The Rule Of Lawyers

Big-ticket litigation is a way of life in this country. But something new is afoot--something typified by the $246 billion tobacco settlement, and by courtroom assaults that have followed against industries ranging from HMOs to gunmakers, from lead paint manufacturers to "factory farms." Each massive class-action suit seeks to invent new law, to ban or tax or regulate something that elected lawmakers had chosen to leave alone. And each time the new process works as intended, the new litigation elite reaps billions in fees--which they invest in fresh rounds of suits, as well as political contributions. The Rule of Lawyers asks: Who picks these lawyers, and who can fire them? Who protects the public's interest when settlements are negotiated behind closed doors? Where are our elected lawmakers in all this? The answers may determine whether we slip from the rule of law to the rule of lawyers.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

First published in 2011. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This pamphlet, working in the context of increasing complaints against lawyers, argues that self-regulation in the legal profession is an outdated concept which has no place in modern Britain. It claims that not only are consumers the losers from self-policing, but also lawyers themselves.

A study of the relationship between judicial activism and government lawyers.

"This book will examine lawyers' historical and contemporary relationship to the rule of law, one of the pillars of a liberal democracy. It does so by firstly identifying a range of rule of law issues confronting society; secondly by illustrating how lawyers interact with them; thirdly by examining how legal independent professions support are key to rule of law and finally; fourthly by exploring arguments that satisfactory support for the rule of law is available by other means."--