Professional Responsibility & Ethics
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Reference Department
About Professional Responsibility & Ethics
Professional responsibility (1817) The heightened duty of those in a profession to behave ethically, according to an acknowledged code that applies to all members.
Source: Black's Law Dictionary, 11th ed., 2019 
Legal ethics (1828) 1. The standards of professional conduct applicable to members of the legal profession within a given jurisdiction. • Ethical rules consist primarily of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the earlier ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility, together with related regulatory judgments and opinions. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct have been enacted into law, often in a modified form, in most states. 2. The study of such standards. 3. A lawyer's practical observance of or conformity to established standards of professional conduct.
Source: Black's Law Dictionary, 11th ed., 2019
Model Rules of Professional Conduct (1983) A set of ethical guidelines for lawyers, organized in the form of 59 rules — some mandatory, some discretionary — together with explanatory comments. • Published by the ABA in 1983, these rules generally replaced the Model Code of Professional Responsibility and have been adopted as law, sometimes with modifications, by most states. The Model Code of Professional Responsibility is sometimes used to interpret and apply the Model Rules. — Abbr. MRPC.
Source: Black's Law Dictionary, 11th ed., 2019
Study Aids
Additional study aids in the Law Library's collection can be found through the Library's Study Aids guide.
Online:
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- Aspen Learning Library includes the Examples & Explanations series and CrunchTime study guides.
- LexisNexis Digital Library includes the Understanding and Q&A series.
Print:
- Print study aids may be borrowed from the Reserve Collection at the Law Library's Circulation/Reserve Desk for up to 2 hours.
- Older print editions may be found in the Law Library stacks.
Emanuel Law Outlines for Professional Responsibility, 6th ed. by 
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Topics covered include regulation of the legal profession, controls on lawyer conduct, formal aspects of the lawyer-client relationship, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and judicial conduct.
Glannon Guide to Professional Responsibility: Learning Professional Responsibility through Multiple-Choice Questions and Analysis, 3d ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Provides topical explanations followed by multiple-choice questions and explanations of the answers.
Legal Ethics, Professional Responsibility, and the Legal Profession by 
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Presents a thorough examination of the fundamentals of lawyer and judicial ethics.
Legal Ethics in a Nutshell, 5th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Discusses the Model Rules and places the Rules in an historic context. The Nutshell also analyzes the American Law Institute's Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers, Third.
Professional Responsibility: Examples and Explanations, 6th ed. by - This link opens in a new window
Professional responsibility is discussed focusing not only on the ABA Model Rules, but also on the relationship between the rules and doctrines of agency, tort, contract, evidence, and constitutional law.
Understanding Lawyers' Ethics by - This link opens in a new window
Analyzes the fundamental issues of lawyers' ethics and the ABA's Model Rules.
Casebooks
Search the Library's catalog (JACOB) to see if a book required for class is on Course Reserve in the Library. Course Reserve materials may be checked out from the Library's Circulation/Reserve Desk for up to two hours.
Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: KF306 .L465 2023ISBN: 9781543846218Publication Date: 2023 (6th ed.)
Problems in Legal Ethics by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: KF306 .S38 2020ISBN: 9781647082581Publication Date: 2020 (13th ed.)
Regulation of Lawyers: Problems of Law and Ethics by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: KF306 .G55 2015ISBN: 9781454847342Publication Date: 2015 (10th ed.)
Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI)
CALI lessons are interactive tutorials written by law professors at CALI member schools. They can be used for studying specific topics.
Ask a Reference Librarian for the GW Law CALI code.