Legal EthicsPub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/1460728x.2020.1833130
Marc Mason
{"title":"Entity regulation, litigation rights and the changing meaning of professionalism at the Bar of England and Wales","authors":"Marc Mason","doi":"10.1080/1460728x.2020.1833130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2020.1833130","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Legal Services Act 2007 provided a framework for a liberalised marketplace for legal services. The most significant responses to this by the Bar appear in the Bar Standards Board Handbook, which was first released in January 2014. This included changes allowing for barristers to engage in litigation and enabling the Bar Standards Board to regulate entities rather than just individual barristers. This article places these changes within the existing theoretical understanding of the legal professions and professionalism, and argues that they open the door for a significant shift in the way that the discourse of professionalism is used in relation to the Bar.","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"23 1","pages":"48 - 64"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/1460728x.2020.1833130","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48474249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Legal EthicsPub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/1460728X.2020.1822098
K. Economides, Joaquim Leonel de Rezende Alvim
{"title":"Bar exams, legal ethics and the fight against corruption: lessons from Brazil","authors":"K. Economides, Joaquim Leonel de Rezende Alvim","doi":"10.1080/1460728X.2020.1822098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728X.2020.1822098","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this article we explain the specific contribution of Bar exams to the professional socialisation of Brazilian lawyer leaders through examining their changing content, particularly the coverage of and balance between commercial and public interests. Understanding what drives curriculum change, as reflected in vocational assessment, could inform the future skills and ethical components of preparatory training of lawyers that in turn might hold implications for the fight against corruption. While we aim to demystify some of the myths surrounding Brazilian lawyers’ ethical conduct, that often are reinforced by misleading and unrealistic media representations of legal heroism, we claim the ethical content of vocational Bar exams can still offer valuable insights into the formation of professional character, including the ability of lawyers to fully comprehend and connect with underlying fundamental values and interests that support both professional and state power. At the same time, we must recognise ethical training has its limits and can only ever go so far in helping to eradicate corruption. Our broad claim is that lessons emerging from recent Brazilian experience could, with some caveats, potentially guide and inform future developments in legal education and training elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"23 1","pages":"31 - 47"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/1460728X.2020.1822098","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44946289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Legal EthicsPub Date : 2020-06-14DOI: 10.1080/1460728x.2021.1979728
L. Backer
{"title":"Lawyers are not algorithms: sustainability, corruption, and the role of the lawyer in institutional frameworks and corporate transactions","authors":"L. Backer","doi":"10.1080/1460728x.2021.1979728","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2021.1979728","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Among key emerging societal principles to which a lawyer owes a high degree of fidelity are those that advance sustainability and that combat corruption. This essay considers the character of those ethical obligations when sustainability and corruption principles are manifested against the needs of institutions and the objectives of ‘deals’. Part 1 briefly introduces the challenge of lawyer ethics. Part 2 then maps the lawyer’s ethics duty as a function of cross cutting ethical duties. Part 3 turns to the framework and challenges of the ethical lawyer, situating the role of lawyers as ethical gatekeepers and mediators. Part 4 applies the insights developed to examine the lawyer’s ethical dilemmas as they may manifest themselves within the specific context of sustainability and corruption and within institutional frameworks and client transactions. The essay concludes with the core insight that ethics is a deeply moral project and that fidelity to moral principles ought to drive ethical decision making.","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"24 1","pages":"4 - 23"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42527611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Legal EthicsPub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3624331
J. Sherman
{"title":"The General Counsel as Partner in Shaping a Corporate Culture that Respects Human Rights","authors":"J. Sherman","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3624331","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3624331","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68614486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Legal EthicsPub Date : 2019-07-03DOI: 10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692510
P. Baron, L. Corbin
