P. Hanl*n

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Regulation of the Legal Profession (P. Hanl*n)

This 3-unit, P/R satisfying class, examines the legal rules governing the right to practice law and their relationship to lawyers’ other obligations under the law or imposed by their broader ethics as human beings and members of society. The class will also focus on specific modes of practice, including public interest and contingency fee lawyering as well as practice in law firms, and the characteristic problems that tend to arise in different settings. Students can choose between (i) taking an inc-class exam with a choice among several essay questions or (ii) writing a 25-page paper on the legal profession or legal ethics. Students who have taken Course 210 may not receive credit for this course.

The assigned text will be Stephen Gillers, Regulation of Lawyers (Seventh Edition). You will need a copy of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the California Rules of Professional Conduct, which you can obtain in the Statutes and Standards volume prepared by Gillers and Roy D. Simon (or other similar books), download yourself, of obtain from me by e-mail.

Tort Reform and Its Critics (P. Hanl*n)

This 2-credit seminar examines the theory and practice of 30 years of tort reform. Since the late 1970s, there has emerged a conservative theory of the tort system, based on the proposition that there is a litigation explosion in the United States, driven by greedy and unscrupulous trial lawyers, which threatens the competitiveness of American business at home and abroad. On the basis of that theory, conservative tort reformers have succeeded in obtaining changes in the law in many states that restrict the right of injured people to recover from those who injure them. This course will consider the debate between tort reformers and critics of the tort reform “myth,” the emergence of political and public relations components to defense-oriented litigation strategies, the complex connections between tort reform ideas and what actually happens in the courts, and what all of this has meant for the operation of the tort system and the quality of civil justice. Students will have the opportunity to lead classes based on their research papers and to discuss one another’s research. This course may be used to satisfy the writing requirement.

Exam Notes: P