INTRODUCTION TO THE UNITED STATES LEGAL PROFESSION - Fordham Law School
(LLM STUDENTS ONLY)
Rules of Professional Conduct and Standards of Conduct
RPCs - New York State Unified Court System
American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Read `black letter' Rule § 14 - Restatement 3rd The Law Governing Lawyers
Discipline
RPC 8.3 Reporting Professional Misconduct
RPC 8.4 Misconduct
RPC 8.5 Disciplinary authority and choice of law
Week 4
Fall 2021
Prof. George W. Conk
Senior Fellow, Stein Center for Law & Ethics
Fordham Law School
212-636-7446
212-636-7446
gconk@fordham.edu
Room 7-172
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:20 PM - Eastern
Beginning SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:20 PM - Eastern
Beginning SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
Room 3-03
Required casebook and Rules and standards supplement:
Jefferson, Pearce, Green, et al. Professional Responsibility - A Contemporary Approach
Fourth edition(purchase gives you access to online edition)
eBook Register at eproducts@westacademic.com
ISBN 978-1-64242 -285-6
This is the current 4th edition. Earlier editions are NOT usable.
This course centers on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, but we also refer to other authorities so I recommend:
The Law Governing Lawyers
Model Rules, Standards, Statutes, and State Lawyer Rules of Professional Conduct
2021-2022 Edition
Wolters Kluwer
Susan R. Martyn, et al
ISBN 978-1-5438-4151-0
Or you may buy the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct book or install the ABA model rules app.
The full text of the ABA Rules and Comments can be viewed at:
American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional conduct - with comments
FINAL EXAM Date Thursday December 9. 2021 5:30 PM
MPRE type multiple-choice/true-false
LINK TO PAST Exam instructions - FALL 2020
RPCs - New York State Unified Court System
American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct
United States Department of Justice - Standards of Conduct
Learning outcomes are at the beginning of each chapter of the casebook.
Meeting with me: I am available to meet with students. I make appointments on the hour and half- hour. Friday afternoons are probably best.
Please suggest a time via email. ZOOM may be our best option.
For our discussions and to answer the live questions posted in class you need to use the relevant ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and official Comments
The relevant authorities are listed in the Topic Outline at the beginning of each Chapter of the casebook.
All classes will be recorded and available on Echo360 Physical attendance is required in order to satisfy the ABA regulations. If you cannot attend a class send me an email with brief explanation before the class.
If classes are moved online you must attend class "live", not simply view the video later.
Classroom participation is welcome and required:
We will use the PollEverywhere APP to give each of you the opportunity to practice answering the MPRE-type questions in the assigned casebook reading; and to answer questions I draft for purposes of our discussions in class.
You must register and download the PollEverywhere app.
For registration instructions go to
My email address is gconk@fordham.edu At login you will find that the presenter is georgewconk331.
Note that on this blog all hypertext links are in blue. [Except that sometimes the web does random things like make a link gray.]
Week 1
Read the New York Rules of Professional Conduct OR the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct which can be found HERE) (Rules only, NOT the Official Comments)
[Ultimately as part of MPRE preparation you will need to read the full ABA Rules and explanatory comments. ]
Lecture:
The Rules of Professional Conduct, the structure of the law governing lawyers, the U.S. legal profession, New York practice, and the role of lawyers in society.
Casebook: Jefferson, Pearce, et al.
Professional Responsibility, A Contemporary Approach
4th Edition
Read Chapter 1, pages 1-19
Be prepared to discuss casebook Questions 1-1 to 1-15.
[https://www.polleverywhere.com/guides/student/registration
My email address is gconk@fordham.edu At login you will find that the presenter is georgewconk331.]
Be prepared to discuss these questions:
Read blogpost:
2) Is there a societal obligation to make lawyers available to all persons? For what purposes?
Defense of crime? Deportation of immigrants? Eviction from homes? Termination of parental rights?
