What Do Clients Want? A Client's Theory of Professionalism
Emory Law Journal, Vol. 52, No. 1087, 2003
University of Houston Law Center, Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series 2007-A-26
17 Pages Posted: 4 Jul 2007
Abstract
In this article, which was part of a symposium on professionalism, I identify some elements of a clients' theory of professionalism. My starting point is the most common complaint of clients about lawyers: they neglect the matters entrusted to them. I first identify the standard, lawyers' account of professionalism, with its two principles of partisanship and nonaccountability. I then identify the two principles that many clients would prefer, namely competence and diligence. Lawyers have made at least three attempts to codify these clients' principles, in the Model Code of Professional Responsibility, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and a distinctive Texas Rule of Professional Conduct that combines competence and diligence into one standard. Because the Texas disciplinary rule adopts a standard that is more than negligent but less than intentional conduct, I analyze the difference between negligence and neglect. I conclude that clients would prefer a disciplinary system based on strict liability for neglect.
Keywords: neglect, ethics, professionalism
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