Legal Profession Blog

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - May 2, 2007

Posting the top ten downloaded papers (as calculated by SSRN for the last sixty days) in the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Journal is not the most exciting blogging that one can do, particularly when there has been no change whatsoever from the standings the last time around.

There is a certain congruence in this, I think. I'm up here in the home office, procrastinating about (or taking a break from, depending on your viewpoint) grading, and I suspect the dearth of downloads since April 19 is the result of everybody else grading.  Which means it's time to link to Dan Solove's instant classic post on the stairway method.

So here again are the top ten.

1 Integrity:  A Positive Model with Applications to Corporate Governance and Finance (PDF file of Keynote Slides), Michael C. Jensen, Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, Harvard Business School, Independent, Landmark Education Business Development.

2 Tax Opinions, David T. Moldenhauer, Clifford Chance LLP.

3  Disparities Between Asbestosis and Silicosis Claims Generated by Litigation Screenings and Clinical Studies, Lester Brickman, Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

4  Explaining the Value of Transactional Lawyering, Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

5  Screed or Scholarship: The Days of Whine and Roses, Jeffrey M. Lipshaw, Suffolk University - Law School

6  The Relationship Between Law School and the Bar Exam: A Look at Assessment and Student Success, Lorenzo Alan Trujillo, University of Colorado at Boulder - School of Law

7  The Corporate/Securities Attorney as a 'Moving Target' - Client Fraud Dilemmas, Marc Steinberg, Southern Methodist School of Law

8  The International Judge: An Introduction to the Men and Women Who Decide the World's Cases, Daniel Terris, Cesare P.R. Romano, Leigh Swigart, Brandeis University - International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, Loyola Law School Los Angeles, Brandeis University - International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life

9  Incentivizing Institutional Investors to Serve as Lead Plaintiffs in Securities Fraud Class Actions, Charles Silver, Sam Dinkin,  University of Texas at Austin, Affiliation Unknown

10 On Full Economic Costing, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - April 19, 2007

It's been a long time since I've posted the top ten papers in the SSRN Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal as measured by downloads in the last sixty days.  I took a look, and lo and behold, there was one of my pieces.  So I have to post.

Plus, I criticized the number one paper, the Jensen et al. piece, on purportedly being able to measure integrity (which, in the paper, comes down to "honoring your word") as a measurable and testable attribute, in The Futility of Justifying Contract Law as Self-Referential System.

And here are the top ten.

1 Integrity:  A Positive Model with Applications to Corporate Governance and Finance (PDF file of Keynote Slides), Michael C. Jensen, Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, Harvard Business School, Independent, Landmark Education Business Development.

2 Tax Opinions, David T. Moldenhauer, Clifford Chance LLP.

3  Disparities Between Asbestosis and Silicosis Claims Generated by Litigation Screenings and Clinical Studies, Lester Brickman, Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

4  Explaining the Value of Transactional Lawyering, Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

5  Screed or Scholarship: The Days of Whine and Roses, Jeffrey M. Lipshaw, Suffolk University - Law School

6  The Relationship Between Law School and the Bar Exam: A Look at Assessment and Student Success, Lorenzo Alan Trujillo, University of Colorado at Boulder - School of Law

7  The Corporate/Securities Attorney as a 'Moving Target' - Client Fraud Dilemmas, Marc Steinberg, Southern Methodist School of Law

8  The International Judge: An Introduction to the Men and Women Who Decide the World's Cases, Daniel Terris, Cesare P.R. Romano, Leigh Swigart, Brandeis University - International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, Loyola Law School Los Angeles, Brandeis University - International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life

9  Incentivizing Institutional Investors to Serve as Lead Plaintiffs in Securities Fraud Class Actions, Charles Silver, Sam Dinkin,  University of Texas at Austin, Affiliation Unknown

10 On Full Economic Costing, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Mar. 8

Like Michael C. Jensen (Harvard Business School, right) needs my endorsement, but I was going to wait a couple days before posting a new top ten.  I was reading through the abstracts, however, downloaded the slides he has posted on a theory of integrity (see paper #2), and got excited enough about it to go ahead with the post today.  (Plus Alan Childress is a little under the weather and not posting - everybody say "feel better, Alan" - so I want to take up the substantive slack that occurs when he is not around.)

