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8 Legal Ethics 3 (2005)

handle is hein.journals/lethics8 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL Law schools and legal education may be seen as a cradle of professionalism but we should not forget, as Robert Vischer reminds us in his contribution, that there are other material, yet not materialistic, sources of professional power, many of which may in fact be extra-legal, and that these sources of authority could inculcate and cultivate deeper, more meaningful professional values, thereby assisting the construction of a more authentic professional ident- ity for future lawyers. Vischer argues, following Brad Wendel, for a pluralist approach to professionalism capable of accommodating and absorbing a broad spectrum of values amongst subcommunities of lawyers.6 His vision is far more Maoist (let a thousand flowers bloom) than Monist (one size fits all) in that it challenges the myth of a single, unified profession by holding out the prospect of a wide range of emerging and competing professionalisms. From an economic standpoint, this looks like a strong argument in favour of a free market amongst competing professionalisms. Our next two contributors also look at the mythology of professionalism by critically examining the rhetoric propping up professional self-regulation and discipline. Rose Voyvodic considers some of the stories and myths surrounding independence, the adversary system and public service put forward by the Canadian legal profession, and questions what actually supports professional culture and competence within the dynamic field of law. Her analysis looks beyond economics and, in an attempt to help the profession transcend and regain control over the future markets it must engage with, Voyvodic advocates educating lawyers in reflective practice so that they can better anticipate and manage the economic- and other-forces that lie ahead. Yet again, education rather than economics is seen as the key with which to unlock the future. Similarly, Linda Haller also explores the boundaries of rhetoric and what lies beneath the external face of professional competence by closely exam- ining the Australian profession's handling of disciplinary proceedings. She counsels the pro- fession against making extravagant claims regarding lawyers' ethical standards lest these deter the public from taking adequate steps to protect their interests by leading them to think their lawyer is super-human. From an economic standpoint, conceding lawyers' moral falli- bility might help remove imperfections in the legal services market. Randal Graham's article, followed by Brad Wendel's insightful introduction to the review symposium discussing Graham's recent book,7 sets out the agenda for a whole new approach to ethics and ethical theory which he labels ethinomics. Graham, in his own words, seeks .... to explain all ethical systems (and legal ethics in particular) by reference to more basic, tangible things-namely scarcity, self-interest and the human need to survive. In short, this paper explains legal ethics by reference to theories of evolution and economics.'8 He tries to show how economics might illuminate ethical decision-making within the field of legal prac- tice and to offer us a vocabulary of concepts that will offer a fresh explanation of the rela- tionship between ethical systems and economic impulses. Whether or not one agrees with this approach to legal ethics and ethical theory we welcome the attempt to ask fundamental questions about what determines legal behaviour and the ensuing debate on the possibility of collapsing empirical and normative explanations of legal conduct. 6 W .B. Wi endel, Value Pluralism in Legal Lthics (2000) 78 Washington Unizersity Law Qgartery 113; R.K. Vischcr, The Good, the Bad and thc Ugly: Rethinking thc Valuc ot'Associations (2004) 79 \olre Dame Law Rezview 949. R.N.M. Graham, LegalEthics: Theories, Cases and Pro!ssionalRegulation (Toronto, Emond Montgomery, 2004). Graham, infta, at p. 88.

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