Ethics-Governance: Article: http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/archives/2000/jan-00-money.htm

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http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/archives/2000/jan-00-money.htm Money and Ethics: The Young Lawyer's Conundrum by Patrick J. Schiltz Courses on legal ethics are among the least popular courses in the law school curriculum, even less popular than courses on taxation. Nothing makes a law student's eyes glaze over as quickly as the phrase "legal ethics." There are many reasons for this, but the most important is probably that law students do not think they will become unethical lawyers. Students think of unethical lawyers as the sleazeballs who chase ambulances (think Danny DeVito in The Rainmaker), run insurance scams (think Bill Murray in Wild Things), or destroy evidence (think Al Pacino's crew in The Devil's Advocate). Students have a hard time identifying with these lawyers. When students think of life after graduation, they see themselves sitting on the 27th floor of some skyscraper in a freshly pressed dark suit doing sophisticated legal work for sophisticated clients. Students imagine that such lawyers do not have to worry about ethics. In fact, as I tell the students I teach, they will probably begin to practice law unethically in at least some respect within their first year or two in practice. This happens to most young lawyers. It happened to me, and it will happen to my students, unless they do something about it. Let's first be clear on what I mean by practicing law unethically. I mean three things. First, a lawyer has to comply with the formal disciplinary rules — in most states, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This is necessary, but far from sufficient. Complying with the formal rules will not make an attorney an ethical lawyer, any more than complying with criminal law will make him an ethical person. Full Article: http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/archives/2000/jan-00-money.htm


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