About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

18 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 365 (2004-2005)
More than Lawyers: The Legal and Ethical Implications of Counseling Clients on Nonlegal Considerations

handle is hein.journals/geojlege18 and id is 373 raw text is: More Than Lawyers: The Legal and Ethical Implications of Counseling Clients on Nonlegal Considerations LARRY 0. NATT GANTT, II* I. INTRODUCTION Lawyers must often be more than lawyers. As they have for centuries, lawyers face clients' family problems, business problems, and life problems, which lead lawyers at times to go beyond the legal issues and counsel clients on the moral, economic, and other nonlegal factors affecting their situations.' In addition, the practice of law today is becoming more competitive, complex, and intertwined with other substantive disciplines.2 Lawyers therefore are increasingly called upon to advise clients on issues that would not be deemed purely legal by traditional standards.3 The American Bar Association's (ABA's) Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules) recognize the fact that attorneys often contemplate * Assistant Professor and Director of Academic Success, Regent University School of Law; M. Div., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2000; J.D., Harvard Law School, 1994; A.B., Duke University, 1991. The author would like to thank Charles Oates for reviewing a draft of this Article and Lauren McCay, Melinda Grams, William Magee, Kim Phillips, and Kim Pellini for their assistance in researching this Article. 1. See M.H. Hoeflich, The Good Lawyer & Rule 2.1, 69 J. KAN. B. ASS'N 38, 40 (2000) (observing that lawyers in the late nineteenth century would often discuss with their client the moral implications of legal issues); John M. Burman, Advising Clients About Non-Legal Factors, Wyo. LAW., Feb. 2004, at 40, 41 (reasoning that [iut is seldom possible to explain the 'practical implications' of a client's legal rights without referring to non-legal factors). 2. See, e.g., James W. Jones & Bayless Manning, Getting at the Root of Core Values: A Radical Proposal to Extend the Model Rules to Changing Forms of Legal Practice, 84 MINN. L. REV. 1159, 1174-79, 1207 (2000) (tracing the growing complexity and sophistication in law practice throughout the twentieth century); Mary C. Daly, Accounting for Lawyers: A Professional Responsibility Primer, 552 PLI/Lit 407, 410 (1996) (noting the increasing competition in the legal profession). 3. See, e.g., Richard A. Goodman et al., Other Branches of Science Are Necessary to Form a Lawyer: Teaching Public Health in Law School, 30 J.L. MED. & ETHiCS 298, 298 (2002) (As the twenty-first century begins, the practice of law will increasingly demand interdisciplinary knowledge and collaboration-between those trained in law and a broad range of scientific and technical fields, including engineering, biology, genetics, ethics, and the social sciences.); Daly, supra note 2, at 410-11 (reasoning that increasing competition is leading attorneys to counsel clients on the legal and nonlegal aspects of the representation). See generally Brock Brower, The Law School and the Law: A Benthamite Dean Lets a Hundred Legal Flowers Bloom, HAxv. MAG., Jan.-Feb. 2000, at 43,45-47 (discussing the expansion of the curriculum at Harvard Law School to reflect an interdisciplinary emphasis); Janet Weinstein, Coming ofAge: Recognizing the Importance of Interdiscipli- nary Education in Law Practice, 74 WASH. L. REV. 319, 351-65 (1999) (recommending that law schools provide students with an interdisciplinary education in which they learn how to work with professionals from other disciplines in solving clients' problems).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most