Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2011
Abstract
A central and ongoing debate among legal ethics scholars addresses the moral positioning of adversarial advocacy. Most participants in this debate focus on the structure of our legal system and the constituent role of the lawyer-advocate. Many are highly critical, arguing that the core structure of adversarial advocacy is the root cause of many instances of lawyer misconduct. In this Article, we argue that these scholars’ focuses are misguided. Through reflection on Aristotle’s treatise, Rhetoric, we defend advocacy in our legal system’s litigation process as ethically positive and as pivotal to fair and effective dispute resolution. We recognize that advocacy can, and sometimes does, involve improper and unethical use of adversarial techniques, but we demonstrate that these are problems of practice and not of structure and should be addressed as such.
Keywords
Legal Ethics, Legal History, Practice and Procedure, Dispute Resolution
Publication Title
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
Repository Citation
Hazard, Geoffrey C. Jr. and Remus, Dana A., "Advocacy Revalued" (2011). All Faculty Scholarship. 1103.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/1103
Included in
Civil Procedure Commons, Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Legal History Commons, Legal Profession Commons, Legal Studies Commons
Publication Citation
159 U. Pa. L. Rev. 751 (2011).