Legal Ethics

Catalog description

A survey of the major legal and ethical issues presented in the practice of law. We will examine the concept of the lawyer endorsed by the rules of professional responsibility, the principal-agent relationship, and common law doctrines governing law practice in both civil and criminal settings. We will also assess the tensions between this concept of the lawyer and the personal, political, and economic constraints of law practice. To this end, emphasis will be given not only to the law of lawyering but to the history and sociology of the American legal profession, theories of role morality and professional identity, the sources of cognitive bias that affect perception and judgment, and techniques for navigating ethical dilemmas. Elements used in grading: Attendance, class participation, in-class exercises, short papers and final exam.