Volume 36
Issue
3

Human Rights and Lawyer’s Oaths

by Lauren E. Bartlett
Each lawyer in the United States must take an oath to be licensed to practice law. The first time a lawyer takes this oath is usually a momentous occasion in their career, marked by ceremony and celebration. Yet, many lawyer’s oaths today are unremarkable and irrelevant to modern law practice at best, and at worst, […]

Race Ethics: Colorblind Formalism and Color-Coded Pragmatism in Lawyer Regulation

by Anthony V. Alfieri
The recent, high-profile civil and criminal trials held in the aftermath of the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery murders, the Kyle Rittenhouse killings, and the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” Rally violence renew debate over race, representation, and ethics in the U.S. civil and criminal justice systems. For civil rights lawyers, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys, […]

Creating Architects of Justice: A Gift from Modern Ethics to Brady on Its 60th Anniversary

by David A. Lord
Sixty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court announced the landmark decision Brady v. Maryland, which aimed to create a fairer justice system. Those charged with crimes were promised that the government would turn over evidence favorable to the defense, ensuring that trials would be a fair contest between the two sides. But six decades later, […]

Give Me a Break: Regulating Communications Between Attorneys and Their Witness-Clients During Deposition Recesses

by Brian R. Iverson
Civil depositions typically include periodic breaks, and many attorneys naturally want to discuss the testimony with their witness-clients during those breaks. With the increase in remote depositions during the COVID-19 pandemic, an attorney and witness-client may wish to communicate even more frequently, for example, by exchanging text messages during the questioning. Case law varies greatly […]