DOCSLIB.ORG

Time for Change: Unethical Hourly Billing in the Canadian Profession and What Should Be Done About It

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Time for Change: Unethical Hourly Billing in the Canadian Profession and What Should Be Done About It TIME FOR CHANGE: UNETHICAL HOURLY BILLING IN THE CANADIAN PROFESSION AND WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT. Alice Woolley* Calgary In the United States hourly billing by lawyers has been demonstrated to lead to both inefficiencies, where clients pay for work done to generate hours rather than results, and dishonesty. While the vast majority of Canadian legal work is billed on an hourly basis no attempt has been made in Canada to analyze either whether hourly billing leads to the same ethical problems here or whether the regulatory regime governing hourly billing by Canadian lawyers is sufficient. This essay argues that hourly billing leads to inefficiency, the temptation to be dishonest and to dishonesty, in fact, in the Canadian profession. After outlining the weaknesses in the current regulation of hourly billing – both formal and market – the essay outlines some regulatory reforms which could help to prevent and correct both the specific forms which unethical hourly billing takes and its causes. Aux États-Unis, des études ont démontré que la facturation horaire des honoraires juridiques entraînait l’inefficacité (les clientes et clients payant pour des travaux faits en fonction des heures à facturer plutôt que des résultats) et la malhonnêteté. Au Canada, où la vaste majorité des travaux juridiques sont toujours facturés à l’heure, personne n’a cherché à savoir si la facturation horaire suscitait les mêmes problèmes éthiques ou si le régime réglementaire canadien la régissant suffisait à la tâche. Ce texte soutient que la facturation horaire a pour conséquence l’inefficacité et la tentation d’être malhonnête ainsi que la malhonnêteté au sein de la profession juridique dans son ensemble. Après avoir esquissé les faiblesses de la réglementation actuelle - officielle et par le marché - le texte brosse un tableau de certaines réformes réglementaires qui pourraient contribuer à prévenir et à corriger les formes spécifiques de facturation horaire contraires à l’éthique ainsi que leurs causes. * Alice Woolley, of the Faculty of Law, the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. The author thanks Jonette Watson-Hamilton and Patricia Hughes for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper, and Frances Woolley, Kate Morisset and Gerald Grenon for their conversations about the ideas it contains. Any errors which remain are the responsibility of the author. 860 LA REVUE DU BARREAU CANADIEN [Vol.83 I. Introduction . .860 II. American Critique Of Hourly Billing . .864 A. Introduction . .864 B. Paying Something For Nothing I: Doing Work Which Accomplishes Nothing . .864 C. Paying Something For Nothing II: It’s All In How You Count It . .865 D. Paying Something for Nothing III: Paying For Work Which Wasn’t . .867 E. Conclusion . .868 III. Unethical Billing In Canada? . .868 A. Introduction . .868 B. Where There Is Smoke… . .870 C. Paying Something for Nothing I: Doing Work Which Accomplishes Nothing (Redux) . .871 D. Paying Something for Nothing II: It’s All In How You Count It (Redux) . .877 E. Paying Something for Nothing III: Paying For Work Which Wasn’t (Redux) . .880 F. Conclusion . .884 IV. What Should Be Done? . .885 A. Introduction . .885 B. Formal Regulation of Lawyers’ Fees . .886 C. Market Regulation of Lawyers’ Fees . .888 D. Some Proposed Reforms . .888 V. Conclusion . .892 I. Introduction The vast majority of Canadian legal work is billed on an hourly basis.1 The ethical implications of this fact have not, however, been a matter of significant public commentary by Canadian lawyers or law professors.2 Specifically, whether hourly billing results in clients paying an appropriate amount for legal services, or whether, by contrast, it creates a culture of inefficiency and dishonesty, has not been discussed. The leading Canadian texts on legal ethics either say nothing or very little 1 An article by Anne Macaulay, “The Billable Hour – Here to Stay?” online: CBA Practice Link <http://www.cba.org/cba/Practicelink/mf/alternatives.asp> puts the percentage of Canadian legal work which is billed on an hourly basis at 85%. Other methods of charging clients include contingency fees, fixed fees and value billing. 