Dept Sem:Doing GoodDoing Well

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Uniting ‘Law as a Business’ and ‘Law as a Profession’ This seminar is as much a course on legal institutions as the theory and practice of pro bono publico service both in the United States and globally. Through active student participation, this course will examine the structure and economics of the modern legal business model as it intersects with a lawyer’s professional and ethical obligations to support the public interest. This intersection can create significant conflict within legal organizations – conflict that has greatly increased as the justice gap continues to grow since the recent economic downturn. This course will address this conflict while working out solutions within the framework of the modern legal profession. Examples of specific topics to be discussed include: the effects of exporting a U.S.-based concept of pro bono legal culture to countries around the world, the growth of corporate social responsibility programs, the tension created between the economic health of a legal organization and an increased need for access to justice in difficult economic times, and the role of judges in altering the balance to promote, and sometimes require, pro bono service. Students will be required to prepare a research paper on a topic of their own choosing, and grades will be based on the final paper and class participation.