The thesis appears to be that integrity as it appears in the corporate world is a fact capable of description and measurement, as opposed to other less testable norms or values.  While I am not sure that he has succeeded in demonstrating that integrity is measurable and testable as an empirical-analytic (as opposed to a normative-analytic) matter (those are Habermas' terms, by the way, not mine), I think this is tremendously interesting and exciting.  My sense is that he is trying to do the impossible, which is to find a scientific basis for the justification of integrity, and that ultimately it is a normative proposition.  But he is clearly onto something - which is that other proxies for good governance don't work, and that is the failure of things like Sarbanes-Oxley.  My initial stab at trying to say something like that (in a fumbling, puerile sort of way) was infamously titled Sarbanes-Oxley, Jurisprudence, Insurance, Game Theory, and Kant:  Toward a Moral Theory of Good Governance (much downloaded not for any particular insight, I'm pretty sure, but because it has a good technical explanation tucked in the middle of how D&O insurance works).

The abstract to the Jensen piece is below the fold.

And here are the top ten papers in the SSRN Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal as measured by downloads in the last sixty days.

1   Young Associates in Trouble, David T. Zaring, William D. Henderson, Washington & Lee University - School of Law, Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis.

2  Integrity:  A Positive Model with Applications to Corporate Governance and Finance (PDF file of Keynote Slides), Michael C. Jensen, Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, Harvard Business School, Independent, Landmark Education Business Development.

3  The Hypocrisy of the Milberg Indictment: The Need for a Coherent Framework on Paying for Cooperation in Litigation Bruce H. Kobayashi, Larry E. Ribstein, George Mason University School of Law, University of Illinois College of Law

4  Tax Opinions, David T. Moldenhauer, Clifford Chance LLP.

5  The View from the Trenches:  A Report on the Breakout Sessions at the 2005 National Conference on Appellate Justice, Arthur D. Hellman, University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

6  Critical Legal Ethics Paul R. Tremblay, Boston College - Law School

7  Take Back the Night: Why an Association of Regional Law Schools Will Return Core Values to Legal Education and Provide an Alternative to Tiered Rankings Jon Garon, Hamline University School of Law

8 Effects of Reputation on the Legal Profession, Fred C. Zaharias, University of San Diego School of Law.

9  Differentiating Gatekeepers Arthur B. Laby, Rutgers University School of Law - Camden

10 Investment Banking:  Immediate Challenges and Future Directions , Andrew Tuch, University of Sydney - Faculty of Law.

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Abstract for "Integrity" by Jensen, et al:

Our primary purpose here is to present a positive model of integrity that provides powerful access to increased performance for individuals, groups, organizations, and even societies. Our model reveals the causal link between integrity as we clarify and define it, and increased performance and value-creation for individuals, groups, organizations and even societies. And our model provides access to that causal link for private individuals, executives, economists, philosophers, policy makers, leaders, and legal and governmental authorities.

The philosophical discourse, and common usage as reflected in dictionary definitions, leave an overlap, in fact outright confusion among the four phenomena of integrity, morality, ethics, and legality. In practice this confounds the terms so that the efficacy and potential power of each of them is seriously diminished. In our new model, the three phenomena of morality, ethics, and legality are normative virtue phenomena, and integrity is not. 

In this new model, we distinguish all four phenomena - integrity, morality, ethics, and legality - as belonging to distinct and separate domains. This new model: 1) encompasses all four terms in one consistent theory, 2) makes the moral compass potentially available in each of the three virtue phenomena clear and unambiguous, and 3) does this in a way that makes the now clear moral compass more likely to shape human behavior. 

This all falls out from the unique treatment of integrity in our new model. Integrity as we define it is a purely positive phenomenon, independent of normative value judgments. Integrity is thus not about good or bad, or right or wrong, or even about what should be or what should not be. 

We distinguish integrity as a phenomenon of the objective state or condition of an object, system, person, group, or organizational entity, and define integrity as: a state or condition of being whole, complete, unbroken, unimpaired, sound, perfect condition. 

We assert that integrity (the condition of being whole and complete) is a necessary condition for workability, and that the resultant level of workability determines the available opportunity for performance. Hence, the way we treat integrity in our model provides an unambiguous and actionable access to superior performance (however one wishes to define performance). 

In this new model, we distinguish integrity (being whole and complete) for an object or a system as a matter of the elements that make up the object or system and the relationship between those elements being whole and complete, including their design, the implementation of the design, and the use to which they are put. 

We distinguish integrity (being whole and complete) for an individual as a matter of that person's word being whole and complete, and for a group or organizational entity as what is said by or on behalf of the group or organization (the group or organization's word) being whole and complete. In that context, we define integrity (being whole and complete) for an individual, group, or organization as: Honoring one's word. 

