PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: “WHAT WORKS - AND WHY?”
John G. Sprankling
McGeorge School of Law

Coverage	Activity
Class 1: Introduction;Confidentiality	Videotape: interviews of clients victimized by their former attorneys (themes: public perception of lawyers; integrity; malpractice)
Class 2: More confidentiality	Videotape: Daphne Berger excerpt from Gillers, Adventures in Legal Ethics (“ALE”) (themes: confidentiality, whistle-blowing, entity clients)
Class 3: Attorney duties generally: agency, fiduciary, loyalty, duty to inform, autonomy, termination	None
Class 4: Attorneys fees generally	In-class simulation: negotiation of fee contract between attorney and potential client (themes: contingent fee contracts, attorney/client conflicts, ethics of negotiation, when attorney/client relationship begins)
Class 5: Hourly billing; pro bono Work; court-award fees, etc.	In-class simulation: in-firm discussion of hourly billing issues (themes: reasonable fees, attorney/client conflicts, disclosure, fraud)
Class 6: Attorney/client conflicts; concurrent conflicts	Videotape: Karen Horowitz excerpt from Gillers ALE (themes: attorney/client conflicts, bias, competence)
Class 7: Concurrent conflicts	Videotape: Anita Eng excerpt from Gillers ALE (themes: concurrent conflicts, attorney/client conflicts, client autonomy)
Class 8: Successive conflicts	None
Class 9: Ethics of litigation; truth in an adversarial system	In-class simulation: coaching witness for deposition (themes: perjury, fraud, attorney’s duties to legal system, limits of zeal)
Class 10: Fostering falsity	Videotape: “Pinnochio’s Lawyer” excerpt from Gillers ALE (themes: disclosure, literal truth, perjury, competence)
Class 11: Frivolous litigation, etc.	In-class simulation: in-firm discussion re whether pursing particular cases is zealous representation or presentation of frivolous claims (themes: attorney’s duty to legal system, frivolous claims, Rule 11, development of common law)
Class 12: Destruction of evidence; jurors	Videotape: Cahn/Danforth excerpt from Gillers ALE (themes: destruction of evidence, disclosure, false evidence, concealment of evidence)
Class 13: Ethics of negotiation	Videotape: Butler/Kelsey excerpt from Gillers ALE (themes: negotiation ethics, competence, zeal, fraud, confidentiality, extortion, hardball tactics)
Class 14: Disqualification of judges; judicial bias	Videotape: Judicial Disqualification excerpt from Gillers Further Adventures in Legal Ethics (themes: appearance of impropriety standard, bias)
Class 15: Other issues in judicial ethics	In-class simulation: judicial campaigns, speeches, and election in conformity with Model Canons of Judicial Ethics (themes: democratic theory, free speech, ethical constraints on judicial elections)
Class 16: Advertising and solicitation	In-class simulation: in-firm meeting to discuss proposed advertising (themes: advertising, consumer protection, reasonable fees)
Class 17: Quality control: bar admission, multijurisdictional firms, supervision	Videotape: Catherine Sutton excerpt from Gillers ALE (themes: partner’s duty to supervise, associate’s right to privacy, bias, vicarious liability)
Class 18: Lawyers and free speech	None
Class 19: Malpractice	None
Class 20: Disciplinary system	In-class simulation: panels of judges decide on appropriate sanctions in series of attorney discipline cases (themes: goals of disciplinary system, factors relevant to choice of sanction)