Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1995
Publication Information
58 L. & Contemp. Probs., Summer-Autumn 1995, at 287.
Abstract
Largely as a result of prompting by the American Bar Association ("ABA"), most American law schools now require students to take a class called Professional Responsibility or Legal Ethics before graduation.
The ABA's campaign for a renewed emphasis on ethics stems from a desire that lawyers return to the "principles of professionalism."' How law schools should go about teaching their students these principles has never been as clear, for example, as how to teach students federal taxation. Does one try merely to teach students professional responsibility by covering the rules and tenets contained in the Model Rules and Code, or does one evaluate these professional rules in terms of a more general set of moral criteria?
By merely learning the rules, students learn ethics without the context provided by real clients, real situations, and being part of the profession. Students may learn "professional responsibility," but the topic of "personal responsibility" is neglected.
Recommended Citation
Christine M. Venter,
Encouraging Personal Responsibility - An Alternative Approach to Teaching Legal Ethics,
58 L. & Contemp. Probs., Summer-Autumn 1995, at 287..
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1691