Professional Responsibility

Professional Responsibility

Elon Law School

Fall 2023

Room 207

Monday & Wednesday 9:45–10:45 am


Professor: Eric M. Fink

efink@elon.edu

336-279-9334

Office hours by appointment

Description

This course is intended to acquaint students with the organization and regulation of the legal profession, the nature of the attorney-client relationship, and the duties that attorneys owe to clients and others. Upon successfully completing the course, students should be familiar with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other sources of law governing the legal profession, and be able to apply these rules to issues that arise in legal practice. The course will also help prepare students for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), but will not cover all of the topics tested on that exam.

Materials

Required

Professional Responsibility: An Open-Source Casebook (Fink 2023). The casebook is posted online as part of the course website: emfink.net/ProfessionalResponsibility. PDF copies of each chapter are available for download on the Table of Contents page.

Suggested

Grace M. Giesel, Mastering Professional Responsibility (2d ed., Carolina Academic Press 2015).

Policies

Grading

Your grade will be based on a final examination consisting of multiple choice questions, similar in format to the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). You will receive a copy of the Rules of Professional Conduct to use during the exam, which will otherwise be closed-book/closed-notes.

Attendance

Elon Law School has adopted the following attendance policy for all courses:

The Law School administers a policy that a student maintain regular and punctual class attendance in all courses in which the student is registered, including externships, clinical courses, or simulation courses. Faculty members will give students written notice of their attendance policies before or during the first week of class. These policies may include, but are not limited to: treating late arrivals, early departures, and/or lack of preparation as absences; imposing grade or point reductions for absences, including assigning a failing grade or involuntarily withdrawing a student from the class; and any other policies that a professor deems appropriate to create a rigorous and professional classroom environment.

In case of illness or emergency, students may contact the Office of Student and Professional Life, which will then notify the student’s instructors. A student may notify the faculty member directly of a planned absence and should refer to individual faculty members regarding any policy that may apply. In the case of prolonged illness or incapacity, the student should contact the Office of Student and Professional Life.

Disability Accommodations

For disability accommodation requests, contact the Elon Law Registrar’s Office.

Honor Code

The Law School honor code applies to all activities related to your law school study, including conduct during class and examinations.

Schedule & Assignments

Date Topic Assignment
   Part I: The Legal Profession & Regulation of Lawyers   
August 28 Regulatory Institutions Casebook, Chap. 1, § 1; Giesel, Chap. 1
August 30 & September 6 Professional Gatekeeping Casebook, Chap. 1, § 2; Giesel, Chap. 2
        
   Part II: Advertising & Solicitation   
September 11 Advertising; Solicitation Casebook, Chap. 2; Giesel, Chap. 45 & 46
        
   Part III: The Attorney-Client Privilege   
September 13 Establishing & Ending an Attorney-Client Relationship Casebook, Chap. 3, § 1; Giesel, Chap. 4, 11, & 12
September 18 Attorney as Agent, Client as Principal Casebook, Chap. 3, § 2; Giesel, Chap. 8 & 14
September 20 Organizational Clients Casebook, Chap. 3, § 3; Giesel, Chap. 13
September 27 Attorney Fees & Client Property Casebook, Chap. 3, § 4; Giesel, Chap. 9 & 10
        
   Part IV: The Duty of Care   
October 2 & 4 Competence, Malpractice, & Ineffective Assistance Casebook, Chap. 4; Giesel, Chap. 5-7, 24
        
   Part V: Confidentiality & Privileges   
October 9 & 11 Duty of Confidentialty Casebook, Chap. 5, § 1; Giesel, Chap. 15
October 16 Attorney-Client Privilege & Work-Product Casebook, Chap. 5, § 2; Giesel, Chap. 16
        
   Part VI: Conflicts of Interest   
October 18 & 23 Concurrent Client Conflicts Casebook, Chap. 6, § 1; Giesel, Chap. 17 & 18
October 25 Conflicts Involving the Lawyer’s Interests Casebook, Chap. 6, § 2; Giesel, Chap. 21
October 30 & November 1 Former Client Conflicts & Imputation Casebook, Chap. 6, §§ 3 & 4; Giesel, Chap. 19, 20, 22, & 23
        
   Part VII: Duties in Litigation   
November 6 & 8 Integrity of the Proceedings Casebook, Chap. 7, § 1; Giesel, Chap. 26-32
November 13 Prosecutorial Misconduct Casebook, Chap. 6, § 2; Giesel, Chap. 33
        
   Part VIII: Interactions with Non-Clients   
November 15 Truthfulness & Fairness; Dealing with Represented Persons; Dealing with Unrepresented Persons Casebook, Chap. 7; Giesel, Chap. 35-37
        
November 20 Final Review  
November 30 Final Exam  

Note: This class will not meet on Sept. 4 and 25.