legal ethics is law a business or a profession.
In this essay there will firstly be a definition of what is meant by the word 'profession', although there are changing ideals about this. This will then be used to look at what elements the modern law profession has from the definition. There will be a discussion about the lawyers duty as an officer of the court. The lawyers civic responsibilities will be explored. The requirement of rules and regulations will be considered. Then a definition of a business will be presented. It will be discussed how the legal profession is becoming more like a business. The regard modern lawyers have for the rules will be talked about. The lack of reporting by the Law Societies with regard to disciplinary hearings will be mentioned.Firstly a definition if what exactly is meant by the word 'profession'. It is defined as a vocation or occupation requiring special, normally advanced, education which brings with it unique knowledge and skill. The activity and skill required in the profession is essentially mental or intellectual. Profession also "suggests a certain stature and prestige and implies that the activity to which it is attached possesses a special dignity that other jobs do not." It seems that a profession also controls the education of
Now the definition of what is meant by the term 'business' is one that seems, at least historically, easier to articulate than that of a profession. "A business is any employment, occupation, or commercial activity engaged in for gain or livelihood; that which busies or engages the attention, labor and effort of persons as a principal, serious concern or interest for livelihood, benefit, advantage or profit. Another factor pointing towards a more business like operation of the legal profession is the stature with which the rules of professional conduct are regarded in the contemporary New Zealand legal climate. The Cotter-Roper report suggests that breaches of these rules are treated rather lightly. The report also states that legal ethics as a whole concept are starting to decline generally. This, it is suggested. is because firms need the work to survive in the modern day market for legal services and will ignore some rules where they, the rules, are inconvenient. At the time the report was published ethics was not a compulsory part of the law undergraduate courses and because of this ethics was thought to be, by students, of lesser importance than the so called core subjects. This has now been rectified, ethics is a compulsory course of undergraduate legal study. If what the report suggests is the reality then this does not bode well for the legal profession retaining it label as a profession in the eyes of the traditionalists. The legal profession still retains some attributes that would make the label "profession" a truthful one. No longer can it be said that law is a profession apart, untouched by the marketplace. A point that illustrates this proposition is the competitive environment of the legal profession. With the ever increasing number of lawyers in society there is obviously going to be more competition. In this environment the law firms have to operate like a business. "The present day American law profession has become in many respects a bottom line business". This seems to hold true for the New Zealand legal profession as well as its American equivalent. The report also suggests that there is no valid reporting of disclip
Some common words found in the essay are:
Law Societies, Professional Conduct, Kronman Brown, Law Society, , Business Roundtable, Henry Ford, legal profession, law firms, zealand legal, law profession, law society, duty serve, report suggests, meant word 'profession', profession duty, law societies, increased competition, public service element, rules professional conduct,
Approximate Word count = 1457
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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