Phone: 727-562-7872
Fax:
Email: morgan@law.stetson.edu
Home Page: http://www.law.stetson.edu/faculty/morgan.asp
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Summary Description:

This program is an interactive multimedia presentation of ethical and professional issues encountered in an elder law practice. Fifteen different scenarios with various ethical and professional situations (based on real life situations faced in an elder law practice)were developed and videotaped. After a brief introduction, students and/or lawyers view the video depicting the questionable conduct. The participants then answer a series of multiple choice questions using an audience response system. The answers, applicable ethics rules, and professionalism questions are then discussed along with practice tips on how to avoid encountering the ethical problems in practice. We show the interaction of the various ethics rules, along with the relationship between practice, ethics and professionalism.

We will submit three of the video vignettes and printed copies of the multiple choice questions.

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Program History:

We have been using the tapes for two years in the Elder Law Seminar, Interviewing, Counseling & Negotiations, and Professional Responsibility classes at Stetson. (approximately 160 students, of which 90 have graduated). We have also used the tapes at eight continuing legal education programs in six states (Florida, Arizona, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Michigan and Colorado)involving approximately 800 lawyers.

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Confidential Items:
Tapes and questions (please return after winners are selected).

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Expanded Program Description (Optional):

The goals of the project are to train law students and lawyers to recognize professional and unprofessional conduct by actually observing it and talking about it. Much of what is written and taught deals with professionalism in dealing with opposing counsel or in the courtroom. This project really addresses professionalism and ethics dealing with clients in the office.

We have measured the impact by looking at audience responses during the presentations. The goal was to get the participants talking and helping each other learn. We talk about how the lawyers in the video handled the situation and how they should have handled it. The participants fully engage in the discussion, often giving specific examples of the conduct and alternatives to deal with the ethical problem. We also look at evaluations completed by the attorneys. We have found that this project enhances professionalism in three ways: first it actually shows professional and unprofessional conduct so that the participants can identify what each looks like and make choices about what s/he wishes to do in his or her own practice.

Second the participant is given the ability to actually make a choice as to how s/he would conduct him or herself and measure that against what others have chosen.

Finally, by discussing the results with the group of participants, the students/attorneys learn from each other and hopefully influence each other to move toward more professional conduct.

We have found that using these tapes and questions result in spirited discussion of ethical rules and best practices methods. Participants really engage in the presentation, and even those not given to participation are able to participate by voting with the audience response system.

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Supporting Materials:

Three video vignettes
multiple choice questions(pdf file)
letter from the Virginia Bar CLE (pdf file)
Emails of support
- Andrew Hook
- Charles Sabatino
- Stuart Zimring