Oversimplifying somewhat, honoring your word as we define it means you either keep your word (do what you said you would do and by the time you said you would do it), or as soon as you know that you will not, you say that you will not to those who were counting on your word and clean up any mess caused by not keeping your word. 

Honoring your word (integrity for individuals, groups and organizations) is also the route to creating whole and complete social and working relationships. In addition, it provides an actionable pathway to earning the trust of others – an important element of workability and therefore a contribution to performance. 

We demonstrate that the application of cost-benefit analysis to one's integrity guarantees you will not be a trustworthy person and with the exception of some minor qualifications ensures also that you will not be a person of integrity. The virtually automatic use of cost-benefit analysis, an inherent tendency in most of us, lies at the heart of much out-of-integrity behavior in modern life. 

In conclusion, we show that defining integrity as honoring one's word provides an unambiguous and actionable access to superior performance and competitive advantage at both the individual and organizational level.

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Feb. 13, 2007

There's been a lot of turnover, particularly in the second five since the last time I posted.  I've just downloaded Differentiating Gatekeepers by Arthur Laby (Rutgers-Camden, right), because it looks like it may be relevant both to my inquiry into the differences between lawyer-like methods of rule-following versus the orientation to rule-following we might find in an entrepreneur, as well as to my previous work on lawyers as rationalizers.  Professor Laby's abstract follows the break.

And here are the top ten papers in the SSRN Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal as measured by downloads in the last sixty days.

1.  How an Instrumental View of Law Corrodes the Rule of Law, Brian Z. Tamanaha, St. John's University - School of Law

2   Young Associates in Trouble, David T. Zaring, William D. Henderson, Washington & Lee University - School of Law, Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis.

3   An RSVP to Professor Wexler's Warm TJ Invitation: Unable to Join You, Already (Somewhat Similarly) Engaged, Mae C. Quinn, University of Tennessee - College of Law

4   The View from the Trenches:  A Report on the Breakout Sessions at the 2005 National Conference on Appellate Justice, Arthur D. Hellman, University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

5  The Hypocrisy of the Milberg Indictment: The Need for a Coherent Framework on Paying for Cooperation in Litigation Bruce H. Kobayashi, Larry E. Ribstein, George Mason University School of Law, University of Illinois College of Law

6  Take Back the Night: Why an Association of Regional Law Schools Will Return Core Values to Legal Education and Provide an Alternative to Tiered Rankings Jon Garon, Hamline University School of Law

7  Differentiating Gatekeepers Arthur B. Laby, Rutgers University School of Law - Camden

8  Critical Legal Ethics Paul R. Tremblay, Boston College - Law School

9  The Scarlet Gene: Behavioral Genetics, Criminal Law, and Racial and Ethnic Stigma Karen H. Rothenberg, Alice Wang, University of Maryland School of Law, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia - Appellate Division

10 The Changing Social Role of Urban Law Schools Joyce Sterling, Ronit Dinovitzer, Bryant G. Garth, Bryant G. Garth, University of Denver - Sturm College of Law, University of Toronto, American Bar Foundation, Southwestern Law School

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Here is Professor Laby's abstract:

The emphasis on gatekeepers to control corporate misconduct has depended on a rational actor model. A gatekeeper prevents wrongdoing because expected liability or reputational harm from failing to prevent misconduct exceeds the gain in fees. This model, however, fails to distinguish among gatekeepers or account for how gatekeepers with different incentives respond to legal controls. This Article distinguishes between gatekeepers that are supposed to be independent, such as auditors and analysts, from those that are supposed to be dependent, such as lawyers and underwriters. The Article then addresses why gatekeepers have not been more effective monitors and points out failures of conventional analysis. Advances in behavioral and social psychology suggest that dependent gatekeepers perform their responsibilities under the yoke of unconscious bias. Independent agents, therefore, are better gatekeepers than dependent ones. Concern about bias is exacerbated by indeterminacy in corporate and securities law, which facilitates self-serving interpretations of the law and gives wide berth to insist the principal's conduct is appropriate. Differences among gatekeepers, viewed through a social psychology prism, help explain recent reforms and suggest the potential need for additional reforms. One such proposal is to marry the suggestion for lawyer certifications of financial statements with the "reporting up" requirement of Sarbanes-Oxley and require, instead, that a lawyer certify annually that the lawyer is not aware of evidence of a material violation, or has made the required report under the SEC's lawyer rules. The prospect of making a false filing would likely have deterrent effects that are absent under current rules. The hope is that the Article raises for further consideration whether insights from behavioral psychology, married with a deeper understanding of the structure of gatekeeper relationships, can help tailor reform.

