Examining legal ethics within the framework of modern practice, this book identifies two important ethical issues that all lawyers confront: the difference between the role of lawyers and the role of judges in pursuing justice, and the conflicting responsibilities lawyers have to their clients and to the legal system more broadly. In addressing these issues, Legal Ethics provides an explanation of the duties and dilemmas common to practicing lawyers in modern legal systems throughout the world. The (...) authors focus their analysis on lawyers in independent practice in modern capitalist constitutional regimes, including the United States, Japan, Europe, and Latin America, as well as the emerging legal systems in China and the former Soviet bloc, to develop connections between the legal profession and political systems based on the rule of law. They find that although ethical tension is inherent in the legal practice of all these societies, the legal profession is essential to stable political institutions. (shrink)

Legal Ethics : A Guide for future practitioners helps students better understand how ethical rules are applied in real-world legal practice and encourages them to discover, discuss, and debate, about different scenarios that can make up ethical dilemmas in their future careers. The interactive eBook format allows students to read the text of each chapter and engage with digital learning activities -- including pre-assessments; embedded links to articles, examples, and resources; dynamic scenarios; cases; videos; and digital flashcards -- (...) all within a single system. The opening chapter discusses ethics, morality, and regulation of the legal profession. Students learn about the structure of legal ethics in the United States, why lawyers are regulated, and the importance of maintain the integrity of the profession. Additional chapters cover establishing and terminating the attorney-client relationship; competency and diligence; attorney fees; and communication, confidentiality, and privilege. Two dedicated chapters explore conflict of interest, including concurrent conflicts of interest, waivers, imputation, and screening, personal conflicts, successive or former clients, and more. Closing chapters address the lawyer as advocate, decision-making in the lawyer-client relationship, and advertising and solicitation. designed to inspire lively debate and critical thought, Legal ethics is an ideal resource for courses and programs in law." -- Backcover. (shrink)

Volume 23, Issue 3-4, November - December 2024, Page 219-244.

This book proposes a new model of professional ethics enabling lawyers to advise clients upon both the law and ethics. This will better protect clients, and society, and enhance lawyers' professional obligations. The current model of legal ethics, developed in the 19th century, specified that the role of lawyers was only to interpret the law, not also to give ethical advice. This was acceptable to lawyers, clients, and society at that time. However, this is not the case now and (...) legal ethics no longer reflects the needs of modern legal practice. This book draws on moral philosophy to present a new model of legal of ethics that explains the analytical process to include ethical advice. It analyses the potential harm of the present model to the legal profession who have duties to the law and justice that may compete with demands by clients to serve them. Further, lawyers' duty to clients to act in their best interests is sometimes not adequately fulfilled as legal ethics does not permit lawyers to give ethical advice even if it may be in clients' best interests to do so. The work includes a detailed case study of corporate law practice to show why a new legal ethics is required. Other case examples are provided to demonstrate that lawyers practicing in all areas of law encounter ethical issues and they too will benefit from a new legal ethics. The book will be essential reading for students, academics, lawyers and professional bodies. (shrink)

Among members of the legal profession and judiciarysional throughout the world, there is a genuine concern with establishing and maintaining high ethical standards. It is not difficult to understand why this should be so. But, in order to ensure that the standards established are the right ones, it is necessary first of all to examine important philosophical and policy issues. Such an examination is the purpose of this book. Written by a distinguished group of law teachers and practitioners together (...) with senior members of the judiciary, the book has as its underlying themes: BL that the move to more definite rules is not only inevitable but also desirable BL that existing codes of professional practice cannot simply be treated as a system of specific rules BL that the current set of ethical rules is contestable and requires further refinement, perhaps even radical surgery BL and that legal ethics must be conceived in the more general area of professional responsibility. (shrink)

Traditions and transformations of legal ethics -- Conceptions of legal ethics -- Multi-dimensional theory of legal ethics -- Legal ethics and some theoretical models of law -- Legal ethics among legal sciences.

