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Abstract:
In this article, I explore the contention of Jeffrey Skilling, former Enron CEO, that Enron's debacle was due to a perfect storm of events. I reject his contention, arguing instead that Enron's downfall was more like Titanic's - hubris and an over-reliance on checks and balances led to Enron's downfall. I then explore how character (especially of those at the top of an organization) can lead to Enron-like disasters, and I talk about how cognitive dissonance can lead to very smart people making very stupid decisions. I end with some musings about how lawyers can learn from Enron.

Enron, professional responsibility, lawyers, corporate culture, cognitive dissonance, Titanic

Abstract:
In this article, we explore the hypothesis that Enron's financial releases were so complex and misleading that no one could have predicted its rapid downfall, and we find that, contrary to our hypothesis, a number of people were contradicting Enron's own rosy view of itself long before the middle of 2001. We then talk about the ways in which Enron became part of the public consciousness, far beyond what it had done merely as a business entity.

Enron, Corporate Law, Accounting, Media, Culture

Abstract:
Here is the final version of the article that discusses the many lessons I learned while serving in the administration of three different law schools. Among other things, the article discusses the problems with shared governance and with linking rights and responsibilities of faculty members. Comments are always welcome.

Deaning, administration, law schools, shared governance, governance

Abstract:
This essay discusses the experiences of one law school trying to integrate the rankings into its strategic plan. It discusses the intersection of considerations designed to improve the rankings with considerations designed to improve the school as a whole, and it mentions the difficulties inherent in strategic planning in an academic environment.

Abstract:
This essay, included in the book SCREENING JUSTICE--THE CINEMA OF LAW: Significant Films of Law, Order and Social Justice (Rennard Strickland, Teree E. Foster & Tauyna Lovell Banks, eds., William S. Hein & Co. 2006), discusses the development of the law in Goldman's Lord of the Flies and raises the question of whether an island populated by a mix of boys and girls - or an island populated by only girls - would have developed a different law.

law, rules, films, boys, girls, cinema, moral reasoning, Kohlberg, Gilligan, uniforms

Abstract:
This essay argues that organizations (here, the Milbank, Tweed law firm) often ignore obviously bad behavior by their employees because of various psychological and sociological factors that prevent them from recognizing the behavior as bad in the first place.

law firms, professional responsibility, ethics, bankruptcy, Milbank, Gellene, cognitive dissonance, diffusion of responsibility, social pressure, psychology, sociology, conflicts of interest

Abstract:
In this essay, we demonstrate that most ethics violations (at least the ones that irritate bankruptcy judges) are also violations of simple rules of behavior that people should have learned in kindergarten.

bankruptcy, bankruptcy ethics, judges, professional responsibility

Abstract:
This article argues that the phrase thinking like a lawyer assumes that other professions don't have their own ways of approaching problems and that law schools only need to teach how lawyers think, rather than how lawyers do what they do. It suggests that law schools should do much more than just teach law students how to think.

legal education, lawyers, attorneys, higher education

Abstract:
This article discusses two related points: first, that the way in which movies portray lawyers shapes how clients view effective/ineffective lawyer behavior, and second, that the portrayal also helps lawyers to forget appropriate professional behavior.

ethics, professional responsibility, popular culture, movies, lawyers, attorneys, hollywood

Abstract:
This article discusses why even the smartest of people can make boneheaded decisions, and it suggests that the only way to avoid future Enrons is to take into account the cognitive mistakes that humans tend to make.