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - Jan. 30, 2007

Here are the top ten papers in the SSRN Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal (edited by the intrepid Brad Wendel), as measured by downloads in the last sixty days.

1.  How an Instrumental View of Law Corrodes the Rule of Law, Brian Z. Tamanaha, St. John's University - School of Law

2   The Challenge to the Bench and Bar Presented by the 2005 Bankruptcy Act:  Resistance Need Not Be Futile, Jean Braucher, University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law

3   An RSVP to Professor Wexler's Warm TJ Invitation: Unable to Join You, Already (Somewhat Similarly) Engaged, Mae C. Quinn, University of Tennessee - College of Law

4   When the Lawyer Knows the Client is Guilty: David Mellinkoff's 'The Conscience of a Lawyer', Legal Ethics, Literature, and Popular Culture, Michael Asimow, Richard Weisberg, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law, Cardozo Law School

5   Young Associates in Trouble, David T. Zaring, William D. Henderson, Washington & Lee University - School of Law, Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis.

6   Open Access, Law, Knowledge, Copyrights, Dominance and Subordination, Ann Bartow, University of South Carolina - School of Law

7  The View from the Trenches:  A Report on the Breakout Sessions at the 2005 National Conference on Appellate Justice, Arthur D. Hellman, University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

8   Lawyer Satisfaction in the Process of Structuring Legal Careers, Ronit Dinovitzer, Bryant G.Garth, Bryant G. Garth, University of Toronto, American Bar Foundation, Southwestern Law School

9    Genetically Modified Rules: The Awkward Rule-Exception-Right Distinction in EC-Biotech, Tomer Broude, Hebrew University of Jerusalem - International Law Forum

10   The Relationship Between Prosecutorial Misconduct and Wrongful Convictions: Shaping Remedies for a Broken System, Peter A. Joy, Washington University School of Law

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility

The bad news is we've been less than diligent, at least the beginning of the year, in posting the top ten articles, as measured by SSRN downloads in the Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal over the last sixty days.  The good news is that it is interesting to see all these new pieces as a result of the SSRN turnover.

While we were gone, Mae Quinn's (Tennessee, left) wonderfully titled but nevertheless pointed article (see the abstract) jumped to number 2 on the hit parade.

1.  How an Instrumental View of Law Corrodes the Rule of Law, Brian Z. Tamanaha, St. John's University - School of Law

2   An RSVP to Professor Wexler's Warm TJ Invitation: Unable to Join You, Already (Somewhat Similarly) Engaged, Mae C. Quinn, University of Tennessee - College of Law

3   Popular Culture and the Adversarial System, Michael Asimow, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law,

4   Open Access, Law, Knowledge, Copyrights, Dominance and Subordination, Ann Bartow, University of South Carolina - School of Law

5   When the Lawyer Knows the Client is Guilty: David Mellinkoff's 'The Conscience of a Lawyer', Legal Ethics, Literature, and Popular Culture, Michael Asimow, Richard Weisberg, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law, Cardozo Law School

6   The Internationalization of Public Interest Law, Scott Cummings, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law

7  The Promise of Compelled Whistleblowing: What the Corporate Governance Provisions of Sarbanes Oxley Mean for Employment Law, Elizabeth Chika Tippett, Harvard University - Harvard Law School

8   Lawyer Satisfaction in the Process of Structuring Legal Careers, Ronit Dinovitzer, Bryant G. Garth, Bryant G. Garth, University of Toronto, American Bar Foundation, Southwestern Law School

9   The Relationship Between Prosecutorial Misconduct and Wrongful Convictions: Shaping Remedies for a Broken System, Peter A. Joy, Washington University School of Law

10 Genetically Modified Rules: The Awkward Rule-Exception-Right Distinction in EC-Biotech, Tomer Broude, Hebrew University of Jerusalem - International Law Forum

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - December 21, 2006

We post our final top ten of the year with a complete non-sequitur.  "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" are worth listening to just about any time or any place.  The most annoying Christmas song is "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."

Here are the papers with the most downloads in the Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal, as reported by SSRN for the last sixty days.