David Luban is one of the world's leading scholars of legal ethics. In this collection of his most significant papers he ranges over such topics as the moral psychology of organisational evil, the strengths and weaknesses of the adversary system, and jurisprudence from the lawyer's point of view. His discussion combines philosophical argument, legal analysis and many cases drawn from actual law practice, and he defends a theory of legal ethics that focuses on lawyers' role in enhancing (...) human dignity and human rights. In addition to an analytical introduction, the volume includes two major previously unpublished papers, including a detailed critique of the US government lawyers who produced the notorious 'torture memos'. It will be of interest to a wide range of readers in both philosophy and law. (shrink)

Legal ethics, particularly at undergraduate level, should incorporate the expertise and teaching of someone outside traditional legal education and professions. Most appropriately, legal ethics education should involve an applied ethicist. Whilst lawyers are very good at identifying critical legal issues, it is the ethical issues that are of concern here. I therefore propose that because laws often have a deep-rooted ethical foundation and students need to appreciate this to truly understand the aim, nature and objective of (...) the relevant law, legal ethics should be taught in cooperation with an applied ethicist. I begin by creating a foundation for my argument about using an applied ethicist by addressing ethics teaching at undergraduate level. Next, I make a case for ethics teaching beyond professional ethics and teaching to codes of conduct. It is at this juncture, in the third section, where I explain the benefits of involving an applied ethicist in legal education. Finally, I will address possible concerns related to integrating an applied ethicist into Law School teaching. (shrink)

Initial reflections on ethics, morality, and justice in an adversary system -- Undertaking a case -- Communication and confidentiality -- Loyalties and conflicts of interest -- Who controls the case? How should lawyers and clients share decisionmaking? -- What price truth? What price justice? What price advocacy? -- Tactics, free speech, and playing by the rules -- The special problems of the government lawyer -- The lawyer acting as advisor -- The lawyer as part of the law firm structure -- (...) Mental health, substance abuse, and the realities of modern practice -- The economics of lawyering -- Admissions, discipline, and some other rules of lawyering. (shrink)

Professional Legal Ethics: Critical Interrogations provides the first in-depth analysis and sustained critique of the ethics of English and Welsh lawyers. Drawing on a wide variety of disciplines, it argues that professional legal ethics has failed to deliver an approach which requires lawyers actively to engage with the ethical issues raised by legal practice. Through an analysis of the context of legal practice and the core ethical issues facing lawyers, the authors locate this failure in the (...) influence of liberalism and formalism, which leads lawyers to undermine the very values of human dignity and autonomy which they are meant to serve and to overlook the impact their actions might have on third parties, the wider community and the environment By contrast, the authors propose a contextual approach to individual ethical decision-making and outline a range of practical reforms aimed at encouraging a more ethical legal profession. (shrink)

This paper considers, in the context of an undergraduate law degree, how to encourage students to develop an awareness of ethical issues relating to membership of a 'profession' and how lawyers could and should conduct themselves, whilst retaining the notion of a law degree as part of a liberal arts education. It suggests an interdisciplinary approach, both in its content and its methodologies, as an innovative and interesting means of addressing issues of legal ethics and professional responsibility. It offers (...) an analysis of the trial of Oscar Wilde, to show that it may be possible to inculcate a level of 'ethical awareness' through a study of the actions and behaviours of the legal professionals involved in famous or historical trials. (shrink)

With its practical, hands-on approach to legal ethics, the third edition of LEGAL ETHICS is designed to ensure that readers have a solid grasp of the ethical rules that apply in the legal setting. Comprehensive yet easy to understand, this engaging book provides a thorough and substantive analysis of the major principles that affect how the practice of law is regulated. Filled with real-life examples of lawyer and non-lawyer instances of misconduct, current and classic case law, and (...) discussions of famous (and infamous) people, this straightforward book brings the material to life and demonstrates how courts interpret and apply ethical rules to lawyers and their non-lawyer employees. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version. (shrink)

This is a collection of essays based upon papers delivered at a conference in Brisbane in August 1993. The conference was the culmination of a research project with both empirical and theoretical aspects. The essays range widely over the results of an empirical study of ethical dilemmas in legal practice and matters concerned with contemporary legal practice in the UK, Australia, and the USA.

