Professional Responsibility in Business Practice
This course surveys the basic themes of the law governing lawyers. It includes both the state disciplinary codes (with special reference to New York and California) and aspects of the law of contract, torts, crime, tax, securities and other areas that pertain distinctively to lawyering. The principal topics are the meaning of the "rule of law" as it pertains to lawyer conduct, the regulatory structure of the profession, confidentiality, lawyer complicity in client illegality (with special reference to fraud and obstruction of justice), conflicts, and distinctive issues arising in corporate practice, government representation, and criminal defense.