Professor Fehrman seems to be
encouraging contempt for ethics
among young lawyers
from: Maura Larkins
July 13, 2013
Dear Ms. Fehrman,
I was fascinated by your recent article, "How not to be jaded
when the world is going to the bad place in a hand basket."
You wrote, "... if you want to be a cynical peevish tired old horse, then be that way. This article isn’
t for you."
Does this mean that if someone wants to talk about the honesty, fairness, justice and ethics that
are lacking in most law practices, you consider that person a "cynical peevish tired old horse"?
You also wrote, "Just say yes. Don’t expect anything other than what the world offers. Accept what
is, and unless you’ve wisely chosen an important battle, don’t create your own grain for the world
to go against. The surest way to tire yourself out is to create the opportunity for that kind of
friction."
How serious does an issue have to be before you consider it a "wisely chosen" and "important"
battle? Can you give an example? I'm asking for the threshold level of unethical, immoral or
illegal behavior that you consider worth the cost of going against the grain. Obviously, you would
want students to refuse to take part in a murder. That's not the sort of thing I'm asking for. When
you say, "Just say yes", where do you draw the line? When does it become appropriate, in your
mind, to just say NO?
What causes are important enough that they're worth tiring yourself out for? Have you ever
become jaded? Have you gone against the grain? Do you advise students to just look out for
their own comfort and financial success?
I would like to think that there are some law professors who actually teach ethical standards to
students, rather than telling them to put up with as much corruption as they possibly can.
Yours truly,
Maura Larkins
encouraging contempt for ethics
among young lawyers
from: Maura Larkins
July 13, 2013
Dear Ms. Fehrman,
I was fascinated by your recent article, "How not to be jaded
when the world is going to the bad place in a hand basket."
You wrote, "... if you want to be a cynical peevish tired old horse, then be that way. This article isn’
t for you."
Does this mean that if someone wants to talk about the honesty, fairness, justice and ethics that
are lacking in most law practices, you consider that person a "cynical peevish tired old horse"?
You also wrote, "Just say yes. Don’t expect anything other than what the world offers. Accept what
is, and unless you’ve wisely chosen an important battle, don’t create your own grain for the world
to go against. The surest way to tire yourself out is to create the opportunity for that kind of
friction."
How serious does an issue have to be before you consider it a "wisely chosen" and "important"
battle? Can you give an example? I'm asking for the threshold level of unethical, immoral or
illegal behavior that you consider worth the cost of going against the grain. Obviously, you would
want students to refuse to take part in a murder. That's not the sort of thing I'm asking for. When
you say, "Just say yes", where do you draw the line? When does it become appropriate, in your
mind, to just say NO?
What causes are important enough that they're worth tiring yourself out for? Have you ever
become jaded? Have you gone against the grain? Do you advise students to just look out for
their own comfort and financial success?
I would like to think that there are some law professors who actually teach ethical standards to
students, rather than telling them to put up with as much corruption as they possibly can.
Yours truly,
Maura Larkins
Cal Western School of Law--Ethics
| ... |
Why This Website
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz v. Maura
Larkins defamation
SDCOE
CVESD
Castle Park
Elementary School
Law Enforcement
CTA
CVE
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz
Silence is Golden
Schools and Violence
Office Admin Hearings
Larkins OAH Hearing
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz v. Maura
Larkins defamation
SDCOE
CVESD
Castle Park
Elementary School
Law Enforcement
CTA
CVE
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz
Silence is Golden
Schools and Violence
Office Admin Hearings
Larkins OAH Hearing
Stutz Artiano
Shinoff & Holtz v.
Maura Larkins
defamation case
Injunction against
this website
overturned in
California Court of
Appeal on Aug. 5,
2011
Judge Judith
Hayes' injunction
forbidding a
teacher from
mentioning the
names of school
lawyers was
overturned.
Shinoff & Holtz v.
Maura Larkins
defamation case
Injunction against
this website
overturned in
California Court of
Appeal on Aug. 5,
2011
Judge Judith
Hayes' injunction
forbidding a
teacher from
mentioning the
names of school
lawyers was
overturned.
| San Diego Education Report |
| SDER |
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report
| SDER |
| SDER |
| SDER |
From Cal Western
website page "Ready for
Practice":
"As a law school, we
recognize our obligation
is to train students to be
lawyers. To do this
effectively, we need to
incorporate lawyering
skills throughout the
curriculum," says William
Aceves [former ACLU
board member],
Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs and
Professor of Law. "It
can't just happen in one
class or in one
semester. Lawyering
skills take years to
develop. Rather than
force graduates to learn
it on their own after
graduation, we are
committed to giving them
the skills needed to
practice as soon as they
graduate and pass the
bar."...
By their third year, law
students are ready
and excited to apply
their learning in
real-world situations.
website page "Ready for
Practice":
"As a law school, we
recognize our obligation
is to train students to be
lawyers. To do this
effectively, we need to
incorporate lawyering
skills throughout the
curriculum," says William
Aceves [former ACLU
board member],
Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs and
Professor of Law. "It
can't just happen in one
class or in one
semester. Lawyering
skills take years to
develop. Rather than
force graduates to learn
it on their own after
graduation, we are
committed to giving them
the skills needed to
practice as soon as they
graduate and pass the
bar."...
By their third year, law
students are ready
and excited to apply
their learning in
real-world situations.
Professor Kathryn Falk Fehrman fits in very nicely at Cal Western
July 2013: Since this article is considered good public relations by Cal Western, then one
suspects that in private classrooms the school is giving much more specific instructions in
evading ethics.]
July 2013: Since this article is considered good public relations by Cal Western, then one
suspects that in private classrooms the school is giving much more specific instructions in
evading ethics.]
