Legal Aspects Of Practice Research Articles

On the question of professional ethics of lawyers: the american model

A lawyer is a specialist who not only has a higher legal education, but also a lawyer who is called to perform the tasks of providing legal assistance to society in all areas of its life. The essence, content and direction of the lawyer’s activity aredetermined by his main goal - the protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the person, society and its institutions (including the state) with the help of tools for effective, competent and high-quality legal assistance.Ethics and professional responsibility are key foundations of the legal profession. Being a lawyer means holding yourself to higher standards. Members of the public must trust that lawyers will handle their case with the highest level of skill and with the highest level of attention to ethical principles. Legal ethics is a set of rules of professional behavior of practicing lawyers. These rules focus on regulating the behavior of lawyers in all aspects of legal practice, including relations with clients, the courtand third parties. The aims and legitimate purpose of these rules are to ensure the integrity of the legal profession and to define the duties of the lawyer as a representative of the client, as an official of the legal system and as a citizen who has a special responsibility for the quality of justice.
 The standards and requirements of legal ethics derive from a combination of statutory provisions and norms that are widespread in the legal profession. Thus, the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, state courtdirectives, state bar association instructions, and ethics experts’ opinions are among the sources of legal ethics.Despite the fact that there is broad uniformity among states regarding legal ethics, the specifics of the rules of professional conduct are determined by each jurisdiction separately.The study of the regulation of the ethical behavior of lawyers in the context of American legislation is valuable and relevant for the legal science of the constitutional law of Ukraine and the conduct of further comparative legal characteristics of the activities of highly competent, professional and fair lawyers.

THE FOUR-YEAR LLB PROGRAMME AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF LAW STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL AND NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY: SOME PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM A SURVEY

After the 1994 elections the Ministry of Justice convened several legal forums to deal with the legislative and other changes required to make the transition from minority rule to a broad-based democracy. The forums examined different aspects of legal practice, legal qualifications and legal education (see for instance, Ministry of Justice Legal Forum on Legal Education: Proceedings (1995)). The legal education forums were attended by the law deans of all the law faculties in the country. By 1997 there was agreement by the deans – albeit reluctantly by some – that the Baccalaureus Legum (LLB) degree in South Africa should be modified from a three-year postgraduate to a four-year undergraduate programme (McQuoid-Mason “Developing the Law Curriculum to Meet the Needs of the 21st Century Practitioner: A South African Perspective” 2004 Obiter 101). The deans made a number of recommendations regarding the new law curriculum, but there was no mandatory uniform law curriculum requirement. Each university had the freedom to decide what it should include in its programme. The deans only made recommendations – their suggestions were not binding (McQuoid-Mason “Message from the Chairperson of the Board of Control, Durban School” Law Society of South Africa and University of Natal School for Legal Practice: Commemorative Brochure 1994-1998 (1998) 14-15; and cf Iya “The Legal System and Legal Education in South Africa: Past Influences and Current Challenges” 2001 Journal of Legal Education 355). The deans reached consensus that the new law degree should take into account that: South African law exists in and applies to a pluralistic society; students should acquire skills appropriate to the practice of law during the course of their degree; and law faculties should strive to inculcate ethical values into their students. In addition to the traditional core courses taught in the three-year LLB programme the deans recommended that a number of new skills courses should be introduced. The decision as to which courses should be included in the curriculum was left to individual law faculties (McQuoid-Mason 2004 Obiter 101).

Three Concepts of Probabilistic Causation in the Law

Frederick Schauer and Barbara Spellman have recently argued that the probabilistic treatment of causality is widespread in legal practice. Although judicial decisions are focused on single events, there are many aspects of the law in which the relationship between cause and effect is interpreted in probabilistic terms. As in social and natural sciences, also in the law what matters is often to predict ex ante the class of consequences flowing from a class of acts, and this kind of predictions govern legal judgments more than we usually believe. The view just outlined captures some important aspects of legal practice, that have been insufficiently explored by the philosophy of law. However, in the paper I elaborate on the points made by Schauer and Spellman and propose some refinements of them. Probabilistic causal statements in the law often presuppose different concepts of probability. In other words, the expression “probabilistic causation” is ambiguous and needs to be clarified. Distinguishing between different concepts of probability may help to evaluate the use of probabilistic causation in legal practice and to better understand its function in legal proceedings.

