Lawyers' Identities, Client Selection and the Antidiscrimination Principle: Thoughts on the Sanctioning of Judith Nathanson

9 Pages Posted: 15 Dec 2011 Last revised: 28 Dec 2011

See all articles by Bruce K. Miller

Bruce K. Miller

Western New England University School of Law

Date Written: 1998

Abstract

The Author discusses how the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination might justifiably apply the Public Accommodations Statute to the client selection practices of some, perhaps many, lawyers. But it should leave Judith Nathanson alone. Nathanson's decision to represent only women in divorce cases is protected by the First Amendment, not because she is entitled as a lawyer to indulge whatever biases she chooses in her selection of clients, but because, as a lawyer of integrity who has melded her personal values and professional skills in service to the profession's best ideals, she is entitled to represent her chosen clients as she sees fit.

Keywords: antidiscrimination, Judith Nathanson, client selection, ethics and professional responsibility

Suggested Citation

Miller, Bruce K., Lawyers' Identities, Client Selection and the Antidiscrimination Principle: Thoughts on the Sanctioning of Judith Nathanson (1998). Western New England Law Review, Vol. 20, p. 93, 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1972433

Bruce K. Miller (Contact Author)

Western New England University School of Law ( email )

1215 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
United States

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