1 Law and the Humanities:  An Uneasy Relationship, Jack M. Balkin, Sanford Levinson, Yale University - Law School, University of Texas Law School

2 To Make or to Buy:  In-House Lawyering and Value Creation, Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

3 Options Backdating, Tax Shelters, and Corporate Culture Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado at Boulder - School of Law

4  How an Instrumental View of Law Corrodes the Rule of Law, Brian Z. Tamanaha, St. John's University School of Law

5 Scholarship Advice for New Law Professors in the Electronic Age, Nancy Levit, UMKC School of Law

6 The Strict Character of Fiduciary Liability Robert Flannigan, University of Saskatchewan

7 Enlisting the Tax Bar David Schizer, Columbia Law School

8 Open Access, Law, Knowledge, Copyrights, Dominance and Subordination Ann Bartow
University of South Carolina - School of Law

9 Fear, Legal Indeterminacy and the American Lawyering Culture Michael Hatfield, Texas Tech University School of Law

10 Popular Culture and the Adversarial System Michael Asimow, UCLA School of Law

[Jeff Lipshaw]

 

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Dec. 5, 2006

It's changeover week at SSRN, and we have four new entrants to the top ten this week, including Michael Hatfield (Texas Tech), whose article we highlighted yesterday, and David Schizer (Columbia, right), whose article addresses the imbalance between government and private tax counsel we noted here a couple months ago.

Here are the papers with the most downloads in the Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal, as reported by SSRN for the last sixty days.

1 Law and the Humanities:  An Uneasy Relationship, Jack M. Balkin, Sanford Levinson, Yale University - Law School, University of Texas Law School

2 The Paradox of Extra-Legal Activism:  Critical Legal Consciousness and Transformative Politics, Orly Lobel, University of San Diego School of Law.

3 Options Backdating, Tax Shelters, and Corporate Culture Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado at Boulder - School of Law

4 Harry Potter, Ruby Slippers and Merlin:  Telling the Client's Story Using the Paradigm of the Archetypal Hero's Journey, Ruth Anne Robbins, Rutgers School of Law - Camden.

5 To Make or to Buy:  In-House Lawyering and Value Creation, Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

6 Scholarship Advice for New Law Professors in the Electronic Age, Nancy Levit, UMKC School of Law

7 The Strict Character of Fiduciary Liability Robert Flannigan, University of Saskatchewan

8 Enlisting the Tax Bar David Schizer, Columbia Law School

9 Fear, Legal Indeterminacy and the American Lawyering Culture Michael Hatfield, Texas Tech University School of Law

10 The Promise of Compelled Whistleblowing: What the Corporate Governance Provisions of Sarbanes Oxley Mean for Employment Law Elizabeth Chika Tippett, Harvard University - Harvard Law School

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Nov. 30, 2006

Steven L. Schwarcz (Duke, below) is the star of this week's top ten, with two papers currently highlighted.  Here are the papers with the most downloads in the Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal, as reported by SSRN for the last sixty days.

1 Law and the Humanities:  An Uneasy Relationship, Jack M. Balkin, Sanford Levinson, Yale University - Law School, University of Texas Law School

2 The Paradox of Extra-Legal Activism:  Critical Legal Consciousness and Transformative Politics, Orly Lobel, University of San Diego School of Law.

3 Options Backdating, Tax Shelters, and Corporate Culture Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado at Boulder - School of Law

4 Harry Potter, Ruby Slippers and Merlin:  Telling the Client's Story Using the Paradigm of the Archetypal Hero's Journey, Ruth Anne Robbins, Rutgers School of Law - Camden.

5 To Make or to Buy:  In-House Lawyering and Value Creation, Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

6  Southwest Airlines:  Hedging and Shareholder Value  Michael R. Ingrassia, Georgetown Law Center, Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado School of Law

7 The Public Responsibility of Structured Finance Lawyers Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

8 Scholarship Advice for New Law Professors in the Electronic Age, Nancy Levit, UMKC School of Law

9 Plato, Hegel, and Democracy, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)

10 The Legal Penalties for Financial Misrepresentation Jonathan M. Karpoff, D. Scott Lee, Gerald S. Martin, University of Washington - Business School, Texas A&M University - Department of Finance, Texas A&M University - Department of Finance.