The modern subject of theoretical legal ethics began in the 1970s. This brief history distinguishes two waves of theoretical writing on legal ethics. The “First Wave” connects the subject to moral philosophy and focuses on conflicts between ordinary morality and lawyers’ role morality, while the “Second Wave” focuses instead on the role legal representation plays in maintaining and fostering a pluralist democracy. We trace the emergence of the First Wave to the larger social movements of the 1960s (...) and 1970s; in the conclusion, we speculate about possible directions for a Third Wave of theoretical legal ethics, based in behavioral ethics, virtue ethics, or fiduciary theory. (shrink)

ABSTRACTIn the process of teaching law, is necessary to address some aspects that are not framed in strictly legal knowledge and require different strategies to be approach by the professor. An exa...

This article explains the main theoretical aspects of legal ethics, identifies the nature and intellectual structures of legal ethics research, and examines the occurrences, relationships, interconnections, developments and emerging trends of the topic of legal ethics in global legal research, using one of the methods of scientometrics – bibliometric analysis. The annual growth of legal research outputs indexed by Scopus was about 7% over the entire period of study (1991–2020). The most popular type of research (...) outputs in the field of legal ethics are research articles. A multidisciplinary scope of scholarly sources on legal ethics reveals the scholarly development of each field/scientific branch that is both unique and integrated with law and legal ethics, unfolds multifaceted perspectives of legal ethics research, and a contextual sociolegal approach to legal ethics as a social, societal, and political expression. Legal ethics is a much broader and more complex phenomenon than simply a set of codes/rules of ethics and requires integrated research: from an understanding of the particular impact and significance of legal education, ethical rules, and personal morality to ethical decision-making processes, cognitive and social factors. (shrink)

This concise book brings behavioral insights to the wide array of topics commonly taught in the required professional responsibility course, including admission to the practice of law, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, representing entities, prosecutorial and criminal defense ethics, litigation and negotiation ethics, legal billing, and managerial and subordinate responsibilities. Behavioral legal ethics relies on empirical research to explore how lawyers actually make ethical decisions in context, rather than how they predict they would decide an ethical dilemma. This approach (...) complements the law of lawyering by seeking to understand how various psychological factors and situational pressures explain and influence decision-making and resulting ethical (or unethical) action. Each chapter explores findings from behavioral science that pertain to ethical decision-making such as motivated reasoning, confirmation bias and other cognitive biases, fast thinking, the fundamental attribution error, wrongful obedience, conformity, moral disengagement, and much more. In addition, each chapter contains relevant case studies and reflection questions to deepen and cement students' understanding of the role of behavioral legal ethics in professional responsibility. Finally, the book offers ideas for individual attorneys and legal organizations to improve ethical decision-making."--Publisher's webpage. (shrink)

This article is currently available as a free download on ingentaconnect.

At the International Legal Ethics Conference IV held at Stanford Law School between 15 and 17 July 2010, one of the two opening plenary sessions consisted of a panel who debated the proposition that legal ethics should be mandatory in legal education. The panel included leading legal ethics academics from jurisdictions around the world—both those where legal ethics is a compulsory part of the law degree and those where it is not. It comprised Professors Andrew (...) Boon, Brent Cotter, Christine Parker, Stephen L Pepper and Richard Wu, and was organised and chaired by Professor Kim Economides. This is an edited version of the panel's discussion. It provides a useful summary of the state of legal ethics teaching in the jurisdictions represented as well as a marshalling of the arguments for and against legal ethics as a required course in the university law degree. (shrink)

Justice system reform is being implemented in Japan. The number of attorneys ( bengoshi ) has substantially increased and concerns have been raised about the impact on the profession's quality and ethics. The profession has called for a slowdown in the increase. Does the increase really adversely affect legal ethics in Japan? Should the pace of the reform be slowed down, from the perspective of maintaining legal ethics? This paper begins to answer these questions through empirical analysis of (...) (1) whether there is an increase in cases of ethical concerns; and (2) whether such an increase (if any) is caused by the increase in bengoshi . The paper then investigates whether there is an over-supply of bengoshi . It concludes with a discussion of the negative impact that a slowdown of the increase may have on access to justice and the bengoshi profession's (ethical) responsibilities. (shrink)

This article examines the legal and ethical challenges for the provision of healthcare in the metaverse. It proposes that the issues arising in the metaverse are an extension of those found in telehealth and virtual health communities, albeit with greater complexity. It argues that international collaboration between policymakers, lawmakers, and researchers is required to regulate this space and facilitate the safe and effective development of meta-medicine.

