{"id":4513,"date":"2003-07-19T16:38:07","date_gmt":"2003-07-19T20:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2003\/07\/19\/unzealous-weekend-advocacy\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T15:00:50","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T19:00:50","slug":"unzealous-weekend-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2003\/07\/19\/unzealous-weekend-advocacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Unzealous Weekend Advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Some Saturday Snippets<\/U><\/I>: I’m going to try to be pithy on this fine summer weekend, covering a couple of topics with relative brevity, so that we can all get serious about relaxation. <\/EM><\/P>
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Just Right?<\/U> Please use our <\/EM>“Suggestions” Box to let me know whether the lengthy discussion<\/EM> ethicalEsq? usually gives to topics covered here is too much, too little or just about right.<\/EM> <\/EM><\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT>Honorable Optimism<\/STRONG><\/FONT>: In a posting on July 17, <\/FONT>Overlawyered.com<\/STRONG><\/A><\/FONT>‘s Walter Olson mentioned our treatment<\/A> last week of Arizona’s word-change from “zealous” to “honorable” in its Rules of Conduct.  Walter is hoping the word change will produce meaningful results, as<\/P>
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“<\/FONT>Time and again, in our experience, the putative obligation to represent clients in a “zealous” fashion has proved the last resort of the scoundrel litigator and ethical edge-skater.   Yes, in principle there can also arise dangers when lawyers aren’t zealous enough, but no sane observer could imagine that the big problem with American litigation is that lawyers care so much for honor that they aren’t combative enough.” <\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll see a difference in conduct and attitude, but it will certainly take considerable amounts of CLE, more than a few judicial scoldings, and action or warnings from Bar Counsel, to make it happen.  Please let ethicalEsq? <\/I>know — with Comments or “Suggestions” — if: <\/P>
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