{"title":"Lawyers, mental illness, admission and misconduct","authors":"P. Baron, L. Corbin","doi":"10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692510","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692510","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Since 2004 in Australia, there has been a significant amount of interest in the issues of lawyers and mental illness. As a result there is now a substantial body of literature that examines legal education and its links to lawyer distress. In the profession, there has been a growing awareness of lawyer mental illness and the growth of professional development and lawyer support. Less attention, however has been paid to the links between mental illness and misconduct and the ways in which mental illness is treated in disciplinary proceedings. This article seeks to address this gap by examining cases of disciplinary misconduct over the past 10 years in which mental illness is raised as a causal or a contributing factor. We have found that the law relating to mental illness and misconduct is still developing. Our analysis finds that courts and tribunals are, overall, sensitive to lawyer mental illness and that they are achieving an appropriate balance between the rights of the lawyer and protecting those of the public and the reputation of the legal profession. The paper will draw out the principles currently being used by the courts to assess the effects and implications of a lawyer’s mental illness on claims of misconduct.","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"22 1","pages":"28 - 48"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692510","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45168396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Legal EthicsPub Date : 2019-07-03DOI: 10.1080/1460728x.2019.1702778
María L. Torres-Villarreal, D. Bernal-Camargo
{"title":"Learning legal ethics in the law clinics: ‘one hundred thousand housing law’ for offences against minors","authors":"María L. Torres-Villarreal, D. Bernal-Camargo","doi":"10.1080/1460728x.2019.1702778","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1702778","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In 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 example of this, are the cases that a legal clinic knows, where a series of ethical dilemmas are posed to the student and it is important to provide it with the necessary tools to understand the problem from the values, have the ability to deliberate and make decisions that are fair and appropriate to the reality of the context and the particularities of the case. This paper aims to reflect on the ethical dilemmas that arise when weighting ethical and legal principles, through a case that raises the need to analyse the constitutionality of a rule and its existence within the legal system of the State. Likewise, through the real cases, as this one, students are in contact with a reality that seems far away and understand the importance of their knowledge and values in order to resolve the problematic that vulnerable groups.","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"22 1","pages":"103 - 108"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1702778","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48472455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Legal EthicsPub Date : 2019-07-03DOI: 10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692474
Richard F. Devlin, S. Frame
{"title":"Economic corruption, political machinations and legal ethics: correspondents’ report from Canada","authors":"Richard F. Devlin, S. Frame","doi":"10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692474","url":null,"abstract":"On 19 October 2015 the Liberal Party of Canada won the general election and Justin Trudeau became Canada’s 23rd prime minister. During both the political campaign and the period after the election, Mr. Trudeau made many promises about ‘doing politics differently’. Two key claims in particular stood out: to make gender equality a key policy principle, and to make reconciliation with Indigenous peoples Canada’s most important relationship. As affirmation of the first commitment, Prime Minister Trudeau’s cabinet was the first in Canadian history to have a 50% female complement. As proof of the second commitment, he appointed Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. She was the first Indigenous person to be appointed to this position. Despite some challenges in moving the reconciliation agenda forward (particularly in the context of newly proposed pipelines crossing Indigenous territories and an Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women) by all appearances it seemed as if Prime Minister Trudeau and Ms. Wilson-Raybould had a solid working relationship. But, out of the blue, on 14 January 2019, in what was meant to be a minor cabinet reconfiguration caused by an unanticipated resignation, the Prime Minister shuffled Ms. Wilson-Raybould from Minister of Justice and Attorney General to Minister of Veterans Affairs. At the press conference it was obvious that Ms. Wilson-Raybould was not pleased with this decision. The speculation was that the rift was over differences of opinion on how to respond to Indigenous issues. However, on 7 February 2019, a national newspaper suggested that the reassignment was about something very different – a disagreement","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"22 1","pages":"102 - 94"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692474","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48036390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Legal EthicsPub Date : 2019-07-03DOI: 10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692473
Jonathan Hew
{"title":"Fighting the good fight? Lessons from the Global South on providing legal aid to refugees in difficult situations","authors":"Jonathan Hew","doi":"10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692473","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692473","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This brief report discusses ethical-legal considerations in providing legal aid to refugees internationally. With the help of a case study, it considers the challenges lawyers and other legal aid providers face in assisting clients who are alleged to have committed immoral acts. It highlights how the failure to elevate professional ethics over personal morality in such situations can have serious human consequences.","PeriodicalId":42194,"journal":{"name":"Legal Ethics","volume":"22 1","pages":"89 - 93"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/1460728x.2019.1692473","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43675192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}