Legal ethics, professional responsibility, and the legal profession

As the legal profession undergoes structural changes, longstanding principles of ethics still govern the day-to-day lives of practicing lawyers. This new Hornbook on professional responsibility provides both a snapshot of ongoing systemic changes and a thorough examination of the fundamentals of lawyer and judicial ethics. As a multi-dimensional work by scholarly experts in several fields, the Hornbook (1) begins with the changing environment in which legal services are provided in the modern economy; (2) continues with a theoretical grounding of legal ethics in moral philosophy; (3) offers empirical evidence and discussion about professional formation and moral development; (4) provides a comprehensive analysis of the law of lawyer ethics; (5) includes a rich discussion of the modern law of legal malpractice, and (6) concludes with exploration of the rules of judicial ethics.

The legal profession and legal services : nature and evolution. The structure of the legal profession ; The problem of lagging legal productivity ; The future of the legal profession -- The philosophy of legal ethics. Foundations of the lawyer's role ; Jurisprudence and the lawyer's role : looking to an understanding of law--rather than to morality--for the source of lawyers' ethical restraint ; Moral counsel and the gap between law and morality ; The corporation as client : amoral ethics squared ; Moral remainders -- Development toward professionalism and the formation of an ethical professional identity to become an effective lawyer. Professionalism and professional identity ; The importance of stress management in the formation of an ethical professional identity ; Professional identity formation and the law school curriculum -- Legal ethics and the practice of law. Sources of legal ethics and the law of lawyering ; Advertising for and solicitation of clients : information about legal services ; The attorney-client relationship : beginning to end ; Funding of legal services : fees, compensation, and fee shifting ; Duties to effectively represent the client ; Duties to protect confidentiality of client information ; Duties of loyalty : conflicts of interest and professional independence ; Duties to organization/entity clients ; Duties of ethical advocacy ; Duties as evaluator or third-party neutral ; Respect for other persons ; Duties of a lawyer in a law firm ; Public-regarding activities, duties, and rights -- Legal malpractice. Introduction to legal malpractice law ; Negligence ; Breach of fiduciary duty ; Liability to nonclients ; Remedies for legal malpractice ; Defenses and obstacles to recovery ; Vicarious liability ; Legal malpractice insurance -- Judicial ethics and the conduct of judges. Regulating judicial conduct generally : features and principles ; Regulating judicial conduct on the bench ; Regulating judicial conduct off the bench : extrajudicial and political activities