"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 ... [This] 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 ... discussion of the modern law of legal malpractice, and (6) concludes with exploration of the rules of judicial ethics."--

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

This concise book brings behavioral insights to the wide array of topics commonly taught in the required professional responsibility course, including admission to the practice of law, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, representing entities, prosecutorial and criminal defense ethics, litigation and negotiation ethics, legal billing, and managerial and subordinate responsibilities. Behavioral legal ethics relies on empirical research to explore how lawyers actually make ethical decisions in context, rather than how they predict they would decide an ethical dilemma. This approach complements the law of lawyering by seeking to understand how various psychological factors and situational pressures explain and influence decision-making and resulting ethical (or unethical) action. Each chapter explores findings from behavioral science that pertain to ethical decision-making such as motivated reasoning, confirmation bias and other cognitive biases, fast thinking, the fundamental attribution error, wrongful obedience, conformity, moral disengagement, and much more. In addition, each chapter contains relevant case studies and reflection questions to deepen and cement students' understanding of the role of behavioral legal ethics in professional responsibility. Finally, the book offers ideas for individual attorneys and legal organizations to improve ethical decision-making. The book can be used as a stand-alone text in a required professional responsibility course, along with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and select cases and materials, or it can be used as a supplement to a professional responsibility casebook. In addition, the book can be used in advanced legal ethics courses. The authors, both scholars in the field of behavioral legal ethics, are professional responsibility professors who have incorporated behavioral legal ethics into their own classrooms. They have found that students enjoy studying and discussing behavioral insights, and that integrating a behavioral focus to the study of legal ethics helps students better understand the ethical doctrines, policy, and context that underlie the law of lawyering and the ABA Model Rules. A sampling of student testimonials include: "I found the psychology of legal ethics extremely helpful. It really allowed me to focus in on the issues I know I will be challenged with when I enter the legal profession." "I liked how the course was not just putting the rule on the board and going over it, which I have heard some professors do. I liked looking at the rules through a behavioral science lens." "I appreciated the unique take from the behavioral sciences side." "It is kind of hard to imagine studying ethics without any mention of the psychological issues at this point."

In Connecting Ethics and Practice: A Lawyer’s Guide to Professional Responsibility, Second Edition, Katerina Lewinbuk explains the legal, professional, and ethical constraints that regulate attorneys, while keeping the modern law professor and student in mind. Contemporary cases and articles are used to provide for an easier understanding of the Model Rules and Judicial Cannons, which assists in preparing for law school exams and the MPRE. The author employs a user-friendly coursebook format organized in a logical manner, while achieving a realistic and manageable length. Mind-maps are provided with every chapter to help students visualize and remember selected rules, and discussion questions are used to allow the students to fully comprehend and digest the reading, while also demonstrating real-life struggles most lawyers face at some point in their career. Based on the unique format, students systematically cover all important aspects of the legal journey from law school to the legal profession. New to the Second Edition: Two-color format and new design add visual appeal Revised chapters contain contemporary cases, discussions, and studies Updates include recent changes to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct New coverage includes: Discussion of the ethical issue relating to Judge Kavanaugh hearings Recent famous case of McCoy v. Louisiana New statistics re: women in the legal profession and malpractice claims against lawyers Professors and students will benefit from: The easy-to-follow logical sequence of all relevant rules that are clearly articulated at the beginning of the book and then reiterated accordingly in every chapter Structured material that is well-suited for a new or experienced professor Chapters based on quality readings as opposed to quantity Engaging, realistic examples that exhibit how each Rule relates to practice Simple, consistent organization of each chapter—offering a clear, logical layout and allowing for ease of use and teaching throughout Chapter introductions that begin with concise explanations of the applicable Rules to be discussed Controversial, contemporary, and thought-provoking readings Discussion questions at the end of each reading, as well as at the end of each chapter, that encourage colorful and lively dialogue and participation Table of Model Rules with applicable page numbers for easy reference

The Seventh Edition of Examples & Explanations for Professional Responsibility is a thorough and comprehensive text that can be used by students as a study aid and by professional responsibility teachers as a class text. It covers the whole field of professional responsibility, focusing not only on the ABA Model Rules, but on the often-complex relationship between the rules and doctrines of agency, tort, contract, evidence, and constitutional law. Beginning with the formation of the attorney-client relationship, the book proceeds through topics including attorneys’ fees, malpractice and ineffective assistance of counsel, confidentiality and privilege rules, conflicts of interest, witness perjury and litigation misconduct, advertising and solicitation, admission to practice, and the organization of the legal profession. Coverage includes all subjects that are tested on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), including judicial ethics, a subject tested on the MPRE and not often covered thoroughly, if at all, in law school professional responsibility courses; the ABA's simplification of the rules on advertising and solicitation; Model Rule 8.4(g) on discrimination in the practice of law; the California Supreme Court's Sheppard Mullin opinion on advance waivers of conflicts, and continuing developments in the impact of technology on the practice of law. New to the Seventh Edition: Expanded coverage of developments in the law having to do with lawyering, including ABA rules, ethics opinions, and cases New and revised examples and explanations in many chapters Top-to-bottom comprehensive revision and updates of all areas of professional responsibility, with attention to areas that are particularly challenging for students (as well as many practicing lawyers!), such as conflicts of interest and privilege and confidentiality Professors and students will benefit from: A study aid that, without "teaching to the test," provides students with thorough preparation for the MPRE, which is the first licensing exam that many law students take MPRE-style multiple-choice questions in the Examples The depth and sophistication of the coverage