The practice-based objection to the ‘standard picture’ of how law works

ABSTRACTMark Greenberg has suggested that there is a ‘standard picture’ of how law works, according to which the contribution that a legal text makes to the content of the law is constituted by the meaning of the words contained in that text. Greenberg and other critics have offered several objections to this Standard Picture (or SP), one of which is that it cannot account for important aspects of legal practice (such as the operation of certain principles of legal interpretation). In this article, I suggest that adherents of the SP may have available to them adequate responses to existing versions of this objection. I then offer a new version of the objection, according to which the SP is unable to account for what I call ‘retrospectively operating modifier laws’ – roughly, laws that alter the contribution that pre-existing statutes make to the content of the law. I consider several ways in which adherents of the SP might seek to account for retrospectively operating modifier laws, and contend that none of them is successful. I conclude that this version of the objection poses a serious threat to the SP, and also to claims made by some of the SP’s critics.

Principal component analysis of professional competencies of architects in the Ghanaian construction industry

Purpose The identification and development of appropriate competencies remain very critical and central to performance measures in mainstream human resource management genre towards effective teams. It is posited as a viable means for validating and engendering best practices and developing suitable competencies towards acceptable performance outcome in construction project delivery. The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical professional competencies of an architect in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI) towards effective performance in the construction project delivery. Design/methodology/approach From a mixed method design involving semi-structured qualitative interview and a questionnaire survey of architects in Ghana, 16 professional architectural competencies were identified for respondents to indicate their importance to effective architectural practice and consulting in the GCI on a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis was used to explore the interrelations among the variables and make possible empirical explanations. Findings Factor analysis revealed four underlying clusters named in order of their significance as efficient design response to client needs, legal aspects of practice, sustainable design and construction and efficient project management skills. The study provides insight into the contextual practice, characteristics and the critical professional architectural competencies needed by architects in the construction industry in Ghana. Originality/value The findings have rigorously revealed and provided clear understanding and insight into the thematic critical professional competencies of architects important to the construction industry in Ghana which should be the focus of architectural training and practice. It is also very important towards developing and stimulating a continuous professional development agenda, developing a body of knowledge of professional practice in architecture and conducting curriculum review to meet current emerging competency profiles necessary for influencing performance levels in the GCI.

Can Robots Be Lawyers? Computers, Lawyers, and the Practice of Law

We assess frequently-advanced arguments that automation will soon replace much of the work currently performed by lawyers. Our assessment addresses three core weaknesses in the existing literature: (i) a failure to engage with technical details to appreciate the capacities and limits of existing and emerging software; (ii) an absence of data on how lawyers divide their time among various tasks, only some of which can be automated; and (iii) inadequate consideration of whether algorithmic performance of a task conforms to the values, ideals and challenges of the legal profession. Combining a detailed technical analysis with a unique data set on time allocation in large law firms, we estimate that automation has an impact on the demand for lawyers’ time that while measureable, is far less significant than popular accounts suggest. We then argue that the existing literature’s narrow focus on employment effects should be broadened to include the many ways in which computers are changing (as opposed to replacing) the work of lawyers. We show that the relevant evaluative and normative inquiries must begin with the ways in which computers perform various lawyering tasks differently than humans. These differences inform the desirability of automating various aspects of legal practice, while also shedding light on the core values of legal professionalism.

PROBABILISTIC CAUSATION IN EFFICIENCY-BASED LIABILITY JUDGMENTS

In this paper I argue that economic theories have never been able to provide a coherent explanation of the causation requirement in tort law. The economic characterization of this requirement faces insurmountable difficulties, because discourse on tort liability cannot be reduced to a cost-benefit analysis without a loss of meaning. More seriously, I try to show that by describing causation in economic terms, economic theories offer an image of the practice in which the participants incur in logical contradictions and develop patterns of inference that are far from intuitive. For this reason, efficiency cannot be the fundamental principle underlying tort law. Finally, I suggest that economic analysis of law can provide a genuine explanation of certain aspects of legal practice if it relinquishes its reductionist claims.

Court is in Session: Integrating the Courtroom Experience into the Law School Classroom - The Australian Experience and the Aspirations of a Clinical Law School.

One way of assisting this process of development and socialization into the community of discourse is through observing and participating in the courts through collaborative arrangements. Collaboration between a law school and the courts in the area allows for graduated and incremental exposure to varied aspects of legal practice, which equates to a specific form of experiential learning. This process raises awareness of ‘professional norms’ and ‘brings students into the legal community of discourse and helps further student competence and expertise in the profession’

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Psychosomatic Medicine

Psychosomatic medicine, also known as C-L (consultation and liaison) psychiatry, is a subspecialty of psychiatry that deals with the interface of psychological, ethical, social, and legal issues arising in clinical medicine. This article addresses ethical and legal aspects of practice in this area utilizing a case-review perspective.

