Clark on Reading The Odyssey and Professional Responsibility @shermanjclark

Sherman J. Clark, University of Michigan Law School, has published A Lawyer's Odyssey: Constitutive Conversation in Literature and Law. Here is the abstract.

Through a close reading and original translation of several passages from The Odyssey, this essay suggests that lawyers can learn from a certain sort of engagement with literature — and with Homer in particular. Reading The Odyssey in the way I describe highlights the constitutive capacity of speech. What we say, and how we say it, does not merely reveal who we are; it helps makes us who we are. Moreover, our speech also helps construct the character of those to whom we speak. Homer brings this home. Reading the Odyssey can thus help us think more deeply about what we choose to say and how we choose to say it. Homer can help us learn to take responsibility for what we do — to ourselves and to others — when we speak.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.

Little on The Big Lebowski's Lessons in Law and Leadership for Military and National Security Attorneys

Ryan Little, United States Military Academy, is publishing The Big Lebowski -- The Dude's Lessons in Law and Leadership for Military and National Security Attorneys in the Pace Law Review. Here is the abstract.

The Big Lebowski is a cultural phenomenon that has prompted academic research into the nature of cult cinema, provided fodder for a host of law review quotes, and motivated a tradition of fan festivals and midnight screenings. However, most viewers do not realize that The Big Lebowski also serves as an engaging training tool for military and national security attorneys. Disguised as an impish play on film noir and hard-boiled detective fiction, The Big Lebowski’s unpretentious treatment of delicate topics contains poignant lessons for military and national security attorneys that include: (1) the risks facing national security attorneys when they lose focus on their professional and moral responsibilities, (2) military attorneys should expect to encounter mental health concerns and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in unexpected ways; (3) the importance of values and how they impact the success of a national security legal office, and (4) the role of the attorney in military operations. Military and national security attorneys who adopt the lessons of The Big Lebowski will be better lawyers and leaders.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.

Merritt on Professional Obligations to Educate the Next Generation

Deborah Jones Merritt, Ohio State University College of Law, is publishing Hippocrates and Socrates: Professional Obligations to Educate the Next Generation in the Wake Forest Law Review. Here is the abstract.

Do professionals have an ethical obligation to educate new members of their profession? The ancient Hippocratic oath recognized such a commitment, requiring all doctors “to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning...to pupils who have signed the covenant.” Contemporary theories of professionalism point to the same result, identifying intergenerational education as an essential feature of professional status. Moral theory and economic policy, finally, underscore this outcome: In return for the exclusive right to practice a profession, established members of the profession must agree to share their knowledge, skills, and other expertise with newcomers. The rules of professional conduct governing lawyers, sadly, do not mention this duty to educate. Equally unfortunate, mounting evidence suggests that neither law schools nor the practicing bar are fulfilling their ethical obligation to educate new members of the profession. This Article explores both the nature of that ethical gap and ways that law schools could restore their ethical commitment to educate new members of the bar. To provide background for that discussion, Part I of the Article examines the historical, social, moral, and economic roots of a professional obligation to educate. Part II then analyzes the status of this obligation within the legal profession. Part III, finally, proposes six ways that legal educators can improve our ethical commitment to educating new lawyers.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.