The University of Texas at Austin   School of Law

Main menu:

UT Law School Classes - Summer 2008

Professional Responsibility

Instructor: Dzienkowski Credits: 3 Course ID: F385 Unique #81910
     Day    Time   Location
   Monday 8:20 am - 10:40 am TNH 2.139
   Tuesday 8:20 am - 10:40 am TNH 2.139
   Wednesday 8:20 am - 10:40 am TNH 2.139
   Thursday 8:20 am - 10:40 am TNH 2.139
   Friday 8:20 am - 10:40 am TNH 2.139
Exam Type    Test Date Time      Name Range Regular Room Extegrity Room
  Final Thursday, July 3 8:30 am -   A-P
  R-Z
  2.138
  2.124
  2.138
  2.124
Registration Information
This course is restricted to upper division students only.

Description
This course approaches the subject of professional responsibility as a study of how society regulates the legal profession and the conduct of lawyers.  First, we study the organized regulation of the profession, which includes the following topics:  (1) the admission of lawyers, (2) the establishment of the legal services monopoly through unauthorized practice of law statutes, (3) the state and federal systems for disciplining lawyers, and (4) the clients.  Second, we study the regulation of the conduct of individual lawyers through the transactional perspectives:  (1) formation of the attorney- client relationship, (2) performance of the representation, and (3) termination of the relationship.  We also spend significant time examining the three contexts of regulating lawyers' conduct:  (1) the disciplinary committee, (2) the private malpractice action, and (3) judicial regulation as part of the lawyer's representation of a client.

Although we discuss the Model Code and the Model Rules, this course does not focus on the rules of professional responsibility as the sole source of ethical guidelines.  The course should prepare you for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam; however, it is more useful as an introduction to identifying and resolving ethical problems in practice.  In addition, it is your first introduction to the practice of law as a profession.

Related Course Areas