Newman on the Legality of the Agreement in The Merchant of Venice @WFULawSchool

Joel S. Newman, Wake Forest University School of Law, has published If Shylock Had a Lawyer at 7 Wake Forest J. L. & Pol'y S. S. 21 (2016). Here is the abstract.

In Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” the “pound of flesh” agreement was notarized. Presumably, pursuant to European custom, the notary would have drafted the agreement. Had the events of the play taken place today, any notary who drafted such an agreement would be in violation of Italian law. Had Shylock consulted a modern American lawyer, drafting the agreement, or even agreeing to the representation in the first place, would have been a violation of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.