Professional Responsibility: Ethics for Litigators and Govt Attorneys

The course examines a range of issues involving the ethics of the legal profession as applied in the context of litigation and working as a government lawyer. Criminal and civil cases, as well as other materials, will be considered. Topics will include duties of candor in discovery and at trial; presentation of false evidence; civility in the courtroom, frivolous litigation, motions or appeals, conflicts of interest in litigated matters, and the special responsibilities of government attorneys. The issues will be explored from both a practical and a theoretical perspective. There will also be some opportunity to compare different types of litigation practice and the impact of various practice fields on professional choices. It is possible that some guest lecturers will visit the class. The course satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement and is to some extent duplicative of the basic Professional Responsibility course so that both may not be taken.