Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism

Litigation Ethics and Professionalism Seminar

This seminar is for sixth-semester students and covers in depth a series of advanced problems of ethics and professionalism that trial lawyers face. The most recent class studied in depth the issues that arose in Anderson v. W.R. Grace, the case that is the focus of the book and movie, A Civil Action. The students work with the actual pleadings and discovery documents in the case and discuss the strategies that the lawyers employed. Issues discussed include Rule 11 and related doctrines to discourage "frivolous" lawsuits, client authority over the lawyer's handling of a case, discovery disputes and motions, settlement negotiations, investigations, trial tactics, and appeals. The students write a series of short papers, in roles from the actual case, on topics assigned by the instructor. For a list of class assignments, click here.