PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

MICHAELMAS TERM 2007

SYLLABUS
SECTION 308/24

Tuesday, 3:00-6:00 P.M.

O’Dowd Hall, Room 202A
Professor Martha Moore

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course teaches the rules and standards of ethics that
govern a lawyer’s conduct in the practice of law. Students will become knowledgeable of
the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other related authority and will learn to
apply this authority to problems involving questions of legal ethics. Students will become
keenly aware of the character traits required of an attorney and will learn what they need to
know to cultivate an excellent reputation in the profession and to avoid grievances and
malpractice claims in their practice of law.

REQUIRED TEXTS: 1) Schwartz, Wydick & Perschbacher, Problems in Legal Ethics (7th
Ed, West, 2001); and, 2) West, Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Latest
Ed.).

SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS: Wolfram, Modern Legal Ethics, (West, 1986); Hazard &
Hodes, The Law of Lawyering, (2d Ed, 1990).

READING ASSIGNMENTS: There are required and recommended reading

assignments at the beginning of each chapter of Schwartz, Wydick and Perschbacher. You
should be familiar with the ABA rules and code provisions listed for each class. You should
also be prepared to discuss and answer the Discussion Problems that appear at the
beginning of each chapter. You should also review the Multiple Choice Questions at the
end of each chapter. The answers are located in the Appendix at the end of the book.

ATTENDANCE: You are expected to be in attendance for each class in accordance with
the Law School’s policy. If you are absent for more than six hours, you will be dismissed
from the course. Attendance will be taken on the basis of a seating chart that will be
established during the first class period. You are expected to be prompt for class. This
means that you should be in your seat at least five minutes before class is scheduled to
start so that we can begin promptly. On the rare occasion that you find yourself late for
class, you are still invited to enter so long as you do so without disturbing the rest of the
class. If you are late, it is your responsibility to advise me so that you will not be marked
absent for the entire class period. However, if you are late more than twice, each
subsequent late arrival will result in your being marked absent for one hour of class time.
Professor Martha Moore MICHAELMAS TERM 2007
SYLLABUS Professional Responsibility
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PREPARATION: Each class you are responsible for all of the material that falls within
the page assignments of the required texts or any handout material that I distribute or post
on TWEN or cases that I require you to locate and read on your own. You are responsible
for studying (not just reading) the entire assignment for the day, including all cases, the
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct ("MRPC"), problems, any handouts and TWEN
Page materials. Complete preparation requires that you BRIEF all cases and prepare
ANSWERS to all problems.

Canned briefs that you have not prepared yourself are not permitted in class. Each class I
will randomly call on students. You must be prepared to discuss the assigned material. The
fact that you have been called on once does not exempt you from being called on again.
Evidence of preparedness is demonstrated by the student’s ability not only to recite the
information contained in the cases and the notes, but also to discuss what they mean, their
significance and their application to facts. If you are not well-prepared, we will be unable to
intelligently discuss the material and, as a result, the educational experience for the entire
class will be lessened. I expect that you will occasionally have difficulty with the material.
So long as I am convinced that you have read the material and briefed the cases, I will
work with you to get through the rough spots. But I do expect you to prepare thoroughly
and do your best from the first day of class to the end of the term.

I DO NOT ACCEPT NOTES OR EXPLANATIONS FOR UNPREPAREDNESS.

I expect you to be prepared for each and every class, which includes a written brief and
answers to any notes/problems in the text. NO PASSES ARE ACCEPTED. Do not
approach me at the beginning of class and ask not to be called on for that class. If you are
unprepared for class, you will be asked to prepare and turn in written briefs for all of that
week’s materials and you will be called on to recite all of the materials for the following
week. Failure to turn in the written briefs and answers as required under this provision,
and/or continued lack of preparation, will result in expulsion from the class. In the event of a
true emergency (death in the family, serious illness) you may contact me before class with
an explanation. Depending on the circumstances, you may or may not be excused.

USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM: In the interests of

preserving classroom integrity and preventing distractions for students, no laptops, cell
phones (including text messaging), palm pilots, or other similar electronic devices may be
used for any purpose in the classroom other than recording or accessing material being
covered during that class. If a student uses an electronic device for any purpose unrelated
to this course, on the first such occasion, the student will be warned. On the second such
occasion, the student will be barred from bringing any electronic devices into the classroom
for the balance of the term.

OFFICE HOURS: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Noon to -2:30 p.m. Otherwise, I
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Professor Martha Moore MICHAELMAS TERM 2007
SYLLABUS Professional Responsibility
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am available by request. Contact me at moorem@cooley.edu.

EXAM: Your grade for this course will be based on a single, closed-book exam given at
the end of the course. Many students make the mistake of trying to guess the areas on
which the exam will focus based on the amount of time spent on certain areas in class. For
example, if we spend two or three class sessions on a particular topic, some students seem
to assume that this particular topic will be a major portion of the exam and will study
accordingly. You should be aware that all of the assigned material is “fair game” for
exam questions. Each and every aspect of the course provides an opportunity for
testing.

WEEK TOPIC READING RULES

1 Introduction; Chapters 1 and 2, ABA Model Rule

(9-04-07) Lawyer Regulation; Schwartz 8.1
Bar Admission

2 Lawyer Regulation; Chapter 2, ABA Model Rules

( 9-11-07) Bar Admission cont’d Schwartz; Preamble 7.1 – 7.6
to Rules of
Professional
Conduct; Chapter 4,
Schwartz

3 Lawyer Advertising Chapter 4, Schwartz ABA Model Rules

(9-18-07) & Solicitation Chapter 3, Schwartz 7.1 – 7.6; 1.1; 1.3;
1.8(h); 1.14; 1.18

4 Lawyer Advertising con’d; Chapter 3, Schwartz ABA Model Rules

(9-25-07) Disciplinary Proceedings; 1.1; 1.3; 1.8(h);
Beginning the Attorney/Client 1.16; 1.14; 1.18;
Relationship 3.1; 3.2

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Professor Martha Moore MICHAELMAS TERM 2007
SYLLABUS Professional Responsibility
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5 Ending the Attorney/Client Chapter 5, Schwartz ABA Model Rules

(10-02-07) Relationship; Attorney Fees 1.5; 1.15; 1.16;
6.1; 6.2

6 Atty Fees cont’d; Fiduciary Chapter 5, contd.; ABA Model Rules

(10-09-07) Duties; Legal Malpractice; Chapter 6, Schwartz 1.2; 1.4; 1.5;
Unauthorized Practice of Law 1.8(e); 1.15; 1.18;
2.1; 3.2; 5.5

7 Confidentiality Chapter 7, Schwartz ABA Model Rule

(10-16-07) 1.6

8 Confidentiality continued; Chapters 8 and 9, ABA Model Rules

(10-23-07) Candor/Fairness in Litigation Schwartz 3.1; 3.3; 3.4

9 Fairness in Litigation Chapter 9, Schwartz ABA Model Rules

(10-30-07) 3.5; 3.6; 3.7; 3.9;
4.1; 4.2

10 Fairness in Litigation cont’d; Chapters 9 and 10, ABA Model Rules

(11-06-07) Bias Schwartz 4.2; 4.3; 4.4; 3.8

11 Conflicts of Interest Chapter 11 and 12, ABA Model Rules

(11-13-07) Schwartz 1.7 – 1.9

12 Conflicts of Interest cont’d; Chapter 12 and 13, ABA Model Rules

(11-20- Lawyers in Law Firms; Schwartz 1.10– 1.13; 1.17;
07) Specialized Practice Areas; 2.3; 2.4; 5.1 – 5.7
Duty to Supervise

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Professor Martha Moore MICHAELMAS TERM 2007
SYLLABUS Professional Responsibility
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13 Law Firms/Specialized Chapter13; Chapter ABA Model Rules

(11-27-07) Practice Areas cont’d; Judicial 14, Schwartz; Entire 8.1-8.5; Code of
Conduct ABA Code of Judicial Conduct
Judicial Conduct

14 WRAP-UP AND REVIEW Entire ABA Model

(12-04-07) Rules of
Professional
Conduct

15 FINAL EXAM
(12-11-07)

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