- About Pitt Law
- Welcome from the Interim Dean
- Facilities
- Dean's Office
- Faculty Directory
- Staff Directory
- History
- Board of Visitors Members
- Community Engagement
- Office of Equity & Inclusive Excellence
- Land Acknowledgement
- The Resilience and Engagement Project
- Building Resilience Case Studies on Student Interventions & Psychological Insights Conference
- Summary
- Project Description
- Students and Faculty Talk Resilience
- How does the in-class facilitation conversation work?
- How to Facilitate In-Class Discussion
- Suggested Project Timeline and Milestone
- Tips for Leading a Discussion
- Sample Lesson Plan for Leading a Discussion Group
- Sample Student Responses and Advice
- Project Results
- Our Papers
- The Student Voice
- Helpful Resources
- Handbook
- Glossary
- Agenda
- Zoom Backgrounds
- Admissions
- Academics
- Centers & Institutes
- Bioethics & Health Law
- Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice
- Center for International Legal Education
- CILE Overview
- Global Scholars Program
- Rule of Law Fellowship Program
- CILE 25th Anniversary
- JD Opportunities
- LLM Program
- SJD Program
- Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)
- Visiting Professors
- Visiting Scholars
- Study Abroad
- International Internships
- Moot Court Experience
- The CISG Song
- Alumni News
- Visiting Scholars
- Support CILE
- Contact CILE
- News, Events and Media
- Center for Text Analytic Methods in Legal Studies
- Future Law Project
- Hickton Center for Community Legal Services & Clinical Legal Education
- John P. Gismondi Civil Litigation Program
- Career Services
- Resources
- A-Z Resources Guide
- Academic Calendar
- Dean of Students
- Student Event Calendar
- Academic Support
- Bar Exams
- Barco Law Building Hours
- Courses and Curriculum
- Courses & Curriculum Overview
- Catalog of Courses
- First-Year Curriculum
- Pitt Law Academy
- Courses by Requirement
- Departmental Consent
- Required Textbooks by Class
- Schedule of Classes Spring 2025
- Schedule of Intersession Spring 2025
- Schedule of Classes Fall 2024
- Schedule of Classes Spring 2024
- Schedule of Intersession 2024
- Schedule of Classes Fall 2023
- Schedule of Classes Spring 2023
- Schedule of Intersession 2023
- Schedule of Classes Fall 2022
- Exams
- Grades and Transcripts
- Graduation and Diplomas
- Incoming Student Orientation
- Information Technology
- Marketing & Communications
- Office of Equity & Inclusive Excellence
- Ombudsperson
- Policies and Procedures
- Registration Services
- Student Bar Association (SBA)
- Student Organizations
- Alumni
Professional Responsibility
Class Term:
Fall Term 2022-2023
Catalog Number:
5609
Professor(s):
Professor
Lecture
Credits:
3 (3 Contact, 0 Field)
Graduation Requirements:
Legal Profession
Priority:
General Enrollment Course
Full Year Course:
No
Category:
Standard Courses
Additional Information
This course will explore the black letter “law of lawyering,” assist students in the development of professional identity, and outline the prominent ethical traps for beginning lawyers. The primary objectives of the course are to understand the basic concepts of ethical conduct for lawyers and to advance in lawyerly professionalism. This course is equally committed to preparing students to take the MPRE and honing student test-taking skills with ongoing assessment from the instructor.
The course relies on spaced repetition and consistent practice as pathways to mastering the ethical rules. Hence, the course is designed around opportunities for students to review the rules constantly in a variety of practice settings. Classes will involve discussions of problem sets devoted to a particular topic in a problem-oriented approach to mastering the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the Code of Judicial Conduct. Topics include formation and termination of the attorney-client relationship, confidentiality and attorney-client privilege, fees, conflicts of interest, legal malpractice, transactional lawyering, supervisor/subordinate, entity representations, and criminal litigation. This course meets the New York professional responsibility requirement. N.Y. Court Rules for Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law Rule 520.3(c)(1)(iii).
Grading Details
Final grades will be based primarily on an open-book, in-class final examination. Consideration will also be given to the quality of students’ participation in class discussions.
Description
This course will cover selected topics on the law governing lawyers. Major topics will include formation and termination of the attorney-client relationship and its attendant obligations, fee issues, conflicts of interest, ethics in advocacy, transactional lawyering, and entity representations, among others. The course will cover these topics from the vantage point of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers, as well as those aspects of Constitutional law, evidence law, agency law, tort law, and procedural rules (both civil and criminal) that bear on an attorney’s obligations to clients, courts, opposing parties and their attorneys, and the legal system at large. Class discussions will incorporate in-depth analysis of case law and the Rules, as well as analysis of practical hypothetical scenarios in which a lawyer seeks advice about his or her legal and ethical options for moving forward in dealing with his or her clients.
This course meets the New York professional responsibility requirement. N.Y. Court Rules for Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law Rule 520.3(c)(1)(iii).
This course has been flagged as a distance education course. This means this class is one in which students are separated from the faculty member or each other (other than specially accommodated students) for more than one-third of the instruction and the instruction involves the use of technology to support regular and substantive interaction among students and between the students and the faculty member, either synchronously or asynchronously.
This course is held on a specific day, at a specific time, on Zoom or using some other remote technology. The class never meets in person.