Problems in Legal Ethics

by Schwartz, Mortimer D.

• ISBN13: 9780314162717
• ISBN10: 0314162712
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-07-30
• Publisher: West Group

Summary

The widely used Problems in Legal Ethics supplements the current edition of West?s Professional Responsibility Standards, Rules & Statutes and incorporates many recent changes in legal ethics. Each chapter begins with a set of problems for discussion in the classroom. For each major topic, background reading material illustrates the variety of sources a lawyer or judge can use when seeking answers to ethics questions. Supplemental readings include the ABA Model Code and other ethics rules, judicial opinions, ethics committee opinions, and excerpts from articles and books written by judges, lawyers, and law teachers. Updated to incorporate recent developments in legal ethics, the new edition includes 2003 amendments to the ABA Model Rules, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and proposed amendments to the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. iii
Table of Cases	p. xxiii
Table of References to ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct	p. xxvii
Introduction to Legal Ethics
What This Chapter Covers	p. 1
How to Use This Book
Short Form Citations
Purposes of This Book
"Ethics" and "Legal Ethics"
Reading Assignment	p. 1
Discussion Problems	p. 1
How to Use This Book	p. 2
Short Form Citations	p. 3
Purposes of This Book	p. 3
"Ethics" and "Legal Ethics"	p. 4
John Stuart Mill on Utilitarianism	p. 5
James Rachels on Utilitarianism	p. 10
Roots of the Golden Rule	p. 17
Immanuel Kant on the Categorical Imperative	p. 20
Onora O'Neill Commentary on Kant's Theory	p. 24
Sources and Application of Legal Ethics Rules
What This Chapter Covers	p. 28
The Organization of the Bar
Sources of Legal Ethics Rules
Lawyer Disciplinary Proceedings
Reading Assignment	p. 28
Supplemental Reading	p. 29
Discussion Problems	p. 29
The Organization of the Bar	p. 30
Admission to Practice in the Courts of a State	p. 31
In re DeBartolo	p. 33
Admission to Practice in Other States and the Federal Courts	p. 35
Lawyer Associations	p. 36
Sources of Guidance on Legal Ethics	p. 40
Discipline	p. 42
In re Mountain	p. 43
In re Holmay	p. 45
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 47
Beginning and Ending the Lawyer-Client Relationship
What This Chapter Covers	p. 51
Beginning the Lawyer-Client Relationship
Ending the Lawyer-Client Relationship
Frivolous Claims
Reading Assignment	p. 51
Supplemental Reading	p. 51
Discussion Problems	p. 52
Beginning the Lawyer-Client Relationship	p. 53
The Attorney's Oath	p. 53
Who Should Pay When the Client Cannot?	p. 54
Bothwell v. Republic Tobacco Co.	p. 56
Outlook for the Future	p. 67
Ruskin v. Rodgers	p. 68
Rosenberg v. Levin	p. 69
Holmes v. Y.J.A. Realty Corp.	p. 73
Kriegsman v. Kriegsman	p. 74
Frivolous Claims	p. 76
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 77
Advertising and Solicitation
What This Chapter Covers	p. 82
Historical Summary
Historical Summary, Continued
Reading Assignment	p. 82
Supplemental Reading	p. 82
Discussion Problems	p. 82
Historical Summary	p. 84
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona	p. 87
Historical Summary, Continued	p. 95
Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc.	p. 100
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 105
Attorney Fees and Fiduciary Duties
What This Chapter Covers	p. 110
Attorney Fees
Fiduciary Duties
Reading Assignment	p. 110
Supplemental Reading	p. 110
Discussion Problems	p. 110
Robert L. Wheeler, Inc. v. Scott	p. 114
ABA Formal Opinion 93-379	p. 118
The Billable Hours Treadmill	p. 126
Questions and Answers About Contingent Fees	p. 131
Loans to Clients	p. 134
Client Trust Accounts	p. 134
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 138
Competence, Diligence, and Unauthorized Practice
What This Chapter Covers	p. 142
Professional Discipline for Lack of Competence or Diligence
Liability for Malpractice
Unauthorized Practice and Other Relations with Non-Lawyers
Reading Assignment	p. 142
Supplemental Reading	p. 142
Discussion Problems	p. 143
Legal Malpractice	p. 146
The Ethics of Second-Rate Legal Service	p. 154
Multi-Jurisdictional and Multi-Disciplinary Practice	p. 157
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 160
Confidential Information
What This Chapter Covers	p. 165
Comparison of the Ethical Duty and the Attorney-Client Privilege
Exceptions to the Ethical Duty
Reading Assignment	p. 165
Supplemental Reading	p. 165
Discussion Problems	p. 165
Washington v. Olwell	p. 167