Legal aspects of practice: Prescribing

Mark Gagan sets out the legal basis to prescription of medicines in England and Wales

LAW AND FILM: WHERE ARE THE MEDIATORS?

A review of Michael Asimow and Shannon Mader’s text, Law and Popular Culture: A Course Book (New York: Peter Lang, 2004). Asimow and Mader strongly promote the idea that popular representations of law are crucial to how people understand the legal system. This is an important, social constructionist insight that is not stressed often enough in legal pedagogical materials. The text is well organized and has an excellent focus on cinematic technique, using films as illuminating case studies through which to more fully understand the law and legal actors. However, the text would be stronger if all aspects of legal practice, including negotiation and mediation, and all legal actors, including women and mediators, were included.

Law and Film: Where are the Mediators?

A review of Michael Asimow and Shannon Mader’s text, Law and Popular Culture: A Course Book (New York: Peter Lang, 2004). Asimow and Mader strongly promote the idea that popular representations of law are crucial to how people understand the legal system. This is an important, social constructionist insight that is not stressed often enough in legal pedagogical materials. The text is well organized and has an excellent focus on cinematic technique, using films as illuminating case studies through which to more fully understand the law and legal actors. However, the text would be stronger if all aspects of legal practice, including negotiation and mediation, and all legal actors, including women and mediators, were included.

An exploration of content on legal aspects of practice in nursing programs.

The paucity of literature on legal content in nursing curricula was used to frame the research question that guided this study. In what ways and to what extent are nursing educators addressing the subject of legal aspects of nursing practice? This study was designed to explore the area of legal aspects of nursing practice in nursing programs curricula. The researchers gathered information on numerous areas, including course content, methods of delivery, topics covered, and time devoted to legal content. The results revealed that content on legal aspects of nursing practice is commonly a component of nursing programs curricula and provided information on many areas; however, the results also revealed other areas that need to be researched.

Theorizing about Law

There are many, purportedly competing, theories about law and about aspects of legal practice. H.L. A. Hart, in perhaps the most famous contemporary account, explains law in terms of primary and secondary rules. Writers within the American legal realist tradition believe rules cannot adequately explain legal practice and look instead to actual decisions. This view is reflected in Oliver Wendell Holmes’ famous definition of law as “the prophecies of what the courts will do in fact.” Ronald Dworkin theorizes that posited rules cannot account for the innumerable disputes about the law and argues that political morality plays an important role in conceptualizing law. These theories variously explain law in terms of (a) posited rules, (b) judicial decisions and not rules, and (c) legal rules and moral rights. This sampling of “rival” theories typifies the current state of jurisprudence: a plethora of apparently competing and seemingly endlessly debated theories about law. Ruth Gavison suggests that much jurisprudential discussion has been “sterile and barren” because theorists often have not appreciated the plurality of purposes for theorizing about law and, consequently, the extent to which putatively contradictory accounts of law are at cross purposes or complementary.

Market research in medical practice. A case study of one practice's site survey.

This feature examines the many new developments in health care delivery. It is in keeping with POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE's responsibility to bring readers information not only on clinical subjects but on changes that are occurring in the social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of practice.

The new hospice Medicare benefit

This feature examines the many new types of health care delivery systems now operating and developing. It is in keeping with postgraduate medicine's responsibility to bring readers information not only on clinical subjects but on changes that are occurring in the social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of practice.

The plethora of practice options. What physicians themselves think.

This feature examines the many new types of health care delivery systems now operating and developing. It is in keeping with POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE'S responsibility to bring readers information not only on clinical subjects but on changes that are occurring in the social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of practice.

New reimbursement formulas. The effects of DRGs and changing fiscal responsibilities.

This feature examines the many new types of health care delivery systems now operating and developing. It is in keeping with POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE'S responsibility to bring readers information not only on clinical subjects but on changes that are occurring in the social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of practice.

Free-standing treatment centers. Another member of the competition.

This feature examines the many new types of health care delivery systems now operating and developing. It is in keeping with Postgraduate Medicine's responsibility to bring readers information not only on clinical subjects but on changes that are occurring in the social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of practice.

The emergence of health maintenance organizations (HMOs).

This feature examines the many new types of health care delivery systems now operating and developing. It is in keeping with POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE'S responsibility to bring readers information not only on clinical subjects but on changes that are occurring in the social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of practice.