Rules for the examination.
Students will be given two hours to complete all the in-class questions. Students may bring into the examination room the following:
"Cheat" notes written on the front of one page only.
The take-home portion of the examination is due on Friday April 28th at or before midnight. Papers can be send via email, faxed (262-8210), or hand delivered. Because the Liberal Arts office is only open until 5 pm. on Friday, papers submitted after that time must be sent by fax or email.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. (15 points) Discuss the films Class Action, and The Rainmaker.
(i) What is the image of lawyers portrayed in these films?
(ii) What is the image of the legal establishment ?
(iii) Connect the images from these films to themes we have discussed in this course.
2. (10 points) What are the main features of the "Harvard Model" of legal education ? Does this system prepare the student for the practice of law?
3. (10 points) Identify the ethical problem in the following scenarios and state specifically the rule from the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct which comes into play. How would you resolve these problems?
Scenario 1
Mr. Drug Lord comes into the office of his lawyer, Mr. Newt Guy. Mr. Lord has been accused of drug trafficking. During the course of a conversation, Mr. Lord says two rather interesting things:
1. He will have to murder the state's star witness and that he has arranged this for Monday morning when Mr. Addison Dic comes to purchase some more heroine on Elm Street.
2. He will get his accountant to fudge his books again next year so that the profits from illegal activities are again funneled through legitimate businesses.
Are both these two statements protected according to attorney- client privilege? Is there any obligation upon Mr. Newt to report Mr. Lord's threats against Mr. Addison Dic to the authorities.
Could a state attorney obtain a court order requiring Mr. Newt to testify concerning Mr. Lord's money laundering plans?
Scenario 2
I am representing my client who is a defendant in a civil case.
I have asked my client for all the documents which pertain to the case.
I have read all the documents and gone to the Nova Law Library. I have read all the legal literature which is relevant to the hearing.
In the course of his remarks the judge makes a reference to a law (statute) which I know has been recently repealed by the legislature of the State of Florida.
The other lawyer representing the plaintiff is also not aware that this law in question has been repealed.
What is my responsibility to the court? Do I keep quiet or should I tell the judge that the statute which he is quoting has been repealed ? If I remain silent now, and at a later date, the case goes to appeal, what might be the consequences? Can I just destroy my photocopies?
4. (15 points)
a. Curtis says that advocacy is "a special case of vicarious conduct." What does he mean by this?
b. Why does Curtis say on page 9 of the "Ethics of Advocacy" article that "a lawyer is required to be disingenuous?"
b. In what circumstances might a lawyer be required "not to speak" to the court, not to inform a judge about the true facts of the case. In what circumstances might a lawyer be required to tell the court the truth, even when it hurts his/her client's case?
c. Curtis says that:
A lawyer should treat his cases like a vivid novel, and
identify himself with his client as he does with the hero or
the heroine in the plot. Then he will work with "the zest that
most people feel under their concern when they assist at
existing emergencies, not actually their own; or join in
facing crises that are grave, but for somebody else."
What does he mean by these statements?
5. (15 points) Discuss the role which DeTocqueville envisioned for lawyers and the legal profession in the United States.
Specifically consider why lawyers act as a group within society. Explain clearly how lawyers will counterpoise the democracy and prevent the establishment of a tyranny of the majority.
TAKE HOME PORTION:
6. Discuss ONE of the following topics below. (20 points)
a. Consider the history of discrimination against Blacks in terms of admission to law school. Is it possible today for Black lawyers to get to the "top"? (Consider the readings on pages 101 to 116 in the text, Lawyers: A Critical Reader, and/or the cases (Sweatt, Missouri ) which you will find on the homepage concerning this topic.)
b. Discuss the professional paths of female attorneys. (pp 91 to 100 in the text, Lawyers, A Critical Reader). You may wish to look at the issue in its historical context as well.
c. Discuss the differences (both advantages and disadvantages) between working for a large law firm and working for a small law firm. (Chapters 3 and 5 in Lawyers: A Critical Reader).
d. Discuss how and why the incomes of attorneys vary so greatly in the United States.
7. (15 points) Compare and contrast the education of lawyers in the United States and in Germany.