Legal Ethics in Action

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

What does it mean to act as a lawyer? This course investigates the moral, political, and metaphysical complexity of legal agency. Lawyers exercise power on behalf of others, often within institutions that both constrain and amplify the consequences of their decisions. Given this complexity, it is unclear what kind of responsibility lawyers bear for their professional actions. Can a lawyer act morally while representing an immoral client? In what sense is a lawyer’s act also the client’s—and vice versa? How do institutional roles shape not only what a person does, but who they are? We will approach such questions through readings in political philosophy, philosophy of action, and legal ethics. Topics will include the political role of lawyers and the institutional nature of legal power; the nature of action and agency; the structure of roles, delegation, and complicity; and the moral demands of professional identity. Students will reflect critically on their own views about professional ethics and think concretely about what it means to take responsibility for actions in their future careers.