Corporate scandals, corporate governance, cognitive errors, cognitive dissonance, Milgram, Asch, Enron

Abstract:
This article discusses the issues facing the lawyer for the estate in a bankruptcy case. It debunks the idea that the lawyer for the estate represents any single constituency, and it tries to redefine the fiduciary duties that the estate lawyer has to the bankruptcy estate.

chapter 11, bankruptcy, reorganization, lawyer, attorney, professional responsibility, ethics, fiduciary duty

Abstract:
This article attempts to walk the reader through the morass left by BAPCPA, using the seven deadly sins as its motif.

bankruptcy, consumer, BAPCPA, pro bono

Abstract:
In this essay (updated from the earlier Fordham Law Review version, I explore the contention of Jeffrey Skilling, former Enron CEO, that Enron's debacle was due to a perfect storm of events. I reject his contention, arguing instead that Enron's downfall was more like Titanic's - hubris and an over-reliance on checks and balances led to Enron's downfall. I then explore how character (especially of those at the top of an organization) can lead to Enron-like disasters, and I talk about how cognitive dissonance can lead to very smart people making very stupid decisions. I end with some musings about how lawyers can learn from Enron.

Enron, professional responsibility, lawyers, corporate culture, cognitive dissonance, Titanic

Abstract:
This short introduction to the book, Enron: Corporate Fiascos and Their Implications (2004), is designed to walk the reader through the organization of the entire book. The book itself is designed for use by law schools, business schools, and undergraduates.

Enron, corporate governance, corporate malfeasance

Abstract:
This article describes the top ten duties for bankruptcy lawyers. 1. Know the purpose(s) of the Bankruptcy Code. 2. Know the facts and the law. 3. Spend time crafting your arguments. 4. Don't lie (about conflicts of interest or about controlling law). 5. Be respectful (of other lawyers, of the system, and of other participants in the system). 6. Don't indulge your client's sleazy instincts. 7. Don't escalate a conflict unnecessarily. 8. Honor your calendar. 9. Keep your client informed. 10. Don't whine.

bankruptcy, ethics, professional responsibility, judges

Abstract:
Discussion of 2004 cases regarding bankruptcy law.

bankruptcy law, bankruptcy, recent developments

Abstract:
Short discussion why dormant, temporary, actual conflicts (DTACs) in bankruptcy cases can't be handled appropriately under state ethics rules.

bankruptcy, ethics, professional responsibility, conflicts of interest

Abstract:
In this paper, we review the traditional arguments for corporate social responsibility and ask the question of what corporate lawyers should do to help their clients do the right thing ethically. We also set out a test - the technically test -- that highlights when something is usually on the wrong side of the ethical line. (If you have to give legal advice starting with Well, technically..., you're on the wrong side of the line.)

Corporate social responsibility, legal ethics, corporate governance

Abstract:
This short essay, solicited by Aspatore Books for inclusion in the book Law School Leadership Strategies, recaps some of my thoughts on leaving the deanship after eight years as a dean. Aspatore put the chapter together based on questions that it asked me.

law school admininstration, higher education governance, dean, deaning

Abstract:
This article continues my earlier research on conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases, particularly in chapter 11 cases. It suggests that conflicts in interest in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases should not be handled the same way that conflicts are handled under state ethics rules, and it proposes a new section of the Bankruptcy Code to cover conflicts of interest in cases filed under chapter 11.

chapter 11, conflicts of interest, professional responsibility, ethics, lawyers, attorneys, Bankruptcy Code

Abstract:
Two of the nation's most controversial presidents, Nixon and Clinton, were both lawyers, and both of them had ethics-related problems while in office. This essay reviews whether any model ethics rules force lawyer-presidents to behave at a higher standard than non-lawyer-presidents; then it discusses the implications for legal education if we really do want lawyers to go above and beyond the norm of behavior.

Clinton, Nixon, professional responsibility, president, lawyer, attorney

Abstract:
Discussion of the 2005 amendments to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code as those changes relate to conflicts of interest of investment bankers.

conflicts of interest, investment bankers, Bankruptcy Code, BAPCPA, Enron

Abstract:
This article discusses the concept of shared governance in the context of a law school that is part of a university. It argues that the governance of a law school is a shared process between the dean/administration and the faculty. It explains why law schools can't be run the way that businesses are run, and it tries to explain governance in terms of jurisdiction.

