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Page last modified Wednesday, April 3, 2002, 1:00 P.M.. |
| Course Description |
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The Course Description link is to the law school's generic description for this course, regardless of which section you take or who teaches it. It may be further described as follows. The course covers the ethics rules of the legal profession and their interpretation by the courts. It also covers, to a limited extent, the underlying ethical system or systems of which the rules may be seen as a manifestation. Thus,we will consider the lawyer as a virtuous man or woman. Who, after all, would trust a person armed with "the law" but who lacks virtue? Rules are not merely starting points for further analysis. Rules are conclusions that have been reached for reasons. The reasons must enliven such further analysis if we are to achieve the purpose of the idea of ethics - indeed, if we are to live the idea of law. The ethics rules are an aid. We will spend significant time, however, dealing with the all too practical rules themselves, their meaning and their interpretations. From time to time more information will be posted here. Consider reading, although it is not assigned, the Elaine Scarry book "On Beauty and Being Just." It is a small book, only 124 pages of text, plus endnotes. |
| Syllabus |
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Required Texts: 2. Professional Responsibility Standards, Rules & Statutes (West, Latest Abridged ed.) 3. Web article on moral foundations of law. Web address given in first class. At the beginning of all chapters save the first in the Schwartz casebook, you will find a list of the Model Rules and Model Code sections which are pertinent to the topic being covered. They should be carefully reviewed and studied along with the material in the casebook in preparation for class. Attendance and diligent preparation are essential for success in this class. You will be called on at random and are expected to have read and prepared the assigned material. There will be a scheduled, closed book, two (2) hour examination at the end of the semester; it may be either multiple choice or essay or a combination of multiple choice and essay. When we spend more than one class on a single chapter, the entire chapter is assigned for each of the classes. We will first cover substance, then application. The syllabus will be adjusted as we get a sense of our pace. All chapter references below are to the Schwartz casebook. Week 1, January 7-11
Week 2, January 14-18
Week 3, January 21-25
Week 4, January 28-February 1
Week 5, February 4-8
Week 6, February 11-15
Week 7, February 18-22
Week 8, February 25-March 1
Sunday, March 3, through Sunday, March 17, Spring Break Week 9, March 18-22
Week 10, March 25-29
Week 11, April 1-5
Week 12, April 8-12
Week 13, April 15-19
Week14, April 22-26
Week 15, April 29-30
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