[Jeff Lipshaw]

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - Nov. 14

Sham, Alydar, Joe Frazier, Andy Roddick, Orly Lobel's Harvard Law Review article.  What do they have in common?  All deserved to be Number 1, but were just born at the wrong time.  So as Secretariat was to Sham, Affirmed to Alydar, Ali to Frazier, and Federer to Roddick, so are Balkin & Levinson to Lobel.  A great paper, and despite its placement in the HLR, doomed never to hit the top of the SSRN charts, simply because it was born at the wrong time. 

But there are no losers here - it's an honor just to be able to play the game!

Here are the papers with the most downloads in the Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal, as reported by SSRN for the last sixty days.

1 Law and the Humanities:  An Uneasy Relationship, Jack M. Balkin, Sanford Levinson, Yale University - Law School, University of Texas Law School

2 The Paradox of Extra-Legal Activism:  Critical Legal Consciousness and Transformative Politics, Orly Lobel, University of San Diego School of Law.

3 Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Readiness for Rehabilitation David B. Wexler, University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

4 Options Backdating, Tax Shelters, and Corporate Culture Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado at Boulder - School of Law

5 Harry Potter, Ruby Slippers and Merlin:  Telling the Client's Story Using the Paradigm of the Archetypal Hero's Journey, Ruth Anne Robbins, Rutgers School of Law - Camden.

6 Politics, Office Politics, and Legal Ethics: A Case Study in the Strategy of Judgment David McGowan, University of San Diego - School of Law

7  Southwest Airlines:  Hedging and Shareholder Value  Michael R. Ingrassia, Georgetown Law Center, Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado School of Law

8  Judicial Opinions as Minefields of Misinformation: Antecedents, Consequences and Remedies Jacob Jacoby, New York University - Department of Marketing

9 Scholarship Advice for New Law Professors in the Electronic Age, Nancy Levit, UMKC School of Law

10The Public Responsibility of Structured Finance Lawyers Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

[Jeff Lipshaw] Clip art courtesy of Cindy Pierson-Dulay's Horse-Races.net.

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - Nov. 6

According to Answers.com, Modern Rock Tracks is Billboard Magazine's Top 40 Chart for alternative rock.  It has been around since 1988, and in all that time only two songs, "What's the Frequency, Kenneth," by R.E.M. and Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers have debuted at number one.  That puts them in the same elite class as our number one this week, the new paper by Jack Balkin (below right) and Sanford Levinson, and the subject of yesterday's paean.  Larry Solum (left) had even more erudite reaction (assuming my reaction was erudite at all) to the paper over at Legal Theory Blog.  (I have no real reason to post Larry's picture, other than (1) I already posted pictures of Balkin and Levinson; (2) this picture of Larry is SO much better than the one that used to appear on the USD page; (3) he looks MAHVELOUS; and (4) to show that what you see on the right  - the Legal Theory Blog logo - is NOT a picture of Larry.)

Here are the papers with the most downloads in the Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Journal, as reported by SSRN for the last sixty days.

1 Law and the Humanities:  An Uneasy Relationship, Jack M. Balkin, Sanford Levinson, Yale University - Law School, University of Texas Law School

2 The Paradox of Extra-Legal Activism:  Critical Legal Consciousness and Transformative Politics, Orly Lobel, University of San Diego School of Law.

3 Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Readiness for Rehabilitation David B. Wexler, University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

4 Politics, Office Politics, and Legal Ethics: A Case Study in the Strategy of Judgment David McGowan, University of San Diego - School of Law

5 Options Backdating, Tax Shelters, and Corporate Culture Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado at Boulder - School of Law

6 Harry Potter, Ruby Slippers and Merlin:  Telling the Client's Story Using the Paradigm of the Archetypal Hero's Journey, Ruth Anne Robbins, Rutgers School of Law - Camden.

7  Southwest Airlines:  Hedging and Shareholder Value  Michael R. Ingrassia, Georgetown Law Center, Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado School of Law

8  Judicial Opinions as Minefields of Misinformation: Antecedents, Consequences and Remedies Jacob Jacoby, New York University - Department of Marketing

9  The Public Responsibility of Structured Finance Lawyers Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law

10 Plato, Hegel, and Democracy, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

[Jeff Lipshaw]

 

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - Oct. 31

Here are the ten papers with the most downloads in the last sixty days, as reported by SSRN's Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility journal, edited by Cornell's accomplished and very tall blogger (on Legal Ethics Forum), Brad Wendel (left).  Now it occurred to me that if you had been absent from the academic side of law for, say, twenty-five years or so, and you reappeared after the advent of SSRN, you would be in awe of those mysterious and iconic "editors" of the SSRN journals who keep sending you e-mails all the time:  Adler & Bix, Arterian & Paul, Black.  I can attest that Bernie Black is a real person - I was in an elevator with him at the Marriott Wardman Park once.  I'm pretty sure Brian Bix is a real person because I send him e-mails and he responds (with unfailing courtesy and kindness, by the way!) 

