The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer
Title | The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer PDF eBook |
Author | Richard A. Zitrin |
Publisher | Ballantine Books |
Pages | 320 |
Release | 2011-10-12 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 030780741X |
These are perilous times for Americans who need access to the legal system. Too many lawyers blatantly abuse power and trust, engage in reckless ethical misconduct, grossly unjust billing practices, and dishonesty disguised as client protection. All this has undermined the credibility of lawyers and the authority of the legal system. In the court of public opinion, many lawyers these days are guiltier than the criminals or giant corporations they defend. Is the public right? In this eye-opening, incisive book, Richard Zitrin and Carol Langford, two practicing lawyers and distinguished law professors, shine a penetrating light on the question everyone is asking: Why do lawyers behave the way they do? All across the country, lawyers view certain behavior as "ethical" while average citizens judge that same conduct "immoral." Now, with expert analysis of actual cases ranging from murder to class action suits, Zitrin and Langford investigate lawyers' behavior and its impact on our legal system. The result is a stunningly clear-eyed exploration of law as it is practiced in America today--and a cogent, groundbreaking program for legal reform.
Idaho State Bar Presents the Moral Compass of the American Lawyer
Title | Idaho State Bar Presents the Moral Compass of the American Lawyer PDF eBook |
Author | Idaho State Bar |
Publisher | |
Pages | 102 |
Release | 2001 |
Genre | Legal ethics |
ISBN |
The American Lawyer
Title | The American Lawyer PDF eBook |
Author | John Randolph Dos Passos |
Publisher | |
Pages | 200 |
Release | 1907 |
Genre | Lawyers |
ISBN |
The Lawyer's Conscience
Title | The Lawyer's Conscience PDF eBook |
Author | Michael S. Ariens |
Publisher | University Press of Kansas |
Pages | 400 |
Release | 2023-07-21 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 0700633839 |
In 1776, Thomas Paine declared the end of royal rule in the United States. Instead, “law is king,” for the people rule themselves. Paine’s declaration is the dominant American understanding of how political power is exercised. In making law king, American lawyers became integral to the exercise of political power, so integral to law that legal ethics philosopher David Luban concluded, “lawyers are the law.” American lawyers have defended the exercise of this power from the Revolution to the present by arguing their work is channeled by the profession’s standards of ethical behavior. Those standards demand that lawyers serve the public interest and the interests of their paying clients before themselves. The duties owed both to the public and to clients meant lawyers were in the marketplace selling their services, but not of the marketplace. This is the story of power and the limits of ethical constraints to ensure such power is properly wielded. The Lawyer’s Conscience is the first book examining the history of American lawyer ethics, ranging from the mid-eighteenth century to the “professionalism” crisis facing lawyers today.
A Civility-based Model for New Lawyers
Title | A Civility-based Model for New Lawyers PDF eBook |
Author | James H. Fierberg |
Publisher | American Bar Association |
Pages | 210 |
Release | 2021 |
Genre | Legal ethics |
ISBN | 9781641058308 |
While new law school graduates are pretty well versed in black letter law, they often lack the interpersonal and psychological skills that are imperative to a successful legal career. This book challenges the new lawyer to view themselves through the lens of their colleagues and clients and also to be aware of the basic behavioral norms that are the basis of a successful practice.
Lawyers' Ethics
Title | Lawyers' Ethics PDF eBook |
Author | Allan Gerson |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 445 |
Release | 2017-09-29 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 1351509462 |
Frequently the ethical attorney finds himself in a position where he can no longer reconcile con-flicting responsibilities he owes to his clients with those he owes so-ciety and himself. Faced with the dilemma of choice among coun-tervailing and competing obliga-tions, he has little training and precedence to guide him. If he is over forty, the overwhelming probability is that he never took a course on legal ethics; if he looks for a general, up-to-date text to provide insight, he will look in vain. Nor is there a developed body of case law from which to glean an appropriate course of action.This vacuum of authoritative formulations of responsible be-havior is a matter of concern not only to the legal profession, but to all sectors of American society. Lawyers shape the mores and thoughts of all of us. Their will is exerted not only in modifying our national institutions, but ulti-mately our individual, personal sense of values.This volume serves two impor-tant purposes: it provides the interested professional and lay reader with an appreciation of thespectrum of the ethical dilemmas confronting the legal profession, and it provides a sense of balance about the competing consid-erations present in each of these dilemmas. At a time when the legal profession is under attack both from within and without, this book represents some of the best critical thinking by lawyers about their role and responsibilities in American society.
Law's Virtues
Title | Law's Virtues PDF eBook |
Author | Cathleen Kaveny |
Publisher | Georgetown University Press |
Pages | 306 |
Release | 2012-09-20 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 1589019334 |
Can the law promote moral values even in pluralistic societies such as the United States? Drawing upon important federal legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, legal scholar and moral theologian Cathleen Kaveny argues that it can. In conversation with thinkers as diverse as Thomas Aquinas, Pope John Paul II, and Joseph Raz, she argues that the law rightly promotes the values of autonomy and solidarity. At the same time, she cautions that wise lawmakers will not enact mandates that are too far out of step with the lived moral values of the actual community. According to Kaveny, the law is best understood as a moral teacher encouraging people to act virtuously, rather than a police officer requiring them to do so. In Law’s Virtues Kaveny expertly applies this theoretical framework to the controversial moral-legal issues of abortion, genetics, and euthanasia. In addition, she proposes a moral analysis of the act of voting, in dialogue with the election guides issued by the US bishops. Moving beyond the culture wars, this bold and provocative volume proposes a vision of the relationship of law and morality that is realistic without being relativistic and optimistic without being utopian.