Regulations and Ethics of Lawyers

 

NOTE: This course has three different course descriptions. Make sure you read the correct one for the section in which you wish to register.

NOTE: There are 6 choices to fulfill the Ethics requirement and no student may take more than one Ethics class from among LAW-132, LAW-150 and LAW-151 (must take both), LAW-152, LAW-153, LAW-154, and LAW-155 without prior approval of Sandy Patrick or Libby Davis.

Regulation and Ethics of Lawyers  - Professor Brian Blum

  • Course Type: Foundational
  • Credits: 3
  • Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
  • Description: This course considers the legal obligations, ethical expectations, and professionalism standards applicable to attorneys in both their professional and personal capacities. We examine an attorney’s professional conduct requirements in relation to clients, other attorneys, the courts, the legal system, and the broader community. The course focuses on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the manner in which the regulation of the legal profession is judicially interpreted. We will examine the rules, case law, and specific ethical problems and dilemmas. Although discussion of general ethical and philosophical values is integrated into the course, the focus of the course is on the practical operation of the rules of professional conduct.
  • Prerequisite: none
  • Evaluation Method: Multiple-choice quizzes during the semester and a final exam.
  • Capstone: no
  • WIE: no

Regulation and Ethics of Lawyers - Professor Jo Perini-Abbott

  • Course Type: Foundational
  • Credits: 3
  • Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
  • Description: This course considers the legal obligations, ethical expectations, and professionalism standards applicable to attorneys in both their professional and personal capacities. We examine an attorney’s professional conduct requirements in relation to clients, other attorneys, the courts, the legal system, and the broader community. The course focuses on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the manner in which the regulation of the legal profession is judicially interpreted. We will examine the rules, case law, and specific ethical problems and dilemmas. Although discussion of general ethical and philosophical values is integrated into the course, the focus of the course is on the practical operation of the rules of professional conduct.
  • Prerequisite: none
  • Evaluation Method: Assignments and self reflections during the semester and a final exam.
  • Capstone: no
  • WIE: no

 

Regulation and Ethics of Lawyers - Professor Lisa Ludwig (Summer 2025)

  • Course Type: Foundational
  • Credits: 3
  • Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
  • Description: This course considers the ethical obligations and professional expectations of attorneys in not only a professional capacity but also on a non-professional, personal level. Examined are the professional conduct requirements relative to an attorney’s relationship with clients, other attorneys, the legal system and even the community at large. While certainly many of the issues considered are rooted in ethical philosophy, there should be no confusion that this is a jurisprudential theory course. A major goal of the class is to prepare students for the analysis and discussion of real world ethical problems they will face in practice.

    The summer course consists of two major components: a thorough review of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the application of those rules to challenging contexts of legal practice.

  • Prerequisite: none
  • Evaluation Method: Final exam; in-class presentations
  • Capstone: no
  • WIE: no