Employers of all types, including group practices, health maintenance organizations, and university and other hospital practices, commonly include noncompetition clauses in physician employment contracts. The clauses only apply in the event physicians leave their employers, and typically only limit activities in relatively narrow geographic areas. Consequently, physicians often agree to the clauses without much thought or analysis. This is a mistake, as the clauses may have broad adverse ramifications for both physicians and patients.This article identifies the standard components of noncompetition (...) clauses, addresses the ethical and practical concerns they raise, and reviews recent court decisions on point. The article concludes that despite public policy concerns, courts can and often do enforce the clauses. The purpose of the article, therefore, is to increase physicians’ awareness of the potential impact of these clauses, and to encourage physicians to carefully consider whether to accept contracts that contain them, or at the very least to negotiate for the least restrictive terms possible. (shrink)

The processes of economic integration induced by globalization have brought about a certain type of legal practice that challenges the core values of legal ethics. Law firms seeking to represent the interests of internationally active corporate clients must embrace and systematically apply concepts of strategic management and planning and install corporate business structures to sustain competition for lucrative clients. These measures bear a high conflict potential with the core values of legal ethics. However, we observe in parallel (...) a global consolidation of these core values through an enhanced cooperation of national professional bodies, the use of international codes, and comparative legal ethics teaching and research. Furthermore, state regulation of the legal profession is concerned with preserving the core values of legal ethics to conserve the lawyer's role in upholding the rule of law. This article defends that legal ethics is adapting to the pressures exerted by "managerial" approaches to legal practice without this altering core values that underlie legal ethics. (shrink)

Descriptions of the relationship between lawyers and journalists range from 'uneasy' and 'sometimes prickly' to 'strained and often combatant.' This paper explores the ethical frameworks within which lawyers and journalists work and analyses the differences between the two, especially in the context of court reporting. It begins with a consideration of whether or not journalists are members of a profession, recognising that one marker of a profession is the existence of an ethical code. The codes of ethics of both lawyers (...) and journalists are compared and contrasted. The ethical frameworks are also superimposed over two fundamental but competing principles of justice in a Western democracy: the principle of open justice and the right to a fair trial. The struggle to reconcile these two principles creates tensions between lawyers and journalists. Finally, the paper examines the ethical principles which guide lawyers' interactions with journalists. The author concludes that the fundamental difference between lawyers and journalists lies in the journalist's lack of a client. In lacking a fiduciary duty to a client, the lens through which a journalist views court reporting is never going to match in focus with the view of the lawyer, whose duties to both an individual client and the court itself will inevitably clash with a journalist whose aim is to disseminate information, as quickly as possible, to a faceless public. (shrink)

