Professional Responsibility-B
[PROF-200-B]
Professor Martin
Spring 2016
Monday, January 11:
1.
READ Deborah L. Rhode, The Profession and Its Discontents, 61 O HIO S T .
L.J. 1335 (2000) and Personal Satisfaction in Professional Practice, 58
S YRACUSE L.R
EV . 217 (2008). Also read/skim Patrick J. Schiltz, On Being a
Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and
Unethical Profession, 52 V
AND
.
L.
R
EV
. 871 (1999) . (You can find the articles on Westlaw or Lexis) . If you have the course text, begin reading with pages 1-
42 (top).
2.
READ Pages 1-12 (top) in the course text: Nathan M. Crystal, Professional
Responsibility, Problems of Practice and the Profession ( FIFTH Edition ). It provides additional information on the sources of lawyer obligations.
Consider the following:
Try and put yourself in Mark Pautler’s position. Why do you suppose he acted the way he did?
Discipline of attorneys for misconduct is one of several formal mechanisms for regulating lawyer conduct. The conduct of lawyers, however, is often governed more by informal mechanisms, such as the culture of the institutions where lawyers work (law firms, corporations, or government agencies, for example). Did you learn anything from Pautler about informal methods of regulation?
3.
Read/skim the text of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
If you have not purchased the rules supplement, You can find the text of the rules at: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/mod el_rules_of_professional_conduct/model_rules_of_professional_conduct_table_of
_contents.html

Note : It is not necessary to memorize the rules or dig deeply into the comments at this point. I merely want you to familiarize yourself with the essence of the rules of professional conduct that govern the legal profession.
Wednesday, January 13 :
READ Pages 28-38, Problem 1-1 (Moral Accountability of Lawyers)
Looking Ahead:
1.
A copy of the film, To Kill a Mockingbird , is on reserve under my name in the library. Please view the film or re-familiarize yourself with the story of Atticus
Finch over the course of the first two weeks of class. If you have a chance to review it before that will be great as we will discuss it and refer to it during the first weeks of class. You may check it out and view it at your convenience or review it via various online sources at your leisure. You may have read the book or seen the film before. However, please re-familiarize yourselves with the story of Atticus Finch in preparation for the discussion during the second week of class.
The story will provide a framework for discussion of several professional responsibility issues over the course of the semester, significantly, the lawyer’s role in society and the development of a philosophy of lawyering.
Interestingly,
July 2010 marked the fiftieth anniversary of Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a
Mockingbird,” with Harper Lee’s presumed original version “Go Set a
Watchman” released this past year.
2.
We will be using the book Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. Coli
Outbreak That Changed the Way Americans Eat by Jeff Benedict to explore professional responsibility issues over the course of the semester. Please begin reading it. It reads quickly. We will discuss it in conjunction with course material this semester. You can purchase it from Amazon or download it onto your computers or other electronic devices. Local libraries (including the university) can provide access to the book as well.
I look forward to meeting you soon!