Teaching Ethics in a Recession

Paul Horowitz at PrawfsBlawg has noticed that the economy appears to have an influence on how law students approach problems in legal ethics.

In particular, students seem to adhere to a more client-loyal view of legal ethics, rather than espousing the overarching duties that lawyers have to the court. This, Professor Horowitz says, leads students in class discussions to give answers that are aimed at keeping the client, rather than providing recommendations that might risk having the client take the file elsewhere. In addition, students tend to favour non-disclosure where ethical rules are permissive about the breach of confidentiality.

The post, and the observations in it, are fascinating. But they reveal the weaknesses inherent in a rule-based approach to ethics, as opposed to a values-based approach.

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