Read:
Tenants: A right to counsel in Evictions? Lessons from New York City
Scotus voids federal eviction moratorium in Alabama Realtors v. DHHS
Legal Services of New Jersey - Newsletter - 9/2021
NJ Law Journal Editorial: When Judiciary Grants Right to Counsel, Other Branches Must Step Up
American Bar Association Resolution 115 - Access to legal services (2020)
Week 2
Ch. 2 - Basic elements of Law Practice
Establishing the lawyer-client relationship, unauthorized practice, competence, terminating the relationship
Read Pages 19 - 61
Learning outcomes
Relevant Rules and Comments
Working with non-lawyers and ancillary services
5.3.5.4, 5.5, 5.7
Unauthorized practice by lawyers
5.5, 8.5
Defining law practice; Creating the Lawyer-Client Relationship
Creating the lawyer-client relationship
Read `black letter' Rule § 14 - Restatement 3rd The Law Governing Lawyers
RPCs 1.13 (a), (f-g), 6.2
Supervisory responsibility
RPC 5.1
RPC 5.2
RPC 5.3
RPC 8.3 Reporting Professional Misconduct
RPC 8.4 Misconduct
RPC 8.5 Disciplinary authority and choice of law
Week 3 (Chapter 2 continued)
Read pages 61-109
Ch 2 Basic Elements of Law Practice
Creating and ending the relationship of attorney and client
The duty of competence
Ch. 2 Forming and terminating the relationship
Slides - Forming the relationship
SLIDES 2A Ch. 2, part 2A Terminating the relationship
Read
RPCs 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4
Malpractice Liability
slides - Legal Malpractice - updated October 12, 2021
slides - professional liability insurance
New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge 5.51a and 5.51b
RPCs 1.18, , 1.8 (h), 1.2 (c)
Lawyers Civil Liability Restatement LGL § 48, et seq.
Week 4
Read pp. 109-133
Ineffective assistance of counsel and allocation of decision-making between lawyer and client
slides - Ineffective assistance of counsel
Read:
RPCs 1.2, 1.3, 3.2
Restatement 3rd LGL §§ 20, 21, 22, 24 ("black letter" rules and comments)
Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932) - background
National Memorial for Peace and Justice - Montgomery, Alabama
Principles governing the attorney client relationship
Allocating decision-making between lawyer and client
Read pp. 117-133
slides - allocation of decision-making between lawyer and client
Week 5
Chapter 3 The Business, technology and marketing of legal services
The good old days?
Learning Outcomes, Topic outline and Relevant rules
Learning Outcomes, Topic outline and Relevant rules
Read pp. 145 - 189; 189-199; 213-215
slides - Chapter 3 - business and advertising
slides - Ch. 3 A reasonable fee and contingent fees
RPC 1.5 Fees
RPC 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 Communications regarding a lawyer's service and solicitation
What is a reasonable fee?
Lyle Denniston/SCOTUSBlog The Lodestar analysis (2010)
Week 6 November 3
Chapter 4 Attorney client privilege and the duty of confidentiality
SLIDES Confidentiality - Attorney Client Privilege/Work Product part 1
Learning outcomes p.231
Read pp. 231-269
RPCs 1.6, 1.13,
Confidentiality under RPC 1.6
General obligations, exceptions
Upjohn warning - American Bar Association
Week 7 November 10
(Chapter 4 continued)
SLIDES Confidentiality and exceptions - Part 2
SLIDES Physical harm and wrongful imprisonment exceptions
Exceptions to the duty of confidentiality Waiver of attorney client privilege
Basics of the duty of confidentiality
Read pp. 270 - 286
pp. 286-309
NJ Supreme Court: Report of the Working Group on the Duty of Confidentiality and Wrongful Convictions
****
Week 8 November 17
Chapter 5 Conflicts of interest
Learning outcomes p. 311
Read: pp. 313-349
RPCs 1.0 definitions, 1.7, 1.8(g)
Simultaneous representation standards - direct adversity, materially limited, reasonable belief,
competent and diligent representation, informed consent, waiver, aggregate settlements, literary and media rights
Week 9 (Chapter 5 continued) December 1
Conflicts between client’s interests and lawyer’s personal interests; lawyer advocate as witness; representation adverse to former client; Lawyer as third party neutral; vicarious disqualification of firm under RPC 1.10 “typhoid Mary, Migrating lawyers, screening; conflicts in criminal
cases
SLIDES - Conflicts - part 2
Read: pp. 349-380
RPCs 1.7, 1.8 (g), 1.8 (a), 1.8 (d), 1.8 (j), 3.7, 1.10
No comments:
Post a Comment