Professional Responsibility in an Age of Alternative Entities, Alternative Finance, and Alternative Facts

Like my fellow editors here at the BLPB, I enjoyed the first Business Law Prof Blog conference hosted by The University of Tennessee College of Law back in the fall.  They have begun to post their recently published work presented at that event over the past few weeks.  See, e.g., here and here (one of several newly posted Padfield pieces) and here. I am adding mine to the pile: Professional Responsibility in an Age of Alternative Entities, Alternative Finance, and Alternative Facts.  The SSRN abstract reads as follows:

Business lawyers in the United States find little in the way of robust, tailored guidance in most applicable bodies of rules governing their professional conduct. The relative lack of professional responsibility and ethics guidance for these lawyers is particularly troubling in light of two formidable challenges in business law: legal change and complexity. Change and complexity arise from exciting developments in the industry that invite—even entice—the participation of business lawyers.

This essay offers current examples from three different areas of business law practice that involve change and complexity. They are labeled: “Alternative Entities,” “Alternative Finance,” and “Alternative Facts.” Each area is described, together with significant attendant professional responsibility and ethics challenges. The essay concludes by offering general prescriptions for addressing these and other professional responsibility and ethics challenges faced by business lawyers in an age of legal change and complexity.

I do not often write on professional responsibility issues.  However, I do feel an obligation every once in a while to add to the literature in that area addressing issues arising in transactional business law.  In essence, it's service through scholarship.  

I hope you read the essay and, if you do, I hope you enjoy it.  I also can recommend the commentary on it published by my UT Law faculty colleague George Kuney and my student Claire Tuley.  Both comments will be available electronically in the coming months.  I will try to remember to post links . . . .