Ray Brescia Addresses Ethical Considerations in Crisis Lawyering

On the Future of Change blog, Ray Brescia (‘92), Professor of Law at Albany Law School, discussed an upcoming piece for Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics regarding ethical issues surrounding lawyering through a pandemic and other types of crises (“Legal Ethics in the Pandemic,” Sep. 9). Ray offers recommendations for considering rule amendments to provide flexibility in meeting obligations and better serving clients in times of crisis. “More and more though, lawyers are asked to assist clients in novel and widespread crises that affect many areas of practice, and the Model Rules do not address the ways in which such crises can impact the practice of law more generally. The main approach this Article takes is to assess the extent to which scholarship and the current rules governing the practice of law and their underlying principles account for some of the unique aspects of practice in novel, pervasive crises. To date, legal scholarship has not considered the ways in which what I call crisis lawyering may be a mode of practice many, if not all lawyers, will face throughout the course of their careers.”
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