The Law and Ethics of Lawyering (Juri 4300) Spring 2026
Prof. Hall (matthall@[Link]) Wed. and Fri. 1:15 to 2:40pm
Hirsch Hall, classroom J
Course webpage on ELC
Course Description, Goals, and Methods:
This course is designed to prepare you to create successful, rewarding, and responsible careers in
the law. You will learn the most important rules that regulate the behavior of lawyers. Those
rules include ethical codes, and also rules regarding agency, fiduciary duty, malpractice, and
attorney-client privilege. You will also learn a good bit about the legal profession, including the
variety of practice settings in which lawyers work and the professional opportunities and
challenges of each. The course will help you develop the tools you will need to resolve the legal
and ethical issues that lawyers confront in practice and to navigate the enormous legal, cultural,
and economic forces that are reshaping the legal profession. While virtually all other law school
courses focus primarily on issues of concern to clients, this course revolves around issues of
primary concern to you — as individuals and future leaders.
Like courses typically offered at other law schools to satisfy the American Bar Association
professional responsibility requirement, this course will teach you a great deal about the Model
Rules of Professional Conduct and other elements of the law that governs lawyers. We will
consider gaps and ambiguity in that law and how lawyers respond (and should respond) to such
legal uncertainty. We will also study legal ethics in the context of various practice settings,
paying close attention to lawyers’ work settings, institutional roles, and economic pressures.
With that said, this is not strictly a bar-prep course. It will not cover every topic that may be
covered on the MPRE, and we will discuss some things that won’t appear on the MPRE.
Among the questions that you should be able to answer at the end of this course are: What does it
mean to say that law is a profession rather than a business? Should lawyers continue to enjoy a
state-sanctioned monopoly over the provision of legal services? Ought they to be allowed to
regulate themselves? Is it proper for attorneys to set aside their own values in deference to those
of their clients?
As future leaders of the profession, you also need to understand issues and problems that
confront the profession as a whole. Such issues include the legal services market and its
regulation, the distribution of legal services, the profession’s demographics and social structure,
lawyers’ roles in regulatory processes, and the implications of technology and globalization.
Required Text:
(1) Lerman & Schrag, Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law (6th ed.)
(NOTE: there is a new 7th edition – don’t buy it. It’s priced at an unconscionably high
price, so I refuse to adopt it. The 6th ed. has everything we need, and there are used
copies available online for between $25 and $75 from Amazon and other booksellers)
(2) You’ll also need a Rule book, containing the ABA Model Rules of Professional
Conduct, including the official comments, and also including the model code of judicial conduct.
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There are many editions of these rule books, most of which are functionally identical. Any
edition 2023 or later should suffice. You are responsible for any rules discussed in class or in the
assigned reading. Any time that the reading refers to one of the rules, you should read the rule in
detail and be prepared to discuss it in class.
Optional Study Aid:
Sometimes, people ask me for a recommendation for other published materials. I think the
“Examples and Explanations” series is quite good for this course. It contains practice problems
that may help you fulfill the course goals described above.
Evaluation:
Evaluation in the course will be determined primarily by your performance on the final exam.
Your grade may be adjusted upward or downward based on attendance and class participation,
and/or based on your participation in an optional extra credit project described more fully below.
Class participation and attendance:
Come to class prepared and on time; do not come late or unprepared without handing me a note
or emailing me in advance of class; be respectful of your classmates. If you must leave early for
an appointment, please sit in the front where you can exit with minimal disruption.
Participate in class by: doing the assigned reading, thinking carefully about it, listening to what
others have to say, and offering your own ideas and opinions when you feel they will enrich the
discussion. Don’t be afraid to be “wrong”; articulate a position and learn the art of advocacy the
only way that one can—by experience.
Students who make an outstanding contribution to the learning environment may receive a bonus
of up to 3 points on a 100 point scale. 3/100 points may, or may not, result in an improvement in
your grade. Making an outstanding contribution is not determined by frequency of participation,
but by the quality of your participation – that is, by the extent to which your comments and
questions create opportunities for us all to better understand the material.
I encourage you to volunteer comments by raising your hand. In addition, each day I will
typically call on a number of randomly selected students. I call on students at random, not to put
you on the spot or embarrass you, but to ensure active participation and a dynamic discussion,
and to ensure that the discussion is not dominated by a small number of students.
Because this class meets only twice a week, if you accrue more than FOUR absences, for any
reason other than COVID-related quarantine, I will bump your final grade down one increment
(e.g., from B+ to B). If you miss too many classes, you will not be permitted to take the final
exam and will not receive credit for the course. You need not notify me if you are unable to
attend class – I will pass around a sign-in sheet. If you need to miss class for a COVID-related
reason, please let me know the same day.
Exam:
Our exam is currently scheduled for Monday, May 4, at 9:00 a.m. It will be a three-hour, closed
book exam with only this one exception: you may bring a short version of your outline to the
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exam, consisting of no more than five sheets of 8.5x11 paper (you may use both sides of the
paper). The exam will consist of essay questions, short answer questions, and multiple choice
questions.
Cell phones and other electronic devices (other than your laptop if you choose to type the exam)
are not permitted in the exam room.
