Objective:
In this course, we will be studying the rules that govern the practice of law and establish professional responsibility for lawyers in the U.S., Europe, and Russia. The course will examine the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Responsibility and the Charter of Core Principles of the European Legal Profession and Code of Conduct for Lawyers of the CCBE. Applicability of these rules to other jurisdictions, including Russia, will be explored. We will study methods of exploring ethical questions that are peculiar to the practice of law: using professional conduct canons, codes and rules, as well as case law within the U.S. legal system, in order to resolve complex issues that often arise in legal practice.
Our focus will be largely on the specific provisions controlling lawyers’ behavior within private legal practice – examining issues such as “proper” lawyer-client relationships, advertising or solicitation of legal services, handling of confidential information and conflicts of interest. In considering these issues as applied to factual circumstances, we will invariably encounter “gray areas” where we will grapple with existing provisions and explore our perceptions and beliefs, developing a better understanding of the current scope of U.S. law governing the legal profession, as well as our expectations of professional behavior for lawyers of any jurisdiction.
A more detailed syllabus and description of assignments will be available in the Pericles office prior to the start of the course.
No textbook is required.
