Rules for the examination.
Students will be given two hours to complete all the questions. Students may bring into the examination room the following: "Cheat" notes written on two pages.
1. (20 points)
Discuss the films Class Action, The Rainmaker, and A Time to Kill.
(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. (15 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 ( 7 points)
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 ( 5 points)
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In the course of his remarks the judge makes a reference to a law (statute) which I know has been recently repealed by the legislature of the State of Florida.
The other lawyer representing the plaintiff is also not aware that this law in question has been repealed.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 Do I keep quiet or should I tell the judge that the statute which he is quoting has been repealed ?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?
Scenario 3 ( 3 points)
In 1983, I was an attorney specializing in family law. I have arranged a private adoption. The natural parents and the adoptive parents both were my clients in this transaction, however, neither party knew the name of the other.
It was a condition of the representation of the parties that the names were not to be disclosed either to each other or the child.
It is 1999. Freedie Jr., now 16 years old, the lovely but somewhat devious and demented child of the Krugers, wishes to know the identity of his biological parents. He phones my office. He asks for the names of his biological parents. May I tell him their names or their address(es)?
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?"
c. 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?
d. Curtis says that:
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.
6. Discuss ONE of the following topics below. (25 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).
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Stephen Ross Levitt Updated: October 2000 Copyright Stephen Ross Levitt |