Professional Responsibility in the Life of the Lawyer - 3rd Edition - Alex B. Long

Professional Responsibility in the Life of the Lawyer 3rd Edition ISBN 9781636598345

The third edition of Professional Responsibility in the Life of the Lawyer offers a comprehensive, practice-oriented introduction to the ethical and legal challenges lawyers face throughout their careers. From bar admission and client representation to attorney well-being and legacy, the book follows the full arc of a lawyer’s professional life.

Each chapter places students in the role of a practicing lawyer, asking them to navigate realistic scenarios using the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and other key sources of law. At every stage, students are also invited to reflect on their professional identity, reinforcing the importance of ethical development alongside legal knowledge.

New and Updated in the Third Edition:

• New Hypotheticals and Practice Problems: Every chapter includes multiple problem sets that simulate real-world professional dilemmas. Many new hypotheticals have been added in this edition.
• Updated for the Current Model Rules: All discussions and problems are based on the latest version of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (note: text of the Rules not included; students will need a separate supplement).
• Professional Identity Development: The introductory chapter focuses on what it means to be a lawyer, and each chapter includes a “Profile of Lawyer Professionalism”—short narratives highlighting exemplary lawyers across practice areas.
• New Chapter on Attorney Well-Being: Explores tools for supporting mental health and well-being in legal practice, while critically examining how professional rules and ethics opinions may stigmatize mental health and addiction challenges.
• Reorganized Conflict of Interest Coverage: The three chapters on conflicts of interest have been restructured for improved clarity, featuring more examples and problems to enhance accessibility and understanding.
• Behavioral Legal Ethics: Select chapters now introduce insights from behavioral science to help students understand why ethical lapses occur—even among well-intentioned lawyers—and how to make better professional decisions.
• Expanded Criminal Practice Content: Includes separate, focused chapters on the distinct ethical duties of prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys.
• Streamlined Judicial Ethics: Condensed into a single, more accessible chapter.
• Updated Bar Admission Materials: Expanded discussion on rehabilitation, particularly in relation to addiction and mental health, and how these factors are treated in the admissions process.

Key Features:

• Realistic, problem-based learning throughout
• Strong integration of professional identity development
• Practical focus on all stages of a lawyer’s career
• Thoughtful incorporation of contemporary ethical challenges
• Ideal for courses in Professional Responsibility or Legal Ethics, and adaptable for experiential or seminar-style teaching

This edition provides students not just with rules and doctrine, but with the tools to think like ethical lawyers, navigate difficult decisions, and shape their identity as professionals committed to integrity, service, and well-being.

Long, Schaefer and Robertson Professional Responsibility in the Life of the Lawyer Third Edition ISBN 9781636598345& 978-1636598345