Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2021
Journal Title
Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy
ISSN
0883-3648
Abstract
In a world of lawyer jokes, memes of sleazy lawyers and the ubiquity of bad lawyers in television shows and movies, lawyers have reason to push back against negative public perceptions of lawyers’ ethics. This article examines the role of specialty bar associations, by using the example of the Academy of Adoption Attorneys, in marketing ethics to the public.
Specialty bar associations have been seen as sites of lawyer socialization and professionalism. Though there are thousands of specialty bar associations with aspirational ethical codes, the Academy of Adoption Attorneys is unusual among such associations in having a mandatory ethics code, and a grievance procedure that leads to written decisions sanctioning members. Ethical lawyering in adoption cases is particularly important given the high stakes involved in cases implicating the best interests of the child and the constitutionally-protected rights of parents. The Academy promises enhanced ethical standards in its members, but it faces a number of barriers, common to other specialty bar associations, in fulfilling that promise. This article examines the role of specialty bar associations in ethical compliance by focusing on ethical issues common to adoption attorneys and the role that the Academy of Adoption Attorneys plays in the profession.
First Page
49
Last Page
91
Num Pages
43
Volume Number
35
Issue Number
1
Publisher
University of Notre Dame Law School
Recommended Citation
Malinda L. Seymore,
Specialty Bar Associations and the Marketing of Ethics: The Example of the Academy of Adoption Attorneys,
35
Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y
49
(2021).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/1474
File Type
Included in
Family Law Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Legal Profession Commons