Optional Pro Bono Assignment:
In keeping with the spirit of MR 6.1, students may receive extra credit for the completion of an
optional pro bono project. To be eligible for credit, students must perform at least twelve (12)
hours of volunteer community service, in any capacity, so long as it benefits persons of limited
means. If you choose to complete a Pro Bono project, you must email me a one-paragraph
description of your proposed project before the end of week 5 of class, and you must complete
your project, and email me a final report (not to exceed 3 single-spaced pages) by the end of
week 12. The final report should describe in some detail: what you did, why you chose that
project, and what you got out of it. You should also include a certification from your supervisor
at the organization where you did your volunteer work.
I can’t guarantee that the extra credit for this project will improve your grade. It may help your
grade, depending on where your exam score falls in relation to the grade cutoffs (i.e., if your
exam grade was a high B+, the extra credit will likely bump you up to an A-. If your exam grade
was a low B+, the extra credit will not likely affect your grade).
Additional Course Rules:
Laptop use: Laptops are not permitted in class.
Why? Studies show that the use of laptops for note taking tends to induce a “stenographer”
mindset, which retards learning by reducing your active engagement with the material. When
you handwrite your notes you will find that you are forced to listen more actively and to process
the information we discuss in class, rather than simply transcribing it. The process of deciding
what to write down, and phrasing it in your own words, will result in your learning the material
more deeply and completely, and retaining it long-term.
Apart from medical/disability related exemptions, the sole exception to this policy is as follows: I
will authorize a limited number of volunteer typists to type notes, in exchange for their
commitment to post those notes on the Course’s ELC page for their colleagues’ use. Let me
know by email during the first week of class if you would like to volunteer.
Office hours: I will have regular office hours on Tuesdays and Fridays immediately after class,
beginning at the podium, and continuing to Jittery Joe’s downstairs, depending on demand. If
you would like to set up a meeting outside of these times, please email me and we will set up a
meeting.
Syllabus subject to change:
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary from time to
time and will be announced in class.
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Honor Code:
Remember that all work in this course is subject to the UGA Honor Code, which requires you to
affirm that: "I will be academically honest in all of my academic work and will not tolerate
academic dishonesty of others." The University's policy and procedures for handling cases of
suspected dishonesty can be found at [Link]/ovpi.
If you plan to request accommodations for a disability, please register with the Disability
Resource Center. They can be reached by visiting Clark Howell Hall, calling 706-542-8719
(voice) or 706-542-8778 (TTY), or by visiting [Link]
COVID rules: See the last page of this syllabus.
Mental Health and Wellness Resources:
• If you or someone you know needs assistance, you are encouraged to contact Student
Care and Outreach in the Division of Student Affairs at 706-542-7774 or visit
[Link] They will help you navigate any difficult circumstances you may be
facing by connecting you with the appropriate resources or services.
• UGA has several resources for a student seeking mental health services
([Link] or crisis support
([Link]
• If you need help managing stress anxiety, relationships, etc., please visit BeWellUGA
([Link] for a list of FREE workshops, classes,
mentoring, and health coaching led by licensed clinicians and health educators in the
University Health Center.
• Additional resources can be accessed through the UGA App.
AI Usage:
The use of Artificial intelligence tools for coursework in this class is not permitted without
advance approval of the instructor.
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Reading List:
Unless otherwise noted, assignments are in Lerman and Schrag, Ethical Problems in the Practice
of Law (6th ed).
Please note: The reading list will identify the most important Rules for each topic. Read those
rules and their comments closely. In addition, any Rules cited in the reading should be
considered part of the assignment.
Assignment Topic Pages Key Rules
#
1 Intro and Bar admission pp. 1-12, 17-
40
2 Regulation of lawyers pp. 63-105
3 Formation, conduct, and termination pp. 137-169 Rules 1.1-1.4, 1.14,
of AC relationship 1.18
4 [contin.] pp. 170-76;
179-97;
207-13
5 Confidentiality pp. 215-45 Rules 1.2, 1.6, 1.16,
3.3, 4.1, 8.4
6 [contin.] pp. 246-61;
267-77
7 Atty-Client Privilege pp. 279-308;
311-21
8 Conflicts of Interest – between pp. 323-50 Rules: 1.7, 1.10
current clients
9 [contin.] pp. 351-63
10 Conflicts involving former clients pp. 365-93 Rules: 1.9, 1.10, 1.13
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11 [contin.] pp. 393-417
12 Applications of conflicts rules pp. 419-41
13 [contin.] pp. 448-61
14 Conflicts between lawyers and pp. 463-500 Rules: 1.4, 1.5, 1.8,
clients- Fees and personal interests 5.2, 5.4, 7.1, 8.3, 8.4
15 [contin.] pp. 500-38
16 Conflicts involving government pp.539-80; Rules: 1.11, 1.12
lawyers, judges, misc. 582-84
17 Lawyers’ duties to others: courts, pp. 587-613 Rules: 3.1, 3.3, 3.8,
adversaries, and third parties 4.1-4.4
18 [contin.] pp. 613-47
19 [contin.] pp. 666-71;
673-97
20 [contin.] pp. 697-717
21 [contin.] pp. 718-36
22 Junior lawyers and Senior lawyers’ pp.114-143 Rules: 5.1, 5.2
responsibility for ethical misconduct;
Civil liability
Note: the course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations or additions may be
announced to the class from time to time.