governance, shared governance, faculty governance, higher education

Abstract:
The transcript of a panel discussion about disinterestedness among Prof. John D. Ayer, the Hon. Charles N. Clevert, the Hon. Joel Pelofsky, Bettina Whyte, and Nancy B. Rapoport.

disinterestedness, bankruptcy, ethics, professional responsibility

Abstract:
This article discusses four distinct approaches to the role of the dean and the pros and cons of each approach.

herding cats, dean, decanal, role of the dean, conductor

Abstract:
Musings on the life of a law school dean.

governance, dean, haiku

Abstract:
In this essay, I discuss how Sebastian Stark (played by James Woods) seduces the lawyers on his legal team into ignoring legal ethics in favor of Stark's own version of ethics. Stark -- a criminal defense lawyer who becomes a deputy district attorney -- bends the ethics rules past the breaking point in order to put bad guys behind bars. His team of lawyers knows right from wrong but follows Stark's lead in breaking the rules anyway.

law and popular culture, legal ethics, professional responsibility

Abstract:
Observations by a professor who has decided to become an Associate Dean.

governance, faculty governance, associate dean, dean, shared governance

Abstract:
This article is the first in a series of articles discussing the problem of conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases. It argues that the traditional means for discovering and handling conflicts of interest - based on state-law ethics rules - fundamentally misconceives the problem in a bankruptcy context. State law ethics rules presume that the parties are always in static positions; in bankruptcy law, alliances shift all the time. The article proposes a possible method of handling potential conlicts of interest in bankruptcy cases.

conflicts of interest, ethics, professional responsibility, bankruptcy

Abstract:
This article discusses the tension between the lawyer's duty to her client and her duty to the legal system as an officer of the court. It concludes that, in a situation in which those two duties conflict, the lawyer's duty to the system as a whole should trump the duty to the client.

lawyer, attorney, ethics, professional responsibility, fiduciary, officer of the court

Abstract:
This article discusses the differences between how Jewish ethics are disseminated and how legal ethics are created, and it walks the reader through some classic examples of the conflicts between the two.

Jewish ethics, legal ethics, professional responsibility

Abstract:
This article discusses the many problems with the U.S. News & World Report rankings of law schools. It argues, among other things, that the rankings magnify insignificant differences among law schools and that the rankings do not provide helpful consumer information.

rankings, law schools

Abstract:
This article argues that there should be a separate code of professional responsibility for lawyers in bankruptcy cases.

bankruptcy, ethics, professional responsibility

Abstract:
This part of the article provides a primer on the history of utilities regulation. (Part II provides a discussion on the intersection of utilities law and bankruptcy law, pre-BAPCPA.)

utilities law, regulated industries, bankruptcy, chapter 11

Abstract:
This article attempts to devise an appropriate instrument to determine whether bankruptcy lawyers in Columbus, Ohio are able to identify potential conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases. Although the article is unable to develop an appropriate instrument, it does discuss why the survey method is not appropriate for this type of study.

bankruptcy, ethics, professional responsibility, statistics, survey

Abstract:
This part of the article provides a discussion on the intersection of utilities law and bankruptcy law, pre-BAPCPA. (Part I provides a primer on the history of utilities regulation.)

utilities law, regulated industries, bankruptcy, chapter 11

Abstract:
This essay discusses why the increase in high-profile, high-fees chapter 11 bankruptcy cases creates some real public relations problems for bankruptcy professionals and what those professionals might do to avert a backlash in the media and in the public opinion of lawyers.

bankruptcy, lawyers, fees, ethics, bankruptcy ethics, Chrysler, GM

Abstract:
This chapter, in Corinne Cooper & Catherine E. Vance's book, Attorney Liability in Bankruptcy, walks the reader through some of the traditional ethics issues triggered by representing consumers and small businesses. It also addresses some of the ethics issues that the recent Bankruptcy Amendments (BAPCPA) have created.

bankruptcy, BAPCPA, ethics, bankruptcy ethics, lawyers, attorneys, debtors, consumers