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Columns::September 22, 2003
Root of the problem: Researchers plant trees that help clean up toxic waste site
UGA, MCG study long-term impact of schizophrenia drugs
Two new faculty members are named Eminent Scholars in molecular genetics, biochemistry
New digital library collection looks at architectural sites, landscapes
Song sung blue: Proposed water projects are bigger threat to local songbirds than timber harvesting
Retirees
Kudos
Primary messages: Political scientist studies campaign communication strategies of presidential candidates
Movers and shakers
Campus News
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| Lonnie Brown’s current research focuses on ethical concerns raised by lawyers speaking to media on behalf of their clients. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
Law professor briefs his students on legal ethics, civil procedure
By Heidi Murphy
hmurphy@uga.edu
One does not have to be hardnosed and ruthless to be an effective lawyer, according to Lonnie Brown. At least, that is what he teaches his students.
“I want my students to understand they can be equally successful by conducting themselves in a civil and professional manner, and in so doing, they will command a lot more respect in and out of the courtroom,” he says.
Brown knows this from his eight years of practice with the prestigious law firm of Alston and Bird in Atlanta. He started as an associate and climbed the ladder by putting in the long, hard hours to make partner. While at Alston and Bird, Brown specialized in the areas of financial services litigation and general trial practice.
During his eight years of courtrooms, client meetings and billable hours, however, Brown always felt the yearning to teach. His grandfather was a professor of English and Romance languages at Kentucky State University. And, during his second year of law school, one of Brown’s professors indicated to him that he thought Brown was well-suited to teaching law.
Thus, while he was working in Atlanta, Brown served as an adjunct law professor at Emory University, teaching legal research and writing. Then, in the fall of 1998, he had the opportunity to become a visiting assistant professor at his legal alma mater, Vanderbilt University, teaching professional responsibility, or “legal ethics,” as it is also known. This foray into full-time teaching enabled Brown to explore professorial life and confirm it was truly for him.
Since becoming a full-time scholar, Brown has taught courses in both professional responsibility and civil procedure. His scholarship is directed towards the interplay between these two disciplines, with regard to their effectiveness in regulating attorney behavior in the context of litigation. In particular, his work examines certain types of litigation-related advocacy that he characterizes as “illegitimate” and explores alternative regulatory methods for addressing such conduct.
Brown’s current research focuses on ethical concerns raised by lawyers speaking to the media on behalf of their clients. Attorneys are placing increased emphasis on presenting their claims and defenses in the public arena rather than, or in addition to, an actual court.
“Such advocacy in the so-called ‘court of public opinion’ is often intended to influence potential jurors or perhaps to serve other ulterior motives, such as promoting the image of the clients or the lawyers themselves,” Brown says. “The existing procedural and ethical regulations do not place adequate restrictions on this type of behavior. In my view, if lawyers treat the media as if it were a courtroom, then they should be subjected to the same constraints that apply in that setting.”
As a faculty member, Brown draws on his years of experience as a practicing lawyer and understands the pressures many young (and older) attorneys face in striving to achieve the coveted partner status.
“There are a lot of relatively clear ethical issues that can become somewhat blurred in the very competitive legal world, particularly in litigation matters,” he says. “Providing students with an open forum to debate and work through some of the ethical dilemmas they may encounter as members of the bar is critical to preparing them to be true professionals. ‘Legal profession’ (as the ethics course is titled here) is often an undervalued and underappreciated course. If I can provide my students with a strong awareness of their ethical boundaries as attorneys and inspire in them a firm commitment to doing what is right, then I’ve done my job.” |
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