Categories: Legal Profession

Instructor(s)

Mansfield, Marsha

Course Data

Room 3250
MW 11:00am-11:55am

Pass/Fail: Yes

Course Description

This course reviews the ethical and professional responsibilities of lawyers. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct are emphasized. In particular, the course covers the independence and professional autonomy of lawyers, conflicts of interest and ethics in advocacy before tribunals. The consequences of lawyer failure, i.e. discipline, disqualification and malpractice damages are also discussed.

Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will develop an ability to recognize and to evaluate ethical dilemmas in various practice areas.
2. Students will demonstrate the ability to critically analyze legal ethics problems by determining what rules of ethics apply and how those rules apply based upon the use and interpretation of the facts and the law, as well as through consideration of strategic, practical, professional and personal issues that may inform their analysis.
3. Students will successfully Identify the most common ethical rules; the four C’s of the attorney-client relationship (Competence, Communication, Confidentiality, and Conflict-free representation), the three C’s of the attorney-court relationship (Candor, Compliance, and Civility) and the rules governing attorneys’ relationships with everyone else in society (Fairness, Access, Integrity, Responsibility) as well as be able to identify the tensions and ambiguities among these concepts, which are inherent in the regulation of attorneys.
4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between bar-generated disciplinary codes and other sources of law, such as cases, statutes and regulations.
5. Students will demonstrate accountability, diligence and competence in their work.

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