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This paper answers two questions. First, on the assumption that risk of harm is of moral significance, does risk's moral significance lay in its being harmful? Second, is risk of harm itself harmful? I argue that either risk is not harmful or that risk is harmful only in a small range of cases. If risk is not harmful, and yet risk is of moral significance, risk's moral significance cannot lie in its being harmful. And if risk is harmful only in a small range of the cases in which risk is of moral significance, risk's moral significance cannot lie in its being harmful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the definition of civility within the legal profession. Topics covered include the difference between zealous advocacy and acting without civility, some examples of incivility within the legal profession, and guidance on how best to handle disagreements or aggressive communications with clients, opposing counsel, and outside parties. Also discussed is how the shift toward remote proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic has created incivility in email communications.

The article discusses the court practices in France in the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly the use of double-entendres and linguistic duplicity. Topics include the book "Traicté de la Court" by Eustache de Refuge, the use of dissimulation by the courtier as a defensive weapon to avoid telling lies to defend his and his friends' interests, and comments from personalities like Robert Estienne, Pierre Le Moyne, and Jon R. Snyder.

This article assesses the philosophical foundations and the practical remit of the common law offence of scandalising the judiciary (also known as 'scandalising contempt'), and finds that the continued existence of this offence as presently constituted cannot be justified. The elements and scope of this offence, it is suggested, are ill-defined, which is a matter of great concern given its potentially fierce penal consequences. Moreover, given the extent to which it may interfere with free expression of opinion on an arm of government, the offence's compatibility with the implied freedom of political communication guaranteed by the Australian Constitution is also discussed -- though it is noted that in most instances, prosecutions for the offence will not infringe this protection. The article concludes by suggesting that the common law offence must either by abolished by legislative fiat or replaced by a more narrowly confined statutory offence. It is suggested that an expression of genuinely held belief on a matter of such profound public interest as the administration of justice should not be the subject of proceedings for contempt of court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the small town practice of a woman lawyer, the proposed Idaho Rule of Professional Conduct, and the 2023 American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting.

The article provides information on Missouri's Lawyer Disciplinary System's Rule 5, which outlines the procedure for handling complaints against lawyers for alleged violations of professional conduct. It explains the revised rule's primary provisions, including the substantive changes, and mentioning the role of the Advisory Committee, the chief disciplinary counsel,etc., in carrying out the responsibilities related to the provisions of ethical Rule 4, Rule 5, and Rule 6.

The concept of legal liability is traditionally approached, first in the General Theory of Law, then in each branch legal discipline. From this perspective the role of this fundamental concept of law is emphasized, the legal liability is defined and classified in its main forms (disciplinary, civil, administrative, criminal), the conditions for engaging in any form of legal liability are highlighted. The present study does not aim to analyze what is known, which is not lacking in any academic course of law theory, which has been the subject of numerous writings in the field, including within national doctoral research and not only. Through this study, we aim to highlight the fact that at present there are serious reasons to believe that, compared to the traditional coordinates of the legal liability analysis, we are in the presence of changes, conceptual mutations that play a role within it as a reflection of either the phenomenon well known as legal inflation, or the need to adopt the norms of the right to new social coordinates, to the mutations that take place - thanks to the celerity with which social relations unfold - in social life. In other words, in addition to the branches of law that conventionally analyze the concept of legal liability, it is necessary to emphasize also the appearance of other branches with their specificity, including from the point of view of the legal liability that is committed. We come up with these considerations to analyze a new concept, legal parthenogenesis, a consequence and effect of these social mutations on forms of legal liability. Therefore, the present study has as a major objective the disclosure of other forms of legal liability alongside those already known. The research methods used are the epistemological, historical, comparative, and teleological methods. The results of the study can be used in the new doctrinal approaches in the field, within the three levels of higher education: BA, MA, and PhD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the nee of incentivizing lawyers to improve the professionalism and conduct of lawyers in the U.S. Topics discussed include differences among the professionalism creeds, the model rules, and ethics opinions in the country; ways the courts and bar associations can make their professionalism creeds more effective; and implied and direct incorporation in the rules of professional conduct.