2 In general few Canadian legal academics write about the legal profession. See: Adam M. Dodek, “Canadian Legal Ethics: A Subject in Search of Scholarship” (1999) 50 U.T.L.J. 115; Alice Woolley, “Integrity in Zealousness: Comparing the Standard Conceptions of the Canadian and American Lawyer” (1996) 9 Can. J. L. & Juris. 61. 2004] Time for Change: Unethical Hourly Billing... 861 about the ethical issues arising from hourly billing,3 research has revealed no articles in Canadian legal journals on the subject,4 and projects such as the recent revision of the Canadian Bar Association’s5 Rules of Professional Conduct contain no discussion of hourly billing as a significant ethical issue for Canadian lawyers.6 The silence of Canadian practitioners and professors is in marked contrast to the overwhelming level of concern expressed by the American profession and legal academy with the ethics of hourly billing. Since the American Bar Association identified hourly billing as an ethical issue in 19897 there have been at least thirty articles,8 three 3 Randal N. Graham, Legal Ethics: Theories, Cases and Professional Regulation (Toronto: Emond Montgomery Publications, 2004) pp. 455-459; Allan C. Hutchinson, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (Toronto: Irwin Law, 1999) at 79; Gavin MacKenzie, Lawyers and Ethics: Professional Responsibility and Discipline, 3d ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 2001) p. 6.1; Legal Ethics in Canada: Theory in Practice, Donald E. Buckingham et al, eds., (Toronto: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1996) (no discussion); Beverley G. Smith, Professional Conduct for Lawyers and Judges (Fredericton: Maritime Law Book, 1998) (no discussion). 4 Supreme Court Justice L’Heureux-Dubé’s commencement address to the Northern Illinois University College of Law mentioned the ethical problems with hourly billing: “The Legal Profession in Transition” (1992) 13 No. Ill. U. Law Rev. 93 at 99. Also, Osgoode Hall law professor Allan Hutchinson wrote a newspaper comment on point: “Justice is Greedy: The real cost of high lawyers’ fees is a legal system that’s unjust,” Globe and Mail (6 February 2001) A15. 5 [CBA]. 6 The only proposed amendment to Chapter XI of the CBA Code of Professional Conduct online: Canadian Bar Association < http://www.cba.org > at 25 (which governs legal fees) is the amendment to permit the charging of contingency fees which are now legal in every Canadian jurisdiction. See: “Modernizing the CBA Code of Professional Conduct: Final Report of the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility” (Ottawa: Canadian Bar Association, 1988). Younger lawyers in the CBA do appear to have some concern with the level of lawyers’ fees: Janice Tibbetts, “Legal fees too much, say young lawyers” Calgary Herald (20 August 2000) A.1. FRO. In addition, National, the CBA magazine, occasionally discusses hourly billing: See, e.g., Jordan Furlong, “The Money Tree: There’s more to lawyering than billable hours” National, (December 2003) 4; Jordan Furlong, “Are you hot or not?” (suggesting that value billing is “hot” while hourly billing is “not”) National (June/July 2003) 4. 7 Beyond the Billable Hour: An Anthology of Alternative Billing Methods, Richard C. Reed, ed. (Chicago: American Bar Association, 1989) [Beyond the Billable Hour]. 