Professional Responsibility
Elon Law School
Fall 2023
Room 207
Monday & Wednesday 9:45–10:45 am
Professor: Eric M. Fink
336-279-9334
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.