Nowadays ethics plays a vital role in numerous professions. Due to social requirements and technical advances, changes in the accreditation rules in legal, economic, medical and engineering education have emerged in many countries, often requiring the inclusion of an ethics requirement in such professional programmes. In this work, the authors demonstrate that such changes are absolutely necessary in the legal profession in Lithuania. Specifically, the record low level of prestige of the judiciary and lawyers in the Lithuanian society (...) and the fact that lawyers are often accused of legal nihilism, clannish behaviour, and protectionism, demand that legal ethics assumes a far greater role in Lithuanian legal education. It is necessary to stress that the topic of lawyers’ ethical violations and the consequences of such violations is discussed in the society in only in a fragmentary, and not transparent manner; moreover, the significance of ethics in the education and training of lawyers has not been properly evaluated either. Especially having in mind Lithuania’s Soviet heritage (during most of the Communist era there was almost no education on those issues), it becomes obvious that legal ethics must be continuously stressed in the legal profession’s education and development. The importance and relevance of this topic is primarily determined by the current evaluation of lawyers in Lithuania, which shows that lawyers do not fulfil the expectations of the society. This raises a question whether law graduates indeed acquire this system of ethical values as part of the process of obtaining the knowledge and skills that are necessary for a modern lawyer. While analysing the Lithuanian legal documents governing the requirements for legal studies, it has been noticed that a course in legal ethics or lawyer’s professional responsibility is not compulsory either in the qualification requirements for judges, or in the Ruling of the Constitutional Court of 20 February 2008 on legal education for those who want to assume the position of a judge according to the order of law. In the description of legal study programmes, courses on professional ethics are designated as an optional non-legal subject, which is quite different from the legal education systems of other countries, where this type of course is compulsory for future lawyers. Even if this course is taught at Lithuanian higher education establishments, it is limited to the analysis of cases and legal regulation. Insufficient attention to this issue obviously creates the erroneous impression that it is of secondary importance for a lawyer. It should be noted that legal ethical standards, the development of lawyers’ value systems and other problematic questions related to legal ethics have not attracted attention of the Lithuanian scholars either. Therefore, this is a question of the utmost importance for legal education and requires additional research. In global educational and other academic literature, much is being discussed about the methods of teaching ethics, and the place of ethical subjects in study programmes and assessment. It is well worth supporting the research on the development of lawyers’ value systems, in that the lack of such values may influence the evaluation of the practicing lawyers’ satisfaction with their job, self-confidence and belief in the importance of their profession. Obtaining social-ethical attitudes and perspectives helps future lawyers gain more trust in their professional identity and the correctness of their professional work. The main conclusions drawn from the research are the following: (1) the university can and needs to contribute to the development of students’ value systems and this is one of the most important content requirements within the legal study programmes; (2) while teaching ethics, the primary focus must be not on the legal acts regulating ethics, which are changing over time, but on the aim of helping that students themselves have an increased sense of selfawareness and sensitivity to ethical issues in law practice, recognise and understand ethical dilemmas arising in the law, recognise the dominant attitudes in the society towards the role of a lawyer and motivate them to reconsider and discuss the value bases of such attitudes and their change; (3) a course on legal ethics – no matter how perfect it would be – is not the only way to develop a personal value system. In this context, the importance of liberal arts education should be accentuated. Given the research conducted, there is a clear link between the development of moral awareness and the person’s education in general. (shrink)

A Modern Legal Ethics proposes a wholesale renovation of legal ethics, one that contributes to ethical thought generally. Daniel Markovits reinterprets the positive law governing lawyers to identify fidelity as its organizing ideal. Unlike ordinary loyalty, fidelity requires lawyers to repress their personal judgments concerning the truth and justice of their clients' claims. Next, the book asks what it is like--not psychologically but ethically--to practice law subject to the self-effacement that fidelity demands. Fidelity requires lawyers to lie and (...) to cheat on behalf of their clients. However, an ethically profound interest in integrity gives lawyers reason to resist this characterization of their conduct. Any legal ethics adequate to the complexity of lawyers' lived experience must address the moral dilemmas immanent in this tension. The dominant approaches to legal ethics cannot. Finally, A Modern Legal Ethics reintegrates legal ethics into political philosophy in a fashion commensurate to lawyers' central place in political practice. Lawyerly fidelity supports the authority of adjudication and thus the broader project of political legitimacy. Throughout, the book rejects the casuistry that dominates contemporary applied ethics in favor of an interpretive method that may be mimicked in other areas. Moreover, because lawyers practice at the hinge of modern morals and politics, the book's interpretive insights identify--in an unusually pure and intense form--the moral and political conditions of all modernity. (shrink)

An opening salvo -- The professional project -- A theoretical excursion -- The standard model -- Taking war ethically -- In the name of just ends -- Fighting fair -- Toward a just peace -- Not-so-final thoughts.