8 In addition to materials discussed below see: Adam C. Altman, “To Bill, or Not to Bill?: Lawyers Who Wear Watches Almost Always Do, Although Ethical Lawyers Actually Think About It First” (1998) 11 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 203; F. Leary Davis, “Back to the Future: The Buyer’s Market and the Need for Law Firm Leadership, Creativity and Innovation” (1994) 16 Campbell L. Rev. 147; Amanda K. Esquibel, “Law and Literature: A Collection of Essays on John Grisham’s The Rainmaker: Be Led Not into Temptation: Ethics Lessons from The Rainmaker” (1996) 26 U. Mem. L. 862 THE CANADIAN BAR REVIEW [Vol.83 books,9 and a further extensive American Bar Association report10 on the subject. The clear consensus of the American materials is that hourly billing leads to both inefficiencies, where clients pay for work done to generate hours rather than results, and dishonesty. The silence of the Canadian profession on the ethics of hourly billing is also in contrast to the significant concern expressed by the Canadian media11 and Rev. 1325; Lawrence J. Fox, “Save Us From Ourselves” (1998) 50 Rutgers L. Rev. 2189; Marc S. Galanter and Thomas M. Palay, “Large Law Firm Misery: It’s the Tournament, Not the Money” (1999) 52 Vand. L. Rev. 953; Stephen W. Jones and Melissa Beard Glover, “The Attack on Traditional Billing Practices” (1998) 20 U. Ark. Little Rock L.J. 293; Margaret Kline Kirkpatrick, “Partners Dumping Partners: Business Before Ethics in Bohatch v. Butler & Binion” (1999) 83 Minn. L. Rev. 1767; Lisa G. Lerman, “Scenes From a Law Firm” (1998) 50 Rutgers L. Rev. 2153; John J. Marquess, “Conference on Gross Profits: Legal Audits and Dishonest Legal Bills” (1994) 22 Hofstra L. Rev. 637; Virginia G. Maurer et al., “Attorney Fee Arrangements: The U.S. and Western European Perspectives” (1999) 19 NW. J. Int’l L. & Bus. 272; Ankur Parekh and Jay R. Pelkofer, “Current Development 2002-2003: Lawyers, Ethics, and Fees: Getting Paid Under Model Rule 1.5” (2002) 16 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 767; Douglas R. Richmond, “The New Law Firm Economy, Billable Hours, and Professional Responsibility” (2000) 29 Hofstra L. Rev. 207; William G. Ross, “Kicking the Unethical Billing Habit” (1998) 50 Rutgers L. Rev. 2199; Patrick J. Schiltz, “Legal Ethics in Decline: The Elite Law Firm, the Elite Law School, and the Moral Formation of the Novice Attorney” (1998) 82 Minn. L. Rev. 705; James P. Schratz: “I Told You to Fire Nicholas Farber – A Psychological and Sociological Analysis of Why Attorneys Overbill” (1998) 50 Rutgers L.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Book Review in the Novel- the Firm by John Grisham
    Republic of the Philippines Surigao Del Sur State University Tandag, Surigao Del Sur BOOK REVIEW IN LITERATURE 2 ( THE FIRM ) Submmited by: Ermie Jane R. Otagan (BEED-IV) Submmited to: Ms. Lady Sol Azarcon-Suazo (Instructor) OCTOBER 2011 Title : THE FIRM About the Author John Ray Grisham, Jr. (born February 8, 1955) is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers. John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade. He also served in the House of Representatives in Mississippi from January 1984 to September 1990. Beginning writing in 1984, he had his first novel A Time To Kill published in June 1989. As of 2008, his books had sold over 250 million copies worldwide. A Galaxy British Book Awards winner, Grisham is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing, the others being Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling. Early life and education John Grisham, the second oldest of five siblings, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Wanda Skidmore Grisham and John Grisham. His father worked as a construction worker and a cotton farmer, while his mother was a homemaker. When Grisham was four years old, his family started traveling around the South, until they finally settled in Southaven in DeSoto County, Mississippi. As a child, Grisham wanted to be a baseball player. Despite the fact that Grisham's parents lacked formal education, his mother encouraged her son to read and prepare for college.