Not only is Brad Wendel a real person, but he entertained my son James and me on our trip through Ithaca (part of the college visitation trip from hell).  Here's the official bio (slightly edited) from the Cornell web site.

Brad got his B.A. from Rice, J.D. from Duke, and J.S.D. from Columbia.  He joined the Cornell faculty in 2004, after teaching at Washington and Lee Law School from 1999-2004. Before entering graduate school and law teaching, he was a product liability litigator at Bogle & Gates in Seattle and a law clerk for Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His teaching interests are in the regulation of the legal profession and torts, and his research focuses on the application of moral and political philosophy to problems of legal ethics.

Oh, yes.  The top ten.   

1 Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Readiness for Rehabilitation David B. Wexler, University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

2 The Paradox of Extra-Legal Activism:  Critical Legal Consciousness and Transformative Politics, Orly Lobel, University of San Diego School of Law.

3 Politics, Office Politics, and Legal Ethics: A Case Study in the Strategy of Judgment David McGowan, University of San Diego - School of Law

4  Southwest Airlines:  Hedging and Shareholder Value  Michael R. Ingrassia, Georgetown Law Center, Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado School of Law

5 Judicial Opinions as Minefields of Misinformation: Antecedents, Consequences and Remedies Jacob Jacoby, New York University - Department of Marketing

6 Harry Potter, Ruby Slippers and Merlin:  Telling the Client's Story Using the Paradigm of the Archetypal Hero's Journey, Ruth Anne Robbins, Rutgers School of Law - Camden.

7 Plato, Hegel, and Democracy, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

8 The Images of Lawyers Fred C. Zacharias, University of San Diego - School of Law

9 The Legal Penalties for Financial Misrepresentation Jonathan M. Karpoff, D. Scott Lee, Gerald S. Martin, University of Washington - Business School, Texas A&M University - Department of Finance, Texas A&M University - Department of Finance.

10 Legal Hazard: Corporate Crime, Advancement of Executives' Defense Costs, and the Federal Courts Peter Margulies, Roger Williams University School of Law.

[Jeff Lipshaw]

 

Top Ten - Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility - Oct. 23

There were no changes in this week's reporting of the ten papers with the most downloads in the SSRN Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility journal, except the appearance at number 7 of a new article, scheduled for Volume 120 of the Harvard Law Review, by Orly Lobel (right) of the University of San Diego and PrawfsBlawg fame.  Congratulations, Orly, on the placement, from those of us who measure our progress by the number of hours it takes to get a rejection from the HLR!

1 Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Readiness for Rehabilitation David B. Wexler, University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

2 Politics, Office Politics, and Legal Ethics: A Case Study in the Strategy of Judgment David McGowan, University of San Diego - School of Law

3  Southwest Airlines:  Hedging and Shareholder Value  Michael R. Ingrassia, Georgetown Law Center, Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado School of Law

4 Judicial Ethics, the Appearance of Impropriety, and the Proposed New ABA Judicial Code Ronald D. Rotunda, George Mason University - School of Law

5 Judicial Opinions as Minefields of Misinformation: Antecedents, Consequences and Remedies Jacob Jacoby, New York University - Department of Marketing

6 Plato, Hegel, and Democracy, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

7 The Paradox of Extra-Legal Activism:  Critical Legal Consciousness and Transformative Politics, Orly Lobel, University of San Diego School of Law.

8 I Can Tell When You're Telling Lies: Metadata in Litigation and Transactional Practice David C. Hricik, Mercer University - Walter F. George School of Law

9 The Images of Lawyers Fred C. Zacharias, University of San Diego - School of Law

10 Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Marina Ricci, Valparaiso University School of Law

[Jeff Lipshaw]

 

Top Ten - Legal Ethics and Professional Responsbility - Oct. 17

Posted by Jeff Lipshaw

There are no new entrants to the top ten this week, but some jockeying for position, just as the dust starts clearing on the BCS Bowl picture.  Fortunately, for purposes of clarity, we only have the computer rankings on which to rely, but were we to adopt a BCS approach, we'd have to have a couple subjective polls as well.  Here's to the possibility of a "Game of the Common Era" between Michigan (Go Blue!) and the team from that institution in central Ohio with the funny-looking mascot and the very fine law school.  (Hey, even my wife thinks Kirk Herbstreit is a hunk.)

