Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Daniel Rezneck

J.D. Course 361 | 2 credit hours

This course will deal with problems of professional responsibility and legal ethics from the standpoint of the practicing lawyer confronted with real-world issues requiring decision-making on the part of the lawyer rather than purely abstract speculation. It will cover such topics as avoiding and resolving conflicts of interest; preserving client confidences; ethical problems arising in civil and criminal litigation, including disclosure obligations to adversaries and tribunals, responding to discovery requests and handling the untruthful client; attorney fees and methods of attracting legal business; and the role and duties of counsel in particular relationships, such as lawyers for the government, inside and outside lawyers for corporations and other entities and public interest lawyers.

The course will also focus on the changes in the legal profession in recent years, such as the rise of mega-law firms, the globalization of law practice, the entry of women and minorities in large numbers into the profession, and the impact of technology, and what they import for the future of the profession. It is designed to help law students in making career choices in the law as well as to become better lawyers.

Students may receive credit for only one offering in the Professional Responsibility series and may not receive credit for both a course in this series and American Legal Profession or Professional Responsibility: Lawyers’ Ethics in an Adversary System or Legal Ethics in Corporate Practice or Professional Responsibility: Problems from Practice or Professional Responsibility for Tax Lawyers. Students MAY receive credit for this course and Professional Responsibility in Law Firm and Corporate Practice.