Richard A. Wasserstrom's article "Lawyers as Professionals: Some Moral Issues." Criticisms of lawyers are the topic in Richard A. Wasserstrom's article "Lawyers as Professionals: Some Moral Issues." Wasserstrom broke this topic into two main areas of discussion. The first suggests that lawyers operate with essentially no regard for any negative impact of their efforts on the world at large. Analysis of the relationship that exists between the lawyer and their client was the second topic of discussion. "Here the charge is that it is the lawyer-client relationship which is morally objectionable because it is a relationship which the lawyer dominates and in which the lawyer typically, and perhaps inevitably, treats the client in both an impersonal and a paternalistic fashion." Wasserstrom considers a few options with in his discussion concerning a multitude of aspects faced by lawyers. "The lawyer's situation is different from that of other professionals. The lawyer is vulnerable to some moral criticism that does not as readily or as easily attach to any other professional." Thi...
In order to answer these questions, we will first see how American lawyer Gerald M. Stern man...
Peter Paralegal is employed by Honest Law Firm and has been instructed by his supervising attorney to prepare and conduct initial interviews with two potential clients to see if a conflict of interest is present. Big Box and Value Mart are competitors and are requesting representation by Honest Law Firm on matters that are unrelated to one another. Peter Paralegal was also asked to perform tasks related to the cases such as; prepare questions and conduct initial interviews, explain legal fees arrangements, establish the attorney-client relations, draft initial pleadings and responses, interview witnesses, draft and sign initial case evaluation letters.
There are certain standards that the courts use to determine competency. In order to find the accused competent, a court should find out by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant has remarkable ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational indulgence. The def...
...f-regulate? A reasonable case for increased regulation can be made given the massive cost of recent financial turmoil and attorneys’ ostensible role in these crises. Moreover, as lawyers effectively operate as gatekeepers and rubberstamps for much of business decsionmaking, they may serve as the most efficient risk bearer to reduce externalized costs, whether through a division of ethical responsibilities between in-house attorneys and independent firms or simply staying the drastic course of Lawson. This modification of the role of attorneys does present a difficult contradiction as the exact value added by lawyers is leveraged into a social duty and it’s not obvious whether the two can co-exist. Given the relative lack of traction and progress, however, it seems the stickiness of established behavior may present too much value, for attorneys and clients alike.
Paralegals are continuing to assume new responsibilities in legal offices and perform many of the same duties as attorneys. Through formal education, training and experience, paralegals have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and law procedures, which qualify them to work under the supervision of an attorney. Along with preparing legal documents, contracts and other legal materials, a paralegal can also interview witnesses, and conducting legal research. The most important task a paralegal may have is helping an attorney prepare for hearings, trials, and meetings. Although a paralegal is trained to perform the same tasks as attorneys, they are explicitly prohibited from carrying out duties considered to be within the scope of the practice of law, such as setting legal fees, giving legal advice, submitting signed documents to court, and presenting cases in court. Paralegals are an essential part of today’s legal practice; furthermore, a competent paralegal can improve a law office’s profitability and the delivery of legal services. With these new responsibilities comes a higher level of demand and respect. In turn...
Imagine a tall slim man dressed in a very respectable iron pressed suit, with a tie that’s perfect length and fits nicely with the colors of his blazer. To go along with his suit, he carries a very affluent briefcase with a matching belt and shoes. This is the typical perception from students of someone that works in the legal profession, including the consumption of time spent on only work along with having a very stern look. However, a look at how it’s shown in the film To Kill a Mockingbird, it shows that things like standing for justice, having integrity, and being family-oriented plays a huge role in the lives of lawyers.
Paralegals have become an essential part of today's legal system, and as the profession becomes one of the leading and fastest growing occupations in the U.S. economy; these individuals perform delegated tasks under the supervision of attorneys. Education has played an important part on this matter; it has facilitated this development by allowing lawyers to use these skills professionals as agents to delegate specific tasks such as legal research, gathering of information and the drafting of specific legal documents under the supervision and final approval of their principals. This has been very significant because now; we can enjoy a speedy process in a cumbersome legal system. From en economic standpoint, it has also been beneficial by decreasing the substantial amount of the legal cost a firm could incur if only lawyers were allowed to perform this kind work.
Johnny’s experience as an attorney falls far short of being the legal crusader that he envisioned for himself. Rather, it is quite short-lived . His legal career ends abruptly when his unpreparedness for an easy trial against a wealthy white woman causes him to lose the case for his client. Upon his hu...
Despite the longstanding acceptance and promotion for the crime-fraud exception, it appears that the use of the exception to report fraud has been relatively scant and use of ethical rules to sanction lawyers is similarly rare. For those that may favor private regulation or the ability of the market to dictate its own terms it seems that the equilibrium reached was one without lawyers disclosing of their own accord. This could be just viewed as an information failure problem—even if the ability to report fraud up the ladder was technically already available, lack of knowledge may have prevented lawyers from reporting fraud when they otherwise would have done so.
Weiss, M. S. (2005). A Study of Public Defender Motivations. In Public Defenders: Pragmatic and Political Motivations to Represent the Indigent (pp. 1-10). [Ebscohost]. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/
'Lawyers are all right, I guess - but it doesn't appeal to me,' I said. 'I mean they're all right if they go around saving innocent guys' lives all the time, and like that, but you don't do that kind of stuff if you're a lawyer. All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot. How would you know you weren't being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn't' (Salinger 172).
As per request of the first assignment of this course, I watched the movie “A Civil Action” starring John Travolta (Jan Schlichtmann), as a plaintiff’s lawyer and Robert Duvall (Jerome Facher) and Bruce Norris (William Cheeseman) as the defendant’s lawyers of W.R. Grace and J Riley Leather companies. The movie depicted the court case fought in the 1980’s among the previously mentioned companies and the residents of Woburn a little town located in Massachusetts. After watching the movie, an analysis using the ethical tools reflected in the chapter 1 of the course textbook will be used to portray the ethical issues of the movie.
Although the legal profession is a single discourse community, it is made up of many smaller discourse communities. This is so because while all lawyers share the same broad goals of the legal profession and have a general knowledge and expertise in all areas of the law, most lawyers after graduating from law school and passing the bar exam specialize in a particular area of law. This specialization requires the lawyer to go beyond the broad concepts of law as a whole and to become knowledgeable and proficient in the sometimes minute details of a more specific area of law. Even then, some lawyers will go even further to focus on one aspect or another of that particular area of law. This results in most lawyers being members of many even smal...
My major is Paralegal Studies and I expect to graduate with an Associates of Arts degree in December of this year. Many years ago, as an investigator for both a private company and a county agency, I was introduced to the legal field. Recently, I was awarded the opportunity to attend college, so I decided I wanted to reenter the legal profession as a paralegal. The paralegal profession appeals to me, because I enjoy the processes of developing a case, as well as its legal aspects. A paralegal is involved in a case from the beginning to the end; from the initial client interview to assisting the attorney during the client’s trial or the settlement process. My goal is to become a paralegal for a solo practitioner or a small firm in my local area who represent clients in different areas of the law.
Sheehan, James. The lawyer's lawyer. New York: Center Street, 2013. Print. this book tells me about lawyers about how they differ from other people