    [Show full text]
  • Broker in Charge 2019
    THIS COURSE is for real estate licensees to become more competent and remain qualified to engage in real estate activities for which they are licensed. It is focused on current information regarding new and/or changing laws and regulations which affect the real estate business, as well as facts and concepts about which licensees must be knowledgeable in order to safely and confidently conduct real estate negotiations and transactions. Participants will expand and enhance their knowledge and expertise to be continually effective, competent, and ethical as they practice real estate. INSTRUCTOR: Joyce Painter ANY LICENSEE may complete the Broker in Charge course in lieu of the required subject matter. However, all Brokers must successfully complete the Broker in Charge course as approved by the OREC consisting of 15 clock hours. Additionally, to fully complete the continuing education requirement of 21 clock hours a broker must also complete at least two of the BROKER IN CHARGE six required subject matter topics, equal to at least six clock hours. Each 2020 licensee must provide evidence of 15-hour Required Course Approved by the completion of 21-clock hours of OREC Oklahoma Real Estate Commission (OREC) for approved subject matter. [OREC Rule broker and sales associate licensees. 605:10-3-6] CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 5 OKLAHOMA REAL ESTATE CODE AND RULES ...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Long Island Studies Institute Collections
    LONG ISLAND STUDIES INSTITUTE COLLECTIONS The Long Island Studies Institute, a cooperative endeavor of Hofstra University and Nassau County, is a major center for the study of Long Island local and regional history. The Institute's research facility—which is open to scholars, teachers, students, and the general public—includes: Archival Collections Census Records Books Genealogies Photographs Government Documents Newspapers Manuscripts Maps Audiovisual Materials The various collections within the Institute include the Nassau County Museum's Reference Collection, Hofstra University's James N. MacLean American Legion Memorial Collection, as well as other collections donated by individual Long Island families and businesses. These resources constitute a rich repository for local history research. Hofstra University Library Special Collections Department / Long Island Studies Institute 123 Hofstra University | 032 Axinn Library | Hempstead, New York | 11549-1230 Voice: (516) 463-6411 | Fax (516) 463-6442 | E-Mail: [email protected] Long Island Studies Institute Collection Policy The Hofstra University Long Island Studies Institute Czechoslovak Americans on Long Island Collection Collection Davidson, Bernice and Reuben Collection The James N. Maclean American Legion Memorial Decker, Lenox Scrapbook Collection Drake, Leo O. Manuscript of Now Hear This, Man Your The Nassau County Museum Reference Library Battle Stations Collection Drennan, John P. Photographs Dunnell, Lyman L. Papers African Americans on Long Island Collection Education on Long Island Collection American Institute of Architecture ARCHI Awards Engerer Family Papers American Legion Collections Fair Media Council FOLIO Awards Autograph Album Fashion Collection Axinn, Donald E., Videotapes Fortnighty Club of Rockville Centre Collection Baylis Family Photographs Freese, Walter Collection Bedell, Ada N. Papers General Store Account Ledger Bidwell, George R.
    [Show full text]
  • The Runaway Jury John Grisham
    The Runaway Jury John Grisham One The face of Nicholas Easter was slightly hidden by a display rack filled with slim cordless phones, and he was looking not directly at the hidden camera but somewhere off to the left, perhaps at a customer, or perhaps at a counter where a group of kids hovered over the latest electronic games from Asia. Though taken from a distance of forty yards by a man dodging rather heavy mall foot traffic, the photo was clear and revealed a nice face, clean-shaven with strong features and boyish good looks. Easter was twenty-seven, they knew that for a fact. No eyeglasses. No nose ring or weird haircut. Nothing to indicate he was one of the usual computer nerds who worked in the store at five bucks an hour. His questionnaire said he'd been there for four months, said also that he was a part- time student, though no record of enrollment had been found at any college within three hundred miles. He was lying about this, they were certain. He had to be lying. Their intelligence was too good. If the kid was a student, they'd know where, for how long, what field of study, how good were the grades, or how bad. They'd know. He was a clerk in a Computer Hut in a mall. Nothing more or less. Maybe he planned to enroll somewhere. Maybe he'd dropped out but still liked the notion of referring to himself as a part-time student. Maybe it made him feel better, gave him a sense of purpose, sounded good.
    [Show full text]
  • The Death of an Honorable Profession
    The Death of an Honorable Profession CARL T. BOGUS* INTRODUCTION The legal profession is dead or dying. It is rotting away into an occupation. On this, those assembled at the bedside concur, though there is much about which they disagree. "The law has become a business like any other," writes Anthony T. Kronman.' "The loss of this culture is final," he continues, "and the only choice that lawyers now have is whether to struggle futilely against their fate or accept it with a measure of dignity."2 Mary Ann Glendon has not given up all hope. We are, she writes, only on "the edge of chaos."3 The profession is sinking fast, to be sure, but the disease is only thirty years old, which, Glendon reminds us, is "a short span in the life of traditions that have been evolving since the thirteenth century, when lawyers began to congregate in inns near the King's Courts at Westminster."4 In the back of the sickroom, others watch the events with flushed excitement, as if anticipating large bequests from a distant relative whom they never much liked. Richard A. Posner, who has little affection for either the law or the profession, awaits the end eagerly. According to Posner, law lacks "real intellectual autonomy" and is properly giving way to "scientific and other exact modes of inquiry," such as economics, which have more authority.5 The law is fantasy, merely politics and rhetoric masquerading as something more.6 Posner believes that the legal profession was built upon selfishness, that it is a cartel benefiting from noncompetitive pricing and monopolistic practices.7 The death of the profession will end these restrictive practices.
