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.
Public Interest Lawyering is the first comprehensive analysis of public interest lawyering that is suitable as a law school elective text and/or advanced legal profession courses and seminars. Drawing upon a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives, this timely textbook examines the lives of public interest lawyers, the clients and causes they serve, the contexts within which they work, the strategies they deploy, and the challenges they face today. Features: The first comprehensive overview of the broad range of contemporary issues faced by public interest lawyers in any American law school text. Thorough discussion of important theoretical issues about the scope and definition of public interest lawyering. Addresses American public interest law from a historical perspective with focus on current issues. Expansive examination of the settings in which public interest practice occurs, including nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and private law firms. Presents the advantages and limits of different legal strategies in public interest practice, including lobbying, public education, community organizing, and community economic development. Addresses contemporary challenges of public interest law in context, including economics and financing, legal ethics, the role of legal education, and the globalization of public interest practice. Discusses critiques of public interest law, including a reflection about the role of lawyers in social movements that addresses contemporary critiques. Ethical obligations of public interest lawyers. Explores special issues related to lawyer-client relations in social change contexts. Extensive coverage of: Models of law reform organizations. Conservative cause lawyering. Government lawyers. The economics of social change lawyering. Global social change lawyering.
The legal rights of Americans are threatened as never before. In No Contest, Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith reveal how power lawyers--Kenneth Starr perhaps the most notorious among them--misuse and manipulate the law at the expense of fairness and equity. Nader and Smith document how corporate lawyers File baseless lawsuits Use court secrecy to their unfair advantage Engage in billing fraud Nader and Smith sound the warning that this system-wide abuse is eroding our basic legal rights, and propose a positive, commonsense vision of what should be done to reverse the corporate-inspired corruption of civil justice. Timely, incisive, and highly readable, this is a book for all citizens who believe that prompt access to justice is the backbone of democracy, and a precious right to be reclaimed.
The story of the dramatic postwar struggle over the proper role of citizens and government in American society. In the 1960s and 1970s, an insurgent attack on traditional liberalism took shape in America. It was built on new ideals of citizen advocacy and the public interest. Environmentalists, social critics, and consumer advocates like Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, and Ralph Nader crusaded against what they saw as a misguided and often corrupt government. Drawing energy from civil rights protests and opposition to the Vietnam War, the new citizens’ movement drew legions of followers and scored major victories. Citizen advocates disrupted government plans for urban highways and new hydroelectric dams and got Congress to pass tough legislation to protect clean air and clean water. They helped lead a revolution in safety that forced companies and governments to better protect consumers and workers from dangerous products and hazardous work conditions. And yet, in the process, citizen advocates also helped to undermine big government liberalism—the powerful alliance between government, business, and labor that dominated the United States politically in the decades following the New Deal and World War II. Public interest advocates exposed that alliance’s secret bargains and unintended consequences. They showed how government power often was used to advance private interests rather than restrain them. In the process of attacking government for its failings and its dangers, the public interest movement struggled to replace traditional liberalism with a new approach to governing. The citizen critique of government power instead helped clear the way for their antagonists: Reagan-era conservatives seeking to slash regulations and enrich corporations. Public Citizens traces the history of the public interest movement and explores its tangled legacy, showing the ways in which American liberalism has been at war with itself. The book forces us to reckon with the challenges of regaining our faith in government’s ability to advance the common good.
Public Interest Law Groups focuses on a special segment of the profession, namely groups `that provide cost-free legal care to willing clients' including `legal aid and legal services groups, interest groups that litigate, and public-interest law firms.' . . . It ought to be an automatic purchase for law school libraries and it will fulfull needs for information about these organizations in large public and academic libraries. Wilson Library Bulletin In recent years, public interest law has shifted from an exclusive interest in the expansion of rights in such areas as consumer protection, environmental law, and discrimination to a parallel concern with seeking limits to freedoms and rights in both the public and private sector. In addition, public interest law firms have introduced diversified litigation strategies that were uncommon even a decade ago. This volume is the only comprehensive work to reflect these recent changes in the complexion and strategies of public interest litigation. Following an introduction describing the major shifts that have occurred in public advocacy, the authors present over 300 profiles of firms, groups, and organizations that litigate in behalf of the public interest and/or use the courts to achieve policy ends. Organizations surveyed include groups that focus on the protection of special interests, rights, or resources and those that offer legal aid in diverse areas, as well as legal organizations such as the American Bar Association. Among the areas of concern are the advancement of science in the public interest, conservation, consumer interests, abortion, constitutional and civil rights, and the rights of groups ranging from the elderly, women, children, and the handicapped to American Indians and other minorities. Additional groups and significant public interest cases are listed at the end of the book. An important source of information for those wishing more data on a particular group or the scope of today's public interest litigation, this book is recommended for legal, public, and academic library reference collections.
This book attempts to convey some of the challenges that those wielding the law for social change purposes have faced and the successes they have achieved. By intention, it is more a studied appreciation than a critical analysis of their efforts. We asked an international team of consultants to help us document and describe how various law-based strategies have worked in very different settings, to draw out connections between those efforts, and to highlight some of the insights that emerge from grantees' experiences in law-related work. We also asked them to help us learn more about the ways the Foundation has played a role in these efforts. Known as the Global Law Programs Learning Initiative (GLPLI), this effort is not definitive, but rather suggestive. Our goal is to contribute to more serious future reflection and, ultimately, more effective programs in this field.
Food Law and Policy surveys the elements of modern food law. It broadens the coverage of traditional food and drug law topics of safety, marketing, and nutrition, and includes law governing environment, international trade, and other legal aspects of the modern food system. The result is the first casebook that provides a comprehensive treatment of food law as a unique discipline. Key Features: Draws together cases with other regulatory materials such as rulemaking documents and agency requests for proposals for grant funding. Focuses on federal law and includes discussion of innovations in food law happening at the municipal, state and federal level. Covers the latest developments in food law.
This innovative book proposes new theories on how the legal system can be made more comprehensible, usable and empowering for people through the use of design principles. Utilising key case studies and providing real-world examples of legal innovation, the book moves beyond discussion to action. It offers a rich set of examples, demonstrating how various design methods, including information, service, product and policy design, can be leveraged within research and practice.
Lawyers of Los Angeles is an intriguing account of L.A. law from 1950 to 2020 - lawyers, the Los Angeles County Bar Association's growth and impact, civil rights, high-profile trials, advisors to L.A.'s creative culture, members of the bench and bar dedicated to the public good. Tuttle presents the untold story of a fascinating legal world.
