Ethics and the Legal Profession, 2nd Edition

“An excellent anthology!  Cohen and Davis have succeeded in identifying the key ethical issues for the legal profession and they have made a fine selection of readings to help students think more deeply about these issues.“

JAMES P. STERBA
Philosophy Department
University of Notre Dame

"Legal practices give rise to an array of ethical issues that need further discussion. This collection provides an excellent basis for taking that discussion further."

 
PETER SINGER
Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University
Author of Practical Ethics and other books

Beneficial for law or philosophy students, or practicing lawyers, Ethics and the Legal Profession includes articles by eminent philosophers and lawyers that explore moral problems in legal practice.

The text is divided into six sections, each dealing with an important issue: The History and Organization of the Profession in the United States; The Moral Critique of Professionalism; The Adversary System; Conflict of Interest and Professional Judgment; Perjury and Confidentiality; and Making Legal Services Available.

Combining in-depth case studies with careful analysis, the editors help students and professionals distinguish between moral and technical judgment, become clearer about the meaning of moral discourse in the workplace, and better appreciate the higher callings of their profession. Raising provocative questions about the rationale and limits of professional responsibility, this text provides insights into the ethics of the legal profession at a time when technology, globalization, and the changing economics of lawyering are reshaping the profession of law in ways still hard to predict.

FURTHER PRAISE FOR ETHICS AND THE LEGAL PROFESSION:

"This is a welcome introduction to central issues of professional ethics for lawyers. Unlike many anthologies that focus on teaching the rules of professional ethics to keep lawyers out of trouble, Cohen's and Davis's collection strongly favors a more reflective approach to professional ethics. Although perspective and the tools primarily used are those of moral philosophy, the essays in this collection, even the most theoretical, are firmly planted in the ground of actual legal practice. Diverse and provocative essays explore issues from general problems of professionalism and professional responsibility within the adversary system to specific issues of conflict of interest, confidentiality, and the availability of legal assistance. Especially useful are challenging practical problem sets included at the end of each segment of the book, making this an excellent teaching tool for law school and undergraduate ethics courses."
 

 G.J. POSTEMA
Cary C. Boshamer Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Law
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Author of Moral Responsibility in Professional Ethics

Book Binding: Paperback
Pages: 438

ISBN: 978-1-59102-621-1
Shipping Weight: 1lbs

Author Bio:

Elliot D. Cohen (Port St. Lucie, FL) is the director of the Institute of Critical Thinking, the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Applied Philosophy, ethics editor for Free Inquiry magazine, and the author or editor of many books in journalism, professional ethics, and philosophical counseling, including The Last Days of Democracy (with Bruce W. Fraser).

Michael Davis (Chicago, IL) is a professor of philosophy, and a senior fellow at the Center for Study of Ethics in the Professions, at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is the author or editor of eleven books on various ethical issues, including Profession, Code, and Ethics and the first edition of Ethics and the Legal Profession (with Frederick Elliston).

Frederick A. Elliston, co-editor of the first edition, was teaching philosophy at the University of Hawaii when he was killed in an automobile accident in 1987.