    [Show full text]
  • Misattribution in Legal Scholarship: Plagiarism, Ghostwriting, and Authorship
    The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law CUA Law Scholarship Repository Scholarly Articles and Other Contributions Faculty Scholarship 2001 Misattribution in Legal Scholarship: Plagiarism, Ghostwriting, and Authorship Lisa G. Lerman The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.edu/scholar Part of the Legal Education Commons, and the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons Recommended Citation Lisa G. Lerman, Misattribution in Legal Scholarship: Plagiarism, Ghostwriting, and Authorship, 42 S. TEX. L. REV. 467 (2001). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at CUA Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scholarly Articles and Other Contributions by an authorized administrator of CUA Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MISATTRIBUTION IN LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP: PLAGIARISM, GHOSTWRITING, AND AUTHORSHIP LISA G. LERMAN* I. INTROD UCTION ............................................................................ 467 II. A U TH O RSH IP ................................................................................ 472 III. PLA G IA RISM ................................................................................. 474 A . Ghostw riting .......................................................................... 476 B. The Harmful Effects of Plagiarismin Legal Scholarship .476 C. How Often Do Law ProfessorsEngage in Plagiarism.....
    [Show full text]
  • Download the Associate: a Novel by John Grisham
    The Associate: A Novel by John Grisham Ebook The Associate: A Novel currently available for review only, if you need complete ebook The Associate: A Novel please fill out registration form to access in our databases Download here >> Mass Market Paperback:::: 434 pages+++Publisher:::: Dell (September 22, 2009)+++Language:::: English+++ISBN-10:::: 0440243823+++ISBN-13:::: 978-0440243823+++Product Dimensions::::4.2 x 1 x 7.5 inches++++++ ISBN10 0440243823 ISBN13 978-0440243 Download here >> Description: Kyle McAvoy possesses an outstanding legal mind. Good-looking and affable, he has a glittering future. He also has a dark secret that could destroy his dreams, his career, even his life. One night that secret catches up with him. The men who accost Kyle have a compromising video they’ll use to ruin him–unless he does exactly what they say. What they offer Kyle is something any ambitious young lawyer would kill for: a job in Manhattan as an associate at the world’s largest law firm. If Kyle accepts, he’ll be on the fast track to partnership and a fortune. But there’s a catch. Kyle won’t be working for the firm but against it in a dispute between two powerful defense contractors worth billions. Now Kyle is caught between the criminal forces manipulating him, the FBI, and his own law firm–in a malignant conspiracy not even Kyle with all his intellect, cunning, and bravery may be able to escape alive. Twice during the reading of this book I allowed myself to think, Oh, yeah - here comes the good stuff! Only to be sorely disappointed.
    [Show full text]
  • John Grisham – 1991 – the Firm
    The Firm by John Grisham Chapter 1 The senior partner studied the resume for the hundredth time and again found nothing he disliked about Mitchell Y. McDeere, at least not on paper. He had the brains, the ambition, the good looks. And he was hungry; with his background, he had to be. He was married, and that was mandatory. The Firm had never hired an unmarried lawyer, and it frowned heavily on divorce, as well as womanizing and drinking. Drug testing was in the contract. He had a degree in accounting, passed the CPA exam the first time he took it and wanted to be a tax lawyer, which of course was a requirement with a tax firm. He was white, and The Firm had never hired a black. They managed this by being secretive and clubbish and never soliciting job applications. Other firms solicited, and hired blacks. This firm recruited, and remained lily white. Plus, The Firm was in Memphis, of all places, and the top blacks wanted New York or Washington or Chicago. McDeere was a male, and there were no women in. That mistake had been made in the mid-seventies when they recruited the number one grad from Harvard, who happened to be a she and a wizard at taxation. She lasted four turbulent years and was killed in a car wreck. He looked good, on paper. He was their top choice. In fact, for this year there were no other prospects. The list was very short. It was McDeere or no one. The managing partner, Royce McKnight, studied a dossier labeled: Mitchell Y.
