"[The] workplace is the crucial detriment of lawyers' behaviour."

"[The] workplace is the crucial detriment of lawyers' behaviour."

(R. Maiman, C. McEwen, and L. Mather "The Future of Legal Professionalism in Practice" Legal Ethics 2(1) (1999), 71 at 74)

Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement, considering the relative importance of other detriments of lawyers behaviour, for example the Codes of Conduct or a lawyer's personal morality.

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Hi guys,

I'm doing Law and ethics at university, and i'm in my 2nd year now.

This an essay question we have been set.

After getting some help and making a plan, i am now stuck as to how to approach this question...this is the feedback i recieved:

The point is that:
-We are not necessarily looking for your own original insight into the area (that's challenging enough) --We're more concerned about the development of a clear, coherent argument directed towards a logical conclusion in response to the question.

-It's not that your argument has to be on one side or the other, but that the line of argument that you develop is clear.

-It's linked to the exercise that we did on dealing with the arguments of others. It may be that you have to reframe the question, direct your argument to a shade of grey, rather than the black or white / yes or no type response.

-This is what we mean by your perspective - rather than you developing an entirely new way of thinking about Law & Ethics.

MY PLAN:

Effects of the following:
Globalization of the legal profession, and ultimately the lawyer behaviour
Types of law firms/kind of work involved with
Codes and conducts
Media representation of the profession, and lawyers/sexual ethics in the profession
Individual morality, ideals and beliefs
The current economical situation

I wanted to show that the workplace isn't the only factor affecting lawyer behavior - and infact there are all these other ones i have mentioned above.

I have no idea who to structure my arguments,

Um . . do you perhaps mean that the prompt asks you if the workplace is the main determinant of lawyer behavior? Because detriment doesn't really seem to work all that well there, especially since I can't really see how a code of conduct can be detrimental to a lawyer's behavior. Or is it actually the case that the prompt assumes lawyer's behavior is so universally bad that it requires an explanation rooted in the structure of the profession?

In any event, the most obvious structure for your essay would involve ordering the factors affecting lawyer behavior by importance. A more complex, but probably more satisfying, alternative would be to explore whether there are any causal links between the factors you mention. So, for instance, does individual morality influence which type of law firms a lawyer becomes involved with? Does the type of law firm in turn influence how strongly a lawyer is affected by globalization? And so on.

Hi, I am a little confused about the assignment, too, but I would recommend that you get acquainted with the counter-arguments that would fall in opposition to your arguments. That will give you perspective and a reference point for your writing.

Also, remember to start a section/paragraph with the point you want to make, then elaborate and explain, and then say it again at the end. This formula provides the clarity they are looking for.

Ok thanks guys for you help!