People v. Meredith	p. 171
Exceptions to the Ethical Duty of Confidentiality	p. 179
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 181
Candor in Litigation
What This Chapter Covers	p. 185
The Attorney's Duty of Candor in Litigation
Reading Assignment	p. 185
Supplemental Reading	p. 185
Discussion Problems	p. 185
The Trilemma: Trust, Confidentiality, and Candor	p. 187
People v. Johnson	p. 193
ABA Formal Opinion 93-376	p. 202
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 206
Fairness in Litigation
What This Chapter Covers	p. 211
The Attorney's Duty to Be Fair in Litigation
Reading Assignment	p. 211
Supplemental Reading	p. 211
Discussion Problems	p. 212
Witness Coaching	p. 214
Colorado Bar Association Opinion 70	p. 217
Public Comments About Pending Litigation	p. 219
Matter of Vincenti	p. 222
The Prosecutor's Special Duties	p. 225
The Duties of the Criminal Defense Lawyer	p. 227
Why I Defend Guilty Clients	p. 227
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 230
Bias in (and Out of) the Courtroom
What This Chapter Covers	p. 234
Types of Bias Lawyers Face
Settings for Bias
How Can Bias Be Remedied?
Reading Assignment	p. 234
Supplemental Reading	p. 234
Discussion Problems	p. 235
Introduction	p. 236
The Effects of Gender in the Federal Courts: The Final Report of the Ninth Circuit Gender Bias Task Force	p. 237
The Study of Gender in the Courts: Keeping Bias at Bay	p. 239
What's Gender Got to Do With It? Incivility in the Federal Courts	p. 239
What Judges Can Learn From Gender Bias Task Force Studies	p. 240
Final Report of the Special Committee on Race and Ethnicity to the D.C. Circuit Task Force on Gender, Race, and Ethnic Bias	p. 243
Symposium on Racial Bias in the Judicial System, Minnesota Supreme Court Task Force on Racial Bias in the Judicial System: Access to Representation and Interaction, and General Civil Process	p. 247
In re Charges of Unprofessional Conduct Contained in Panel File 98-26	p. 250
In re Plaza Hotel Corporation	p. 251
In re Vincenti	p. 252
In re Kirby	p. 254
Still Officers of the Court: Why the First Amandment Is no Bar to Challenging Racism, Sexism and Ethnic Bias in the Legal Profession	p. 256
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 258
Conflicts of Interest-Lawyers, Clients, and Third Parties
What This Chapter Covers	p. 261
Respective Authority of Attorney and Client
Conflicts Created by Third Party Interference With the Attorney-Client Relationship
Conflicts between the Lawyer's Interests and the Client's Interests
Reading Assignment	p. 261
Supplemental Reading	p. 261
Discussion Problems	p. 262
Allocating Decision-Making Between Lawyer and Client	p. 267
Beckwith Machinery Co. v. Travelers Indemnity Co.	p. 269
Geoffrey Hazard, Ethics in the Practice of Law	p. 273
Phillips v. Carson	p. 276
AAA Plumbing Pottery Corp. v. St. Paul Ins. Co. of Illinois	p. 280
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 285
Conflicts of Interest-Conflicts Between Two Clients
What This Chapter Covers	p. 290
Conflicts Between the Interests of Two Clients
Reading Assignment	p. 290
Supplemental Reading	p. 290
Discussion Problems	p. 290
State Farm Mutual Automotive Ins. Co. v. K.A.W.	p. 292
Haagen-Dazs Co., Inc. v. Perche No! Gelato, Inc.	p. 297
Joint Representation	p. 303
Imputed Disqualification and Screening	p. 305
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 306
Lawyers in Law Firms and Specialized Practice Areas
What This Chapter Covers	p. 311
Lawyers as Group Practitioners
Lawyer as Employee
Specialized Lawyer Roles
Reading Assignment	p. 311
Supplemental Reading	p. 311
Discussion Problems	p. 312
American Lawyers in the year 2000: An Introduction	p. 314
New Forms of Legal Practice	p. 316
Law Firm Breakups	p. 317
Law Firm Discipline	p. 318
General Dynamics Corp. v. Superior Court	p. 319
Lawyer as Problem-Solver	p. 333
The Lawyer as Problem Solver and Third-Party Neutral: Creativity and Non-Partisanship in Lawyering	p. 333
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 337
Judicial Conduct
What This Chapter Covers	p. 339
Standards of Conduct for Judicial Officers
Reading Assignment	p. 339
Supplemental Reading	p. 339
Discussion Problems	p. 339
Judicial Standards and Discipline	p. 342
McCullough v. Comm'n on Judicial Performance	p. 343
Perpich v. Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co.	p. 348
Judges, Politics, and Free Speech	p. 355
Multiple Choice Questions	p. 359
Answers to Multiple Choice Questions
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Index	p. 385
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