Lawyers, Clients, and Moral Responsibility - 3rd Edition - Jerome M. Organ

Lawyers, Clients, and Moral Responsibility 3rd Edition Jerome M. Organ ISBN 9798887869568

Lawyers, Clients, and Moral Responsibility (Third Edition) is an essential resource for those committed to helping law students thoughtfully explore who they want to become as lawyers while working collaboratively with clients to solve real-world problems. As legal education increasingly emphasizes professional identity formation, this book offers a timely and practical framework for law professors, practicing attorneys, and students alike.

The third edition continues to develop four foundational models of the lawyer–client relationship, each reflecting different approaches to leadership and moral engagement in legal decision-making.

The Autocrat and Hired Gun models exclude consideration of how legal representation affects others. In the Autocrat model, the lawyer dominates decision-making, while in the Hired Gun model, the lawyer defers entirely to the client’s wishes.

The Guru model introduces moral considerations, but these are driven primarily by the lawyer’s own moral perspective, with the lawyer continuing to lead the decision-making process.

In contrast, the Friend model promotes a collaborative moral dialogue. It encourages discussion of the client’s moral values while preserving the client’s role as the ultimate decision-maker, supported by the lawyer’s professional expertise and guidance.

To deepen these moral conversations, the third edition continues its exploration of three core moral virtues frequently implicated in legal practice: Justice, Mercy, and Truthfulness. Notably, the discussion of justice has been expanded to include restorative justice alongside traditional conceptions, reflecting evolving perspectives within the legal profession.

This book is well suited for use in professional identity and formation courses, experiential and clinical courses involving attorney–client interactions, and as a supplemental text in Professional Responsibility courses. It provides a structured yet reflective approach to understanding the ethical and moral dimensions of lawyering in modern practice.

Lawyers, Clients, and Moral Responsibility 3rd Edition Jerome M. Organ ISBN 9798887869568, 979-8887869568 & 9798317703592

Authors:
Jerome M. Organ
Robert F. Cochran Jr.
Thomas L. Shaffer