    [Show full text]
  • 9781473668645 the Rooster Bar (934I)
    The Rooster Bar 978814736686451473668645 TheThe RoosterRooster BarBar (934i)(934i) - finalfinal pass.inddpass.indd i 114/09/20174/09/2017 10:14:410:14:48 Also by John Grisham A Time to Kill The Firm The Pelican Brief The Client The Chamber The Rainmaker The Runaway Jury The Partner The Street Lawyer The Testament The Brethren A Painted House Skipping Christmas The Summons The King of Torts Bleachers The Last Juror The Broker Playing for Pizza The Appeal The Associate Ford County The Confession The Litigators Calico Joe The Racketeer Sycamore Row Gray Mountain Rogue Lawyer The Whistler Camino Island Theodore Boone Theodore Boone: The Abduction Theodore Boone: The Accused Theodore Boone: The Activist Theodore Boone: The Fugitive Theodore Boone: The Scandal NON-FICTION The Innocent Man 978814736686451473668645 TheThe RoosterRooster BarBar (934i)(934i) - finalfinal pass.inddpass.indd iiii 114/09/20174/09/2017 10:14:410:14:49 John Grisham The Rooster Bar 978814736686451473668645 TheThe RoosterRooster BarBar (934i)(934i) - finalfinal pass.inddpass.indd iiiiii 114/09/20174/09/2017 10:14:410:14:49 For sale only in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Hodder & Stoughton An Hachette UK company 1 Copyright © Belfry Holdings, Inc. 2017 The right of John Grisham to be identifi ed as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
    [Show full text]
  • Fiduciary Duties of Associates to Their Law Firms Susan Saab Fortney Maurice A
    Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship 2010 Leaks, Lies, and the Moonlight: Fiduciary Duties of Associates to Their Law Firms Susan Saab Fortney Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship Recommended Citation Susan Saab Fortney, Leaks, Lies, and the Moonlight: Fiduciary Duties of Associates to Their Law Firms, 41 St. Mary's L.J. 595 (2010) Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship/717 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ARTICLES LEAKS, LIES, AND THE MOONLIGHT: FIDUCIARY DUTIES OF ASSOCIATES TO THEIR LAW FIRMS SUSAN SAAB FORTNEY* I. Introduction ......................................... 595 II. Status of A ssociates .................................. 599 III. Associate's Fiduciary Duties .......................... 601 A. Duties of Care, Competence, and Diligence ........ 602 B. Duties of Obedience and Good Conduct ........... 604 C. D uty of Loyalty .................................. 606 D. Disclosure and Use of Confidential Information ....610 IV. Conclusion-Rethinking Firm Culture and Treatment of A ssociates ........................................ 616 I. INTRODUCTION Following news of allegations that a Ropes & Gray, LLP, associate engaged in insider trading, the law firm stated, "'We are . Susan Saab Fortney is a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development at Texas Tech University School of Law. Professor Fortney thanks Professor Vincent Johnson and the members of the St.
    [Show full text]
  • John Grisham
    JOHN GRISHAM Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi, law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel. Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990. One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl’s father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988. That might have put an end to Grisham’s hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing’s greatest success stories.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Law
    CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Law enforcement is an activity to implement the law, to apply the law and to take legal action to every law breaker by legal subjects. The main role actors that accentuate the process of law enforcement are police, judge, prosecutor, and lawyer. Application of law enforcement in life is very difficult because of many irresponsible elements such as police who violate the rules with corruption, judges who do not consider the law correctly, the prosecutor who bribe, and the lawyer who only concern the client without entering the truth of law. The need for law enforcement is very important for the main actor in the law enforcement that can not be ignored by society because it can enforce the law justly and wisely. According to data from Catalog of criminal BPS statistic, Indonesia crime in 2014 tendence to fluctuate. The highest of crime incidents in Indonesia is the period of 2011 through 2013. The number of crime incidents in 2011 is 340.000 cases and it is increasing in 2012 become 341.000 cases. The peak of the case is in 2013 which become 342.000 cases. Podes also reveals that during the period of 2005 until 2011 the number of villages which is the scene of a mass conflict is likely to increase. While European Institute for crime prevention and control, affiliated with the United Nations International Statistic on crime and justice data previously published by the United Nations office on drugs and crime suggest that approximatelly 490.000 deaths from International homicide accured in 2004 (General Declarations 2008).
    [Show full text]