, in response …

Conflicts Of Interest And Law-Firm Structure, Cassandra Burke Robertson

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Business and law are increasingly practiced on a transnational scale, and law firms are adopting new business structures in order to compete on this global playing field. Over the last decade, global law firms have merged into so-called “mega-brands” or “mega-firms”—that is, associations of national or regional law firms that join together under a single brand worldwide. For law firms, the most common mega-firm structure has been the Swiss verein, though the English “Company Limited by Guarantee” structure is growing in popularity as well, as is the similar “European Economic Interest Grouping.” All of these structures allow related entities to …

Professional Responsibility, James Mccauley

University of Richmond Law Review

This article briefly describes some recent amendments to the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct adopted by the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2016 and 2017. The changes affect the lawyer’s duty to protect confidential client information in this digital age, lawyer advertising and solicitation, and candor with a tribunal. The article also discusses two legal ethics opinions adopted by the court addressing a lawyer’s obligations when faced with another lawyer suffering from an impairment.

Special Problems For Prosecutors In Public Corruption Prosecutions, Mimi Rocah, Carrie Cohen, Steve Cohen, Daniel Cort, Bennett L. Gershman

Pace Law Review

The focus of this panel is not so much on the academic part of McDonnell, the case law. Of course, you’ll hear the name McDonnell and we’ll talk about that.

But we’re trying to talk a little more broadly about public corruption prosecutions in general. Some of these are unique issues. You heard a little bit about them from the former people who have done them, what special unique problems are involved in them and challenges the prosecutors face and what effect, if any.

How Should Congress Respond To Mcdonnell?, David Yassky, Kathleen Clark, Allen Dickerson, Jennifer Rodgers

Pace Law Review

Discussion of question of whether McDonnell was essentially right or wrong. Should Congress act to change the McDonnell rule? Should the Supreme Court reconsider it? What would be an alternative or a better way, if there is one, to approach the question of public corruption prosecution?

How Has Mcdonnell Affected Prosecutors’ Ability To Police Public Corruption? What Are Politicians And Lobbyists Allowed To Do, And What Are Prosecutors Able To Prosecute?, Vincent L. Briccetti, Amie Ely, Alexandra Shapiro, Dan Stein

Pace Law Review

The question posed to the panelists on the first panel is: How has McDonnell affected prosecutors’ ability to police public corruption? What can politicians and lobbyists do and what can prosecutors prosecute?

Primer, Samantha Conway, David Diab, Amanda Fiorilla, Eric Grossfeld

Pace Law Review

Discussion and history of public corruption statutes and the prosecution of public officials through McDonnell v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2355 (2016).

Introduction, Mimi Rocah

Pace Law Review

On March 9, 2018, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University hosted Public Corruption Prosecution After McDonnell, a symposium that brought together law enforcement, practitioners, academics and media that covers these cases to gain insight and input from these disparate groups. The Symposium convened three panels to discuss how McDonnell has affected prosecutors’ ability to police public corruption; to offer legislative responses to McDonnell; and to examine the inherently unique nature of public corruption prosecutions. A central aim of the day-long event was to simultaneously tackle these challenging issues while distilling complex legal analysis in a manner suitable …

Law By Non-Lawyers: The Limit To Limited License Legal Technicians Increasing Access To Justice, Rebecca M. Donaldson

Seattle University Law Review

For the first time in the American legal profession, non-lawyers can openly, independently, ethically, and legally engage in activities recognized by bar associations as the practice of law. In 2012, the Washington Supreme Court passed Admission and Practice Rule 28 (APR 28), establishing the profession’s first paraprofessional licensing scheme that allows non-lawyers to give legal advice. The process authorizes qualified non-lawyers to provide legal advice without the supervision of a lawyer. Washington’s Supreme Court intends for Limited License Legal Technicians, or “LLLTs” as they are known, to increase access to justice by responding to the unmet civil legal needs of …

The Indelible Mark Of Plagiarism: Why Is It So Difficult To Make It Stop?, Brenda D. Gibson

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Generation Z Goes To Law School: Teaching And Reaching Law Students In The Post-Millennial Generation, Laura P. Graham

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Need To Revisit Legal Education In An Era Of Increased Diagnoses Of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity And Autism Spectrum Disorders, Heidi E. Ramos-Zimmerman

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The ever-fluctuating rhetoric from experts, in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders, has led to outdated notions and perplexity surrounding attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This Article tries to clarify some of the confusion. Better understanding of these disorders is imperative for today’s law professor, since law schools are likely admitting more students diagnosed with ADHD and ASD. This Article discusses the need for change in legal instruction and explores the link between the two disorders. An examination of recent history illuminates some of the commonly held misunderstandings and highlights the disparity in the diagnoses of ADHD …

Civility Reboot: Can Lawyers Learn To Be Nicer To One Another, Heidi K. Brown

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Transparency In Corporate Groups, Jay Lawrence Westbrook

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Article addresses a remarkable blind spot in American law: the failure to apply the well-established principles of secured credit to prevent inefficiency, confusion, and fraud in the manipulation of the webs of subsidiaries within corporate groups. In particular, “asset partitioning” has been a fashionable subject in which the central problem of non-transparency has been often mentioned but little addressed. This Article offers a concept for a new system of corporate disclosure for the benefit of creditors and other stakeholders. It would require disclosure of corporate structures and allocations of assets among affiliates to the extent the affiliates are to …