But we digress.  The current top ten downloaded papers as reported by SSRN for its Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Journal, as of October 16, 2006:

1 Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Readiness for Rehabilitation David B. Wexler, University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

2 Politics, Office Politics, and Legal Ethics: A Case Study in the Strategy of Judgment David McGowan, University of San Diego - School of Law

3  Southwest Airlines:  Hedging and Shareholder Value  Michael R. Ingrassia, Georgetown Law Center, Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado School of Law

4 Judicial Ethics, the Appearance of Impropriety, and the Proposed New ABA Judicial Code Ronald D. Rotunda, George Mason University - School of Law

5 Judicial Opinions as Minefields of Misinformation: Antecedents, Consequences and Remedies Jacob Jacoby, New York University - Department of Marketing

6 Plato, Hegel, and Democracy, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

7 I Can Tell When You're Telling Lies: Metadata in Litigation and Transactional Practice David C. Hricik, Mercer University - Walter F. George School of Law

8 The Images of Lawyers Fred C. Zacharias, University of San Diego - School of Law

9 Legal Hazard: Corporate Crime, Advancement of Executives' Defense Costs, and the Federal Courts Peter Margulies, Roger Williams University School of Law

10 Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Marina Ricci, Valparaiso University School of Law

 

Top Ten Papers - Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Posted by Jeff Lipshaw

We have a new number one (because of SSRN's policy of rolling off the papers after 60 days), and new papers moving into the top ten at numbers 3 and 7.  The current top ten downloaded papers as reported by SSRN for its Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Journal, as of October 10, 2006:

1 Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Readiness for Rehabilitation David B. Wexler, University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

2 Politics, Office Politics, and Legal Ethics: A Case Study in the Strategy of Judgment David McGowan, University of San Diego - School of Law

3  Southwest Airlines:  Hedging and Shareholder Value  Michael R. Ingrassia, Georgetown Law Center, Victor Fleischer, University of Colorado School of Law

4 Judicial Ethics, the Appearance of Impropriety, and the Proposed New ABA Judicial Code Ronald D. Rotunda, George Mason University - School of Law

5 I Can Tell When You're Telling Lies: Metadata in Litigation and Transactional Practice David C. Hricik, Mercer University - Walter F. George School of Law

6 The Images of Lawyers Fred C. Zacharias, University of San Diego - School of Law

7 Plato, Hegel, and Democracy, Thom Brooks, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

8 Judicial Opinions as Minefields of Misinformation: Antecedents, Consequences and Remedies Jacob Jacoby, New York University - Department of Marketing

9 Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Marina Ricci, Valparaiso University School of Law

10 Legal Hazard: Corporate Crime, Advancement of Executives' Defense Costs, and the Federal Courts Peter Margulies, Roger Williams University School of Law

Top Ten - Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Posted by Jeff Lipshaw

The current top ten downloaded papers as reported by SSRN for its Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Journal, as of October 3, 2006:

1 Illuminating Secrecy: A New Economic Analysis of Confidential Settlements Scott A. Moss, Marquette University - Law School

2 Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Readiness for Rehabilitation David B. Wexler, University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

3 Judicial Ethics, the Appearance of Impropriety, and the Proposed New ABA Judicial Code Ronald D. Rotunda, George Mason University - School of Law

4 Politics, Office Politics, and Legal Ethics: A Case Study in the Strategy of Judgment David McGowan, University of San Diego - School of Law

5 Lawyers' Ethics in Interdisciplinary Collaboratives: Some Answers to Some Persistent Questions Alexis Anderson, Lynn Barenberg, Paul R. Tremblay, Boston College - Law School, Boston College - Law School, Boston College Law School

6 I Can Tell When You're Telling Lies: Metadata in Litigation and Transactional Practice David C. Hricik, Mercer University - Walter F. George School of Law

7 Legal Hazard: Corporate Crime, Advancement of Executives' Defense Costs, and the Federal Courts Peter Margulies, Roger Williams University School of Law

8 Judicial Opinions as Minefields of Misinformation: Antecedents, Consequences and Remedies Jacob Jacoby, New York University - Department of Marketing

9 The Images of Lawyers Fred C. Zacharias, University of San Diego - School of Law

10 Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Marina Ricci, Valparaiso University School of Law