Suchergebnisse

Over the last several decades, virtually all large U.S. law firms have adopted a human capital strategy that emphasizes academic performance and the prestige of the law school attended. Although this focus is rooted more in tradition than in hard empirical evidence that it produces a competitive advantage, the question has long been irrelevant for most law firms because of the perennial rise in profits. If the model is not broken, the adage runs, why fix it? Drawing upon extensive historical and contemporaneous evidence, this essay argues that the limitations of the traditional credentials-based model have been masked by a steady multidecade surge in the demand for corporate legal services. Further, various data and trendlines suggest that the growth in demand for corporate legal services is beginning to flatten out. In the coming years, many large corporate law firms will be in the unfamiliar position of competing over market share. Unlike the relative calm and prosperity of the prior era, their survival will likely depend upon a human capital strategy that asks and answers several basic empirical questions regarding the selection and development of lawyers. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]

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