There is no ‘international bar’ that regulates the practice of forensic advocacy before international courts and tribunals. The lack of common ethical standards for representatives before international courts and tribunals has become increasingly topical, particularly in the field of investment arbitration. Initiatives by such professional organizations as the International Law Association and the International Bar Association to identify universal ethical principles suggest that there is a body of opinion amongst practitioners who believe that common ethical standards are necessary. However, the topic remains virgin territory in relation to the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. This article examines the historical evolution of the representation before the Courts and the procedural and ethical problems concerning representatives that have arisen in practice. It concludes that, far from being a topic of only theoretical interest, there have been considerable problems in practice arising from questionable professional conduct by representatives and conflicting national standards. It suggests that the absence of a prescribed code of conduct setting out the Courts’ precise standard for representatives is a threat to the Courts’ procedural integrity and legitimacy. It proposes that the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe take the lead in drafting a code of conduct for the European Courts, in consultation with their judiciaries, which could subsequently be adopted by the Courts and integrated into national codes of conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the Seventeenth Annual Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Lecture on State Courts and Social Justice, Paul J. De Muniz, Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, discusses the challenges confronting state judiciaries in the face of economic crises and corresponding state budget cuts. Chief Justice De Muniz urges state court leaders to adopt the concept of reengineering to overhaul antiquated court management processes in favor of more efficient alternatives. Drawing from the Oregon state judiciary's own efforts, Chief Justice De Muniz identifies court governance structures, case administration, essential court functions, and leadership as key targets in any successful reengineering endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the rules related to professional conducts based focusing on the situation wherein lawyer spouses are on the opposite sides of a trial counsel. The violation of legal ethics and the need of avoiding inadvertent breaching of client confidentiality are discussed in detail. A discussion is presented on the development of model rules in such situations, the inadequacy in laws and the discrepancies in the related case laws. A suggestion is provided related to the need of amendments in these rules focusing on legal ethics.

The article provides a commentary on the article "The Obligation of Lawyers to Heal Civic Culture: Confronting the Ordeal of Incivility in the Practice of Law" by Russell G. Pearce and Eli Wald which is published in the September 1, 2011 issue of this journal. The author argues that the issues of civility and incivility are very different and should not treated as one. He also argues that the influence of self-interest is not as pervasive as Pearce and Wald describe it.

The article discusses the implied obligation of attorneys to promote civility and conduct themselves in a more professional manner in the wake of the shooting of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in January 2001. It states that the legal profession has suffered from a lack of professionalism since the 1980s. The role of relational self-interest is examined in terms of attorneys, clients, and the public.

The article discusses aspects of the justice system reform and legal ethics in Japan. It provides an overview of the disciplinary system for attorneys, or bengoshi, in the nation. It examines situations to prove that there is no relationship between the increasing number of bengoshi and an increase in ethical concerns. It presents analysis on the statistical data on the nation's disciplinary requests and cases. It also investigates whether there is an over-supply of bengoshi in the nation and examines the impact of slowing bengoshi number's pace on the access to justice.

An essay on the role of apologies in the professional ethics of lawyers is presented. The author describes the meaning of apologies and discusses the challenges when it is brought into the legal practice. She examines the professional discipline character test of lawyers and its critics. She also explains her differentiation between character and ethical awareness and how apologies may have a legitimate role in lawyers' disciplinary decisions.

The article focuses on the significance of independence on the ethical practice of lawyers in common law countries, such as Australia, Great Britain and the U.S. It provides a discussion on a number of situations wherein a lack of independence is noted in the actions of in-house lawyers. It explores various ways on how independence is analysed in the wider literature in order to make clearer view of the key ideas behind independence. It outlines the four concepts for delivering independent advice including capacity, which is argued as the most important, power, status and relational barriers. It then examines the four elements against a series of cases that have defined independence for the purpose of privilege claims involving in-house lawyers.

The article focuses on Illinois' adoption of the 2010 revised Rules of Professional Conduct, based on the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct which have become the source of law for the state's disciplinary system. The rules also provide guidance for questions of disqualification in litigation and for the standard of care of conduct in malpractice cases. A summary of the aspects of the rules has been provided as it is important to lawyers.

The article examines the role of problem-solving courts in providing an alternative approach to mediation that offers therapeutic justice and refocuses legal advocacy. It describes the responsibilities of lawyers in problem-solving court and identifies best practices and its challenges. It also offers tips to guide lawyers to prepare themselves and their clients for non-adversarial proceedings.

The article discusses the legal process of a court case California-based Chevron Corp. v. Natural Resources Defenses Council. It argues that Chevron should follow a one-step process in spite of the prominence of the court's review of the two-step framework. The author suggests that there are two questions the court should address as it reviews the interpretation of a statue by an agency such as the allowable state on the merits from the agency's structure of the act. It concludes that the Chevron case should not be pushed into adhering to the original text of the legal notions but rather it should simplify as a matter with no guaranteed cost and only with a one-step process.

The article discusses the structural organization of law to provide better understanding when interpreting, reading, and working with law in litigation and transactions. It notes that organizing law at micro and macro levels is deemed important to perform properly the major tasks in working with law. It states that a legal rule consists of elements and consequences which describe a required type of fact for the rule to apply. Illustrations showing the elements of trespass to land and subdivisions to elements are provided to understand and remember a legal rule.

The article focuses on legal etiquette and the importance of professionalism and civility. Particular attention is given to the attributes of incivility, such as personal attacks, hostility, and obstructionist behavior. Examined are the boundaries of civility. Cited are several examples of incivility, such as cases involving obstructive depositions, coercion and threats, and groundless accusations.

The article revisits the Proposed Advisory Opinion 02-9 of the Florida Bar Association's Professional Ethics Committee in the light of the recent amendment to Rule 4-1.5 of the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, effective March 1, 2008. The amendment authorizes the use of pre-dispute agreements which requires arbitration of fee disputes. The article also recites the reasons underlying the decision of the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar to withdraw the proposed opinion.

The article presents several case studies which suggest that the making of a great lawyer partly depends on how he conducts his judicial judgments or his practice style. It highlights on lawyers' effective approaches to the legal practice that really matters with the intention to advance in the mega-law profession. It implies that flexibility in practice style is considered a resemblance of being an ordinary lawyer which is proven to be counter-intuitive.

The parties in the case, Actions and exceptions, the introduction of the case, citatione, litis contestatione, litis instancia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article covers various issues concerning the ethical obligations of lawyers concerning legal opinions. It notes that a lawyer's duties may be restricted by the agreement with the client or agreement with the counsel receiving the opinion. It discusses rules and laws affecting ethical duties of lawyers such as the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers. Also discussed are the provisions of the Model Rule 2.3 concerning third-party opinions.

The article offers information on how to control courtroom disorder, disruptive defendants and insubordinate counsel in war crime trials following the chaotic proceeding of Dujail trial, a case against Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former leader, and his co-defendants. It examines some of the history's previous messy trials and the tactics that judges have employed with different level of success to respond against disruptive conduct by trial participants. It describes the strategies employed by judges who handled the Dujail trial and investigates why they were not largely successful. In addition, a detailed suggestion on how to maintain order in future war crime trials is presented.

In clinical classes, students should learn that working toward social justice in their practice is both good and possible. After looking at the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct's lack of a clear definition of social justice and the way that this can hamper teaching students about social justice, this paper looks at social justice definitions from other professions and how social work in particular has demanded that their definition of social justice be actualized in practice. Discussing social work's ‘empowerment approach,’ the paper describes the way it develops social work's definition of social justice and demands that social workers practice toward it. The paper suggests ways that we can adapt the empowerment approach to law practice so that our students will develop a strong sense of social justice toward which they can strive and by which they can evaluate their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the practice of judicial ethics and judicial settlements in dispute resolution. It is perceived that the adoption of the ethical rules in the judicial conduct outsets judicial behavior that might result to the risk of non-compliance of attorneys, clients and judges. It calls for the boundaries of judicial intervention to free negotiation settlements of attorneys. It also recommends that judicial settlements should be conducted in an understandable and competent manner.

The article discusses the proper seating arrangement of the criminal defendant in the court. This became the subject of legal argument when lawyer Michael Ramsey requested seats for himself and his client closest at the jury box and directly across from the witness stand. The U.S. Attorney, however, argued that every criminal defendant should sit at the table farthest from the jury. To resolve the conflict, the seating